“We are a side [that] will thrash you in this series”, Sunil Gavaskar makes a huge prediction on the BGT 2024/25

Indian Cricket Team won the first match of the five-match Test series against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25 by a comprehensive margin of 295 runs. At the start of the series, everyone was downplaying India and terming the Aussies as favourites given that India were coming on the back of a 3-0 whitewash suffered at home against New Zealand. However, India came back strongly after being dismissed for 150 runs batting first in the first innings.

Meanwhile, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar remarked that there was considerable discussion in the Australian media regarding the legality of the catch by Suryakumar Yadav during the T20 World Cup final. He questioned the basis on which Australians, from their own country, could doubt whether Suryakumar’s feet had touched the ground. Gavaskar implied that this skepticism fueled India’s motivation to perform exceptionally well in the series against Australia, suggesting that they aimed to prove their dominance in response to such doubts.

“Now remember that Suryakumar Yadav catch in the T20 World Cup final. There were so many things being written in the media in Australia which questioned the legality of that catch. How can you, sitting right here in Australia, question if Suryakumar’s feet touched the ground? That is why our team showed that we are a side [that] will thrash you in this series,” stated Gavaskar, as quoted by India Today.

Sunil Gavaskar feels that India always comes up hard in Perth Test

Gavaskar pointed out a pattern where victories for the Indian cricket team in Perth follow controversies or criticism from the Australian media. He mentioned the 2007-08 series where a dispute between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds led to media backlash, which was then followed by India’s notable win in Perth. He draws a parallel to the current series, suggesting that once again, after facing criticism from the Australian media, India has emerged victorious in Perth.

“I remember India’s win at Perth in the 2007–08 series came right after that controversy between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds, which was followed by criticism from the Australian media. So that win in Perth, and the win this time (also in Perth), it shows that each time it’s the Australian media that goes against India,” he added.

India will now face Australia in the second Test match at the Adelaide Oval, which will be a Day/Night Test match with the Pink Ball. The last time around in the Pink Ball Test in Adelaide in BGT 2020-21, India were dismissed for 36 runs and registered their lowest total in a Test innings. The team needs to win four Test matches to have a chance of qualifying for the WTC final without depending on others.