India and Australia resume their historic Test rivalry at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy slated to begin on the 22nd of November down under. The opening Test of the five-match series between the sides will be hosted at the Perth Stadium.
In the lead-up to the highly-anticipated series, Australian seamer Josh Hazlewood credited Indian skipper Rohit Sharma’s ability to negotiate the pacers well and emphasised the importance of the classy batter’s technique.
“I remember one time India came out, and he batted at five or six. Then last time, he opened. He’s always facing the new ball a lot, regardless of the format,” Hazlewood began.
Hazlewood opined that Rohit seems unfazed by the varying bounce and movement of the ball and plays the seamers with elegance.
“I feel like he plays the quicks unbelievably well. The bounce and movement don’t seem to bother him; he plays it right under his eyes and has all the time in the world,” the Aussie quick continued.
“I find him quite tough to bowl to,” he revealed.
He added that spinner Nathan Lyon has been able to negotiate with the Indian skipper with the ball in his hand and reiterated that getting the 37-year-old batter early in games could turn the tide of the fixture.
“I think ‘Gaza’ (Nathan Lyon) has had some good success against him, particularly in Australia, so it might be a case of getting him on early as well,” he concluded.
Team India are in the middle of a home series against Bangladesh with one of the two Tests left to play and the hosts holding a 1-0 series lead over the visitors following their emphatic win at MAC recently.
India registered a 280-run victory over Bangladesh as homeboy Ravichandran Ashwin starred with a ton in the first innings before returning with a five-wicket haul in the second innings to clinch the advantage over the touring side.
The second Test between India and Bangladesh is slated to get underway at the Green Park in Kanpur on the 27th of September as the hosts look to complete the whitewash of the visitors.
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