Right after Team India whitewashed Sri Lanka in the ODI series by 5-0, cricket experts from all corners of the world were pretty sure that Virat Kohli & Co will repeat their performance against Australia at home. Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag claimed confidently on a national TV news debate that India would take the series home by 5-0. On the other hand, former Aussie skipper Michael Clarke had said Steven Smith and his men would clinch the series 3-2.
Even though both of them got it wrong, there was one former Indian cricketer who made the right predictions. He was VVS Laxman. According to several media reports, ahead of the series, Laxman said,”It’s 4-1 to India.”
“The main reason behind this is Australia’s bowling. Last time when they were here in 2013, the series was competitive as their bowlers were in good form. This time their bowling department looks weak. Though Cummins is a good bowler and Coulter-Nile is aware of the conditions as he has got the IPL experience but the spinners are inexperienced and that’s where India will have the upper-hand,” added Laxman.
Indian cricket team locked the series right after winning the first three ODIs that were played in Chennai, Kolkata and Indore.
In the next game held in Bangalore, Kohli went on to experiment with his bench strength and picked Umesh Yadav, Mohammad Shami and dropped Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. The Men in Blue lost that game by 21 runs.
In the last dead rubber held in Nagpur, Team India bounced back, won the game by 7 wickets and ended the series by 4-1.
For interesting videos from InUth, follow us on Youtube.com/InUthdotcom
Copyright © 2024 IE Online Media Services Private Ltd. All Rights Reserved.