Marnus Labuschagne. File
| Photo Credit: PTI

A shattering defeat to New Zealand on home soil would have caused a “little bit of damage” to India’s confidence, but Australia will not make the mistake of underestimating the visitors, said charismatic batter Marnus Labuschagne in Perth on Tuesday (November 19, 2024).

The world No. 2 India are heading into the five-Test Border-Gavaskar series, starting in Perth on Friday (November 22, 2024), following their whitewash at home, which ended their 12-year unbeaten run in their own backyard.

Australia’s middle-order mainstay Labuschagne believes the loss to the Kiwis would have dented India’s confidence.

“It’s really hard to judge. They played in completely different conditions—spindling conditions—but having India come here off the back of a loss at home is something that’s never happened before (in my career),” Labuschagne told the media.

“I think that is a good thing in terms of… they are probably a little bit lower on confidence, not coming off a Test victory, losing to New Zealand 3-0. I think that’s going to do a little bit of damage to their confidence,” he added.

However, Labuschagne insisted that Australia, who have lost each of their last four series to India both home and away, will have to guard against complacency.

“They’re a quality lineup, and they’re one of the best teams in the world. So you can never underestimate a team like that,” he said.

India staged an incredible comeback on their last Australia tour in 2020-21 to win 2-1, despite the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and injuries to several other frontline players along the way.

“That’s what happened in 2021 — the likes of (T) Natarajan played, (Mohammad) Siraj got his first crack in Australia, Washington Sundar played,” Labuschagne recalled.

“They had all these guys that were probably a little bit new—Shubman (Gill) played those couple of games (in the 2020-21 series) – so there were new faces around,” he added.

With India set to take the field without regular captain Rohit Sharma and No. 3 batter Gill in the first Test at the Optus Stadium in Perth, Labuschagne said India have enough talent in their ranks to meet all challenges.

“They’re a quality line-up, and they’ve shown that over a period of time. You can’t ever underestimate the depth of Indian cricket,” he said.

“Anyone that gets the opportunity to play for India has had to do a lot of hard work and find their way into that side… to actually play for a team like that, you have to be a very good player,” Labuschagne added.

Virat Kohli of India bats during the internal practice match between India and India A at the WACA on November 15, 2024, in Perth, Australia.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Australian batter Travis Head on Monday (November 18, 2024) backed Virat Kohli to “have his moments in the series” as the Indian superstar continued to dominate talks in the run-up to the five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy, starting in Perth on Friday (November 22, 2024).

Kohli’s ordinary returns with the bat this year in Test cricket notwithstanding, the 36-year-old has been the cynosure of all eyes since the Indian team landed in Australia last week.

Head threw his support behind the Indian batting mainstay, who managed a mere 93 runs across three Tests against New Zealand at a forgettable average of 15.50 in his last assignment at home just before the tour of Australia.

“No doubt, we will go through all their players; we cannot wait to start well against them. Virat’s going to have his moments in this series, hopefully not too many of them,” Head told the media at the Optus Stadium after Australia’s training session.

“He is a world-class player. Over the course of five tests, he is going to play well at some stage. We have to understand and respect that. Hopefully, the players on our side also have their moments in the series,” said the left-handed batter.

Head reckoned having closed-door sessions in Australia, shortly after India’s unprecedented Test series defeat to New Zealand, would have allowed Kohli to find his rhythm.

“He is pretty big. Everyone talks about Virat, wherever he goes. Maybe the closed sessions give him a bit of freedom, a bit of space,” he said.

“There won’t be a series where you would play India and you wouldn’t talk about Kohli,” Head added.

India captain Rohit Sharma is missing the series opener due to the birth of his second child, and Head supported his decision.

“(One) hundred percent, I support Rohit’s decision. I would have done the same in the same situation,” Head remarked.

“We sacrifice a lot of things as cricketers. While we live a privileged life, we miss important milestones in our personal lives. You don’t get that time back. Hopefully, he returns at some stage in this series.”

Despite India’s struggles in recent times, Rohit’s unavailability for the first Test and Shubman Gill being ruled out due to a fractured thumb, Head said the visitors will field a strong team.

“If you look at our history, you would not rule out any Indian team,” he said.

“In the last two trips, they’ve had injuries and doubts, and people questioned them, but they pulled off incredible performances. Whoever they play, it’s going to be a strong team,” he added.

Dhruv Jurel bats during the game between Australia A and India A at Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday (November 09, 2024) in Melbourne, Australia.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images

Wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel built a strong case for a possible Test eleven inclusion with his second successive fifty, but it was not enough to prevent India A going down to Australia A by six wickets on the third day of the second and final unofficial Test in Melbourne on Saturday (November 9, 2024).

With this deafeat, India A lost the two-match series 0-2, as the visitors had earlier lost the first unofficial Test by seven wickets at Mackay.

Resuming from overnight 73 for 5, Jurel, who made a valiant 80 in the first inning, once again stood tall amid the ruins with a patient 68 off 122 balls, during which he hit five boundaries.

Jurel shared vital 94 runs with Nitish Kumar Reddy (38) before being dismissed. Prasidh Krishna (29) and Tanush Kotian (44) also played good hands to take India to 229 in their second innings, setting a paltry target of 168 for the hosts.

Off-spinner Corey Rocchiccioli (4/74) turned out to be the star performer for Australia A in India’s second innings, complemented well by all-rounder Beau Webster (3/49) and right-arm fast bowler Nathan McAndrew (2/53).

Chasing the modest total, Australia A witnessed an early collapse with pacer Prasidh (2/37), who generated plenty of bounce and hit excellent lines, dismissing Marcus Harris and Cameron Bancroft off consecutive deliveries in the opening over, raising the visions of an unlikely comeback.

Prasidh took six wickets in the match, boosting his chances to get a call to India’s playing eleven at some stage during the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy as the support seamer behind Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.

Mukesh Kumar then induced an edge from skipper Nathan McSweeney (25) for Jurel behind the stumps to reduce Australia A to 48 for 3.

But Sam Kontas stood firm on one end with a fine, unbeaten knock of 73 off 128 balls to take Australia A forward.

Oliver Davies played an entertaining knock of 21 off 22 balls before Konstas and Webster (46 not out off 66) shared match-winning unconquered 96 runs stand for the fifth wicket to wrap up the match in Australia A’s favour in 47.5 overs with a full day’s play left.

Prasidh picked up two wickets for India in the second innings, while Mukesh (1/40) and Kotian (1/62) scalped one each.

Brief Scores

India A 161 and 229 all out in 77.5 overs (Dhruv Jurel 68, Tanush Kotian 44, Corey Rocchiccioli 4/74, Beau Webster 3/49, Nathan McAndrew 2/53).

Australia A 1st innings: 223 and 169 for 4 in 47.5 overs (Sam Kontas 73 not out, Beau Webster 46 not out; Prasidh Krishna 2/37).