Last Updated on 3 weeks by Charbel Coorey
Former Australia fast bowler Brendon Julian has made a bold call, predicting Australia will win the first Test comfortably against India in Perth. Speaking on Fox Cricket, Julian said India’s issues – both from a form and player availability perspective – could see them have a difficult outing first up.
“The Aussies will clean up India in 4 days. There are worrying signs for India, straight at the top,” Julian said. “Rohit Sharma is not playing the first Test [due to paternity leave]; he has come out and said that. So Jasprit Bumrah will captain the side. Now that’s a lot of pressure when you’re the opening bowler.”
Julian also pointed to India’s struggles in their recent, shock 3-0 loss at home to New Zealand. Their batting did not hold up against either the bounce in Bengaluru or spin in Pune and Mumbai. This led to India fans heavily criticising coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit, and Julian believes there is a lack of gelling at the moment.
“The way that Virat Kohli got out against New Zealand – for him to get out like that in that Test series was unbelievable,” said Julian. “Kohli is not at his best. He is not gelling with the captain probably and the coach but having said that, he can quickly turn it around. But if they start pulling in Perth, I reckon it’ll be all over,” he continued.
Nathan Lyon can be key in battle against Virat Kohli – Brendon Julian
Fast and bouncy conditions are expected at Perth’s Optus Stadium, similar to the third ODI between Australia and Pakistan on November 10. However, Julian pinpointed Nathan Lyon as a key weapon in keeping Kohli quiet.
“The thing with Virat Kohli is that I think he would rather bat in Australia. The way he batted against New Zealand in India, he was getting out to spinners. The nemesis for him would be Nathan Lyon. He’s got the wood over him, but he is going to enjoy the conditions,” he said.
While India have their worries, so do Australia. After much deliberation, Nathan McSweeney was selected as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner, a move criticised by some, including former opener Ed Cowan who described the move as “a guess”.
Also, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith are averaging 33.6 and 39.4 respectively since the start of 2023. If Australia are not up to the mark with the bat, India have the bowling arsenal to cause them problems.
The highly anticipated first Test kicks off on November 22 with India in a must-win situation right from the get-go with regards to the World Test Championship.
