The Indian men’s cricket team is gearing up for a challenging Test season that begins later this month. India will first host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series, followed by a three-match Test series against New Zealand. The season will culminate with a five-match tour of Australia, where India will aim to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, a title they have successfully defended four times in a row. This includes two historic wins in Australia under different circumstances, which has only intensified the rivalry between the two cricketing powerhouses.
Usman Khawaja who is set to open the innings for Australia spoke highly of the ongoing competition between the two teams. He said, “We’re world number one, world number two teams really over the last two years. We were there at the last World Test Championship together. The rivalry has always been huge.”
The series is set to start on November 22. Khawaja sees the fierce competition as a sign of respect and a testament to Australia’s strength. Usman Khawaja said, “I take it as a sign of respect and I know it that Indians love beating Australia in any sort of form of cricket. And the tradition that Australia has had over so many years as being one of the dominating teams in world cricket has staked that reputation. I think, yeah, for Indians it’s always been the case to beat Australia.”
Khawaja also noted that India’s rise as a cricketing superpower and their consistent performances across the formats have fueled Australia’s determination to defeat them. India made history by becoming the first Asian team to win a Test series in Australia during the 2018/19 series and repeated this feat in 2021/22, despite facing numerous injuries and player unavailability.
Usman Khawaja added, “And more recently, you know, since the rise of India and IPL and everything else that happened, it’s the same way with Australia against India. And particularly since India’s beaten Australia in Australia the last two times they’ve come out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It just means a little bit more.”
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Usman Khawaja is absolutely correct, Indians love to beat Australia in all the formats, what do you say?