Ravi Shastri Confident In India's Edge Over Australia In Upcoming Test Series

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has shared his thoughts on the upcoming Test series between India and Australia later this year. He believes that India will continue their dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and emerge victorious against Australia.

Shastri highlighted that India's batting performance will be crucial for retaining the trophy. He recalled that although India won the last Test series in Australia 2-1, their batting lineup faced challenges, notably being bowled out for 36 in Adelaide's pink-ball Test.

India has held the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2015, winning the last two Test series in Australia. Despite Australia's victory over India in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, Shastri believes Pat Cummins' team will be keen to reclaim the trophy during their five-match series starting in November.

"The Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia over five Test matches is going to be a humdinger. Remember, India have beaten Australia twice on the last two tours and Australia have not had a hand on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in almost a decade," Shastri told ICC in an interview.

Shastri expects several thrilling one-on-one battles between top players from both teams throughout the series. He believes that the team winning more of these head-to-head encounters will likely come out on top.

"It's going to be India's batting against the Australian fast bowlers," Shastri suggested. "And of course, the Indian bowling attack is going to be something everyone will be waiting to see."

Australia's Quest for Revenge

Shastri knows that Australia will seek revenge after losing consecutive home series against India. He anticipates they will come out aggressively, especially with their strong fast bowling line-up ready to challenge India's batters across the five-match series.

"We know what Australia will be wanting (revenge). They will be thirsty, they'd be looking to go at the throats of the Indians because they've been beaten there (in Australia) twice," he added.

Optimism for India's Chances

With key bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami fit, along with strong bench strength, Shastri is optimistic about India's chances and believes the Indian team can complete a hat-trick of series wins in Australia.

"It is going to be one heck of a series and India have every chance of making it a hat-trick because they've got their bowlers fit and if they can bat well, they can tickle (beat) Australia once again," Shastri concluded.