Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should be the players Australia should focus on keeping quiet and everything will fall in place, advises former Australia head coach Darren Lehmann ahead of the upcoming BGT 2024-25 Test series.
India will play five Tests in Australia for the first time since 1991-92, and Australia will be looking for a triumph over India, who has defeated them twice in the previous two home tours.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s 2024-25 edition will begin on November 22, with the first match scheduled for Perth. The day-night Test will begin on December 6 at Adelaide Oval, with the other three matches being played in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).
India has held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2017, and Australia last won it at home in 2014-15. Since then, India has defeated Australia at home in 2017, 2022-23, and on Australian soil in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
However, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have done multiple tours down under, especially Kohli, who scored centuries in the 2014-15 and 2018-19 tours will be the key to India’s success and possibly a Test series win down under.
Darren Lehmann predicts outcome of BGT 2024-25; says need to keep Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma quiet
Former Australia coach and player Darren Lehmann believes Australia will easily defeat India in the next Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India is set to visit Australia for a five-match Test series as part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 season.
Rohit Sharma and his team face a top-of-the-table duel against the Australians, with the defending ODI world champions vying for first place. India presently leads with 71.67 percentage points (PCT), with Australia coming a close second with 62.50 PCT.
Darren Lehmann turned to X (previously Twitter) to give his predictions for the much-anticipated Test series, which begins in November. The former player believes Australia will comfortably win the series 3-1 if the hosts get off to a winning start in Perth.
On X, Lehmann wrote, “Australia v India prediction , 3-1 Australia Will win in Perth to start the summer on the bouncy track then quite even after that with the home team playing conditions better. Need to keep Sharma and Kohli quiet all summer.”
Australia v India prediction , 3-1 Australia
Will win in Perth to start the summer on the bouncy track then quite even after that with the home team playing conditions better. Need to keep Sharma and Kholi quiet all summer. #class @abcsport— Darren Lehmann (@darren_lehmann) September 26, 2024
India emerged victorious on both of their previous two visits to Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Men in Blue won in the 2018/19 season, before repeating the extraordinary feat in 2020/21.
Schedule for India v Australia BGT 2024-25 Test series:
1st Test- November 22 – November 26, 2024, Perth
2nd Test- December 06 – December 10, 2024, Adelaide
3rd Test- December 14 – December 18, 2024, Brisbane
4th Test- December 26 – December 30, 2024, Melbourne
5th Test- January 03 – January 07, 2025, Sydney
Also Read: Yuvraj Singh Gives Prediction For BGT 2024-25; Former Australia And England Captain Join Him