India are capable of repeating their heroics from their successful 2018-19 test tour in Australia even though the hosts are stronger this time with the return of batsmen David Warner and Steve Smith, India’s Cheteshwar Pujara has said.
Both Warner and Smith were unavailable for Australia while serving 12-month ball-tampering bans as India won their first test series Down Under, beating the hosts 2-1 in four matches.
Warner and Smith have scored over 14,000 test runs between them but Pujara said India’s bowlers are capable of taking quick wickets to give them “every chance of winning” the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“(Australia’s batting lineup) will be a little stronger than what it was in 2018-19, but then victories don’t come easy,” Pujara told PTI.
“No doubt Smith, Warner and Marnus Labuschagne are great players. But the good part about our current crop of bowlers is that most of them play in the same series and our bowling unit will also not be very different to what it was in 2018-19.
“They know how to be successful in Australia as they have enjoyed success there in the past. They have their gameplans in place and if we can execute them well, they are capable of getting Smith, Warner and Labuschagne out quickly.”
Pujara said they will however encounter a “different challenge” in the series opener in Adelaide when India play their second day-night test with the pink ball, having played with it just once against Bangladesh on home soil.
“We will be playing with the pink Kookaburra in Australia, it will be slightly different,” Pujara, the series’ leading run scorer on their last visit, added.
“One has to understand and accept and get used to it (pink ball and lights) as early as possible … The twilight period is more challenging than other periods.”
South Australia had on Sunday announced a new Covid-19 cluster, as the number of cases quickly grew to 17 on Monday. The numbers, however, fell to five on Tuesday.
Following this, the governments of Western Australia, Tasmania, and the Northern Territory announced border closures, with Queensland to impose a two-week hotel quarantine on all visitors from Adelaide from 11.59pm on Monday. Thereafter, CA and BBL clubs moved rapidly to ensure that all players left the affected state.
These moves, according to an ESPNcricinfo report, included a charter flight specifically to transport all players and staff from the Adelaide Strikers to a training camp in Coffs Harbour.
“I have put in a mountain of work and I definitely think I’m ready,” says young batsman Will Pucovski who has been named in Australia’s Test squad for the upcoming four-match series against India.
Pucovski, who is among the five uncapped players named in the 17-man squad, has made a strong case for selection in the playing XI with back-to-back double centuries for Victoria in the Sheffield Shield.
“It’s been a long journey but I don’t think I could be in a much better place to take this challenge on,” Pucovski told SEN Radio.
He further said he is better prepared to make his Test debut compared to couple of seasons ago when he was selected for the Sri Lanka tour but had opted out citing mental health concerns.
“It’s something I’m really excited for, and people have their different journeys and mine’s taken a different path, but two years down the track from Sri Lanka when I was just about to turn 21, I feel like I’ve put in a mountain of work and that’s been to achieve my goal of hopefully succeeding and playing for Australia. So, if the opportunity comes, I definitely think I’m ready,” said the right-handed batsman.
