Not many had expected such a start to the ongoing four-match Test series between India and Australia. The visitors arrived in India as the number one ranked Test side in the world and on the back of a fine home summer where they beat West Indies and South Africa.
Their rank and form, however, counted for little as India thrashed them by an innings and 132 runs in the first Test at the VCA Stadium in Nagpur. The Rohit Sharma-led side remained on top of the proceedings throughout the Test and wrapped up the game inside three days.
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Following India’s thumping win in Nagpur, not many are giving Australia even an outside chance of staging a comeback in the series. Australia’s poor record against India in recent years do not help their case either.
The team from Down Under have lost their last three Test series against India including two at home. They have also not won a Test series in India since the 2004/05 season. And the way they have started the ongoing series, not many believe that they will be able to improve their recent Test record against India.
Rohit Sharma on Australia’s chances:
While not many are backing Australia to stage a comeback in this series, India skipper Rohit Sharma believes the visitors have the require ability to do so. During the post-match press conference, an Australian reporter reminded him of India’s comeback in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series before asking him if Australia could pull off the same in India.
During the 2020/21 series, India had lost the first Test and were bowled out for just 36 in that game. However, they had gone on to clinch the series by a score line of 2-1. And Rohit Sharma believes Australia have the potential to bounce back.
“Good one. Australia is always a good team. The good thing about this team is we don’t think about what has happened in the past. It’s important to stay in the present. Lot of the guys who played in that series are not here for Australia. For us as well, a few guys are missing,” Rohit Sharma said.
“Australia love playing Test cricket. They pride themselves in coming out and representing their country. We are quite aware of them bouncing back. We are pretty much aware of what they can do as a team. By no means are we ruling them out. We want to play the cricket that we played in this game,” he added.