Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali is known for making rather outrageous comments. But this time, he seems to have predicted a win for Team India in the 4th IND vs AUS Test, starting on Dec 26 at the MCG. The series currently stands level at 1-1, with India winning the first match in Perth, and hosts making a comeback in the second at Adelaide.
India Has Chance to Make it 2-1 at MCG
Meanwhile, persistent rain won the third Test in Gabba, Brisbane, where play was hardly possible on the five days of the match. “India will have the best chance to win in Melbourne. There can be two spinners in Melbourne and Sydney. Australia is concerned about the possibility of missing out on the WTC final if they lose in Melbourne. Australia’s two matches against Sri Lanka won’t be easy. If the batters make the same mistakes as in Brisbane and Adelaide, then India will be in trouble,” Basit said on his YouTube channel.
On the other hand, Team India has already strengthened their squad with the inclusion of newbie Tanush Kotian in the squad, after the retirement of R Ashwin. The management now will be tempted to play two spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar, who can not only bowl those crucial overs, but score some valuable runs towards the end of the innings.
IND vs AUS, 4th Test MCG
On the addition of Tanush Kotian, India skipper Rohit Sharma had said on Tuesday, “Yeah, Tanush was here a month ago (for the Australia A series). And Kuldeep (Yadav), I don’t think, has a visa (laughs). We wanted somebody who could get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready and he played here.”
“Not that Tanush is not good enough. He has shown in the last two years what he has done in domestic cricket. We really just wanted a backup in case, you know, we need two spinners playing here or in Sydney, you need a backup option,” he added.
