Glenn McGrath loves making serial predictions. This time, all he is willing to admit is that “Australia has a slight advantage.” And that’s because they have a deadly left-arm pacing option in Mitchell Starc. That said, McGrath believes India will be boosted by its 2018-19 series win and can fight fire with fire thanks to its bowlers.
“Umesh Yadav has a raw rhythm, Mohammed Shami has great control and swings the ball both ways and Bumrah is just class. He has great mental strength. His second and third spells are as fast as the first,” McGrath told media selected in an interaction hosted by Sony, the India-Australia series broadcasters in India. “There are guys who, if they are fired up, are hard to beat. But you have Josh Hazlewood on a par, he bowls in good areas and he’s tall, strong.
“So Pat Cummins is the number one bowler in the world. He runs all day, he always hits 100 percent. He gets slightly different angles because of the way he runs. Then there’s Mitchell Starc, the left arm. does well, he can choose between four and five wickets at once. He has that X factor. If both teams are bowling at the top of their game, he would probably put Australia slightly ahead only by the left-hander, which has a high impact “.
India’s series win in 2018-19 was due as much to Cheteshwar Pujara’s batting efforts as it was to bowling. Pujara had 571 races, including three centuries, the best in India for the series. With Virat Kohli on the verge of missing three tests due to the birth of her first child, India will once again rely on Pujara to set up the tests.
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McGrath believes that the lack of game time and the feeling of hitting for a long time could “have a big impact” on Pujara and predicted he may have to work harder for his careers than in 2018-19. Pujara is one of two players on the current test team who has not played any competitive cricket for over 10 months thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pujara last participated in the Ranji Trophy final in March and since then has had to rely on training sessions with his Saurashtra state team at home in Rajkot. In November, he began training in Dubai with Hanuma Vihari, the other test specialist, even as the rest of the team was involved in the final stages of IPL 2020.
“What he did so well last time was he took the crease. He spent time in the middle just hitting,” McGrath said. “He’s kind of a hitter who doesn’t feel pressure when he doesn’t score runs. That’s unique in the modern era, where there are hitters who would want to score runs after a maiden. Pujara doesn’t have that mindset. That helped him. Last time, he did. allowed to have a lot of time and only compile executions.
“The fact that he hasn’t spent time in the middle, he hasn’t had a lot of time hitting, is going to have a huge impact. He’s probably going to have to work harder in this series than in the last one, since he hasn’t. He played. any cricket. “
That said, McGrath believes that adapting to conditions shouldn’t be a challenge for today’s hitting lineup, unlike in the past, where they struggled to adapt to pace and rebound, because surfaces have changed in character over the years.
“In the early days, the Indian hitters weren’t used to the extra pace and rebound that Australian grounds had,” he said. “You wouldn’t say there was real fear, but it wasn’t something they were used to. The fear factor was more about pace and bounce. I don’t think Australian terrains have the same pace and bounce. But it’s still faster than in India. The victory in the last series will give them a lot of confidence. “
Unlike the general vibe in Australia around Kohli’s absence, at least among the broadcasters and some former players, McGrath believes this is an opportunity for the rest of India’s hitters to take ownership of his lineup.
“That first test is going to be interesting,” he said. “That’s a day-night event. India hasn’t played a day-night event in Australia. At night, with the sun setting, it will probably start to favor fast players. It will be a matter of time when you go bowling. o Virat, if he has to make an impact on the series, he will have to make an impact on the one event he is playing. That will set the tone. Two years ago, the first test win in Adelaide gave them a lot of confidence.
“As far as other hitters are concerned, Rohit Sharma is a quality hitter who hasn’t accomplished at the test level what he should be achieving. Maybe when Virat goes home, he could step up and show what he can. do. You can. Don’t just focus on one player. You have Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, KL Rahul. India has a strong batting lineup.
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