The Indian Test team somehow managed to win the BGT(Border Gavaskar Trophy) 2023 by a respectable margin of 2-1. Implicit in this effort was a certain run-machine Virat Kohli, who delivered one of his most disciplined hundreds after a long wait of 1205 days supported by the rising all-format start Shubman Gill’s heroics in the fourth Test at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on 13 March, Monday.
But a lot happened this time around as the Australians came calling.
Australian speedster Pat Cummins went back home after the second test of the four-match series to take care of his unwell mother, who passed away. Meanwhile,
Steve Smith took over the test captaincy in the absence of Cummins and suddenly the vibe got changed in the Australian dressing room, which resulted in winning the test match within three days.
It was really an opportunity for the Australian team to turn the tables in BGT 2023 as they haven’t been able to win the test series since 2005 in India and also have not succeeded even on their home turf since 2015.
They might have lost the series but clearly, Steve Smith’s captaincy showed a mirror to the Indian test team as the home team couldn’t win the last two games.
Indian team has qualified for the ICC World Test Championship Final 2023 which will be played on 07 June 2023 at the Kennington Oval, London. Rohit Sharma & Co. should be thankful to the former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on the last ball of the test match against Sri Lanka in the first of two tests at Hagley Oval, Christchurch on the same day India won the BGT 2023.
Both teams, India and Australia, will now be locking horns in the white-ball ODI format starting from 17 March, Friday. This three-match series will be an eye-opener for Rohit & Co. and will act as a warm-up contest for the ICC ODI World Cup 2023 which is scheduled to be played in October in India.
Why?
One of the threatening reasons is Australia’s backbone Steve Smith, he might not get this amazing opportunity to lead the Australian team once Pat Cummins comes back in the squad. The Australian run-machine will try everything he has in his bank to make an impact not just as a captain but also as a batter too for his team.
David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, and Mitchell Marsh will also be joining hands with the captain in the ODI series who had been out of the squad due to injuries recently. This trio can seriously thrash the Indian bowling line up and the duo of Maxwell-Marsh can easily fill the shoes of the fifth bowler which allows the think tank to make the playing XI stronger.
| Series | Matches | Result |
| 2018-2019 India v. Australia | 5 | Australia 3-2 |
| 2019-2020 India v. Australia | 3 | India 2-1 |
| 2020-2021 Australia v. India | 3 | Australia 2-1 |
On the other hand, the Indian team’s performance in the last three series has not been up to the mark, they have lost two out of the three series.
Stats are not favoring the home team, however, we have all seen Indian making comebacks many a time and the die-hard supporter will hope India goes on to win the series not just by 2-1, but by sweeping the (3-0) Australian team.
But the key question is- can Australia be tamed that easily?
