09 February,2023 09:21 AM IST | Mumbai | Debasish Datta
Sourav Ganguly
Former India captain Sourav Ganguly has predicted a series win for the hosts in the 2022-23 Border-Gavaskar Trophy considering the quality of spinners in their side and Australia missing two quick bowlers due to injury. The first Test match starts today in Nagpur.
"We will be playing on turners where it would be difficult for the Australian batsmen to handle our spinners. The Jamtha [Nagpur] and Kotla [Delhi] wickets will have some bounce. I expect our bowlers to cash in on this. With no Hardik [Pandya], I expect India to go in with three spinners and two pacers. Apart from the spinners, our seam attack is also quite handy," said Ganguly.
"Australia are also a good side and so the series will be very competitive. I am just tilting towards India considering the Australians will be without two quality seamers in [Mitchell] Starc and [Josh] Hazlewood," he added. Ganguly, who captained India to a historic series win in 2000-01 against Steve Waugh's invincible side, wants India to keep things simple throughout the series. "The formula is simple. If you win the toss, bat first and pile up a huge total. The visitors will find it difficult to face our bowling attack in the fourth innings," Ganguly remarked.
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With Test regulars Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer unavailable, a couple of spots are up for grabs and Ganguly, 50, was clear as to who he wants as replacements. "I would love to have Ishan Kishan and Shubman [Gill] in the playing XI as both play aggressively. If India have to win, Pujara will be the key. He has been a thorn for the visitors in the last few series. It's a great honour for him to be playing his 100th Test [in Delhi]. Not many India cricketers have reached that milestone," Ganguly signed off.
