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Would India have been able to compete with Australia if they had Smith, Warner, Bancroft, Pattinson?

I would have preferred had we won with Smith and Warner in the side.

However, lets not kid ourselves. Many many asian sides have gone to Australia ravaged by the WSC in late 70s, and then later weaker teams in the 80s, and have come back with nothing. Winning against any Australian side in Australia is an achievement.

If we really started looking into these excuses, then one can find such excuses for ever victory or loss.
India lost in England due to loss of Bhuvi. Australia drew in England due to Anderson's absence. Who knows how many if Australia's wins were due to sandpaper.

Also, people using excuses to discredit Pakistan's #1 in T20I are also ridiculous. Pakistan may not have been the greatest T20I team, however maintaining #1 for 2 years in no mean feat. They can only beat whatever team is put to them. And they did that.

A win is a win, and lets respect that. I hope India win again in Australia next year, putting this whole discussion to bed.
 
We should know the answer by the end of NZ tour. They need to win atleast one Test match over there.
 
geraltofrivia said:
lol.
aussies were saved by the rain from 1-3.

we didnt play at the gabba but what does it matter? not like pakistan wins anywhere in aus :P

we won in mcg and adelaide and pakistan has been losing there for years and will do so again next match.
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Gabba is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, apart from sharma, dont see any of your boys surviving at the gabba, especially not king kohli or your aussie hero pujara. Sharma didnt even play last time, i think?
In recent times, your record in australia has been better than ours, but that because theres no swing in australia due to the pitches and kookaburra ball, which is both the aussies and your guys weakness!
Its the reason why we do better in england than you guys. We are quite good with.swing and seam, but poor with high bounce.
 
Captain caveman said:
Gabba is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, apart from sharma, dont see any of your boys surviving at the gabba, especially not king kohli or your aussie hero pujara. Sharma didnt even play last time, i think?
In recent times, your record in australia has been better than ours, but that because theres no swing in australia due to the pitches and kookaburra ball, which is both the aussies and your guys weakness!
Its the reason why we do better in england than you guys. We are quite good with.swing and seam, but poor with high bounce.
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I have seen many Indians say that Rohit sharma is absolutely pathetic if the pitch is not flat, especially when the ball is moving, he is like a sitting duck. I have seen many aussie comments on fox cricket talking about why india refused to play in Gabba and day/night test match, obviously they might not be completely correct but they do have some good points
 
Captain caveman said:
Gabba is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, apart from sharma, dont see any of your boys surviving at the gabba, especially not king kohli or your aussie hero pujara. Sharma didnt even play last time, i think?
In recent times, your record in australia has been better than ours, but that because theres no swing in australia due to the pitches and kookaburra ball, which is both the aussies and your guys weakness!
Its the reason why we do better in england than you guys. We are quite good with.swing and seam, but poor with high bounce.
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Gabba bouncier then Perth? What are you smoking?

Stop making excuses. Even at Gabba we would have won or worst drawn against the Aussies.
 
Captain caveman said:
Gabba is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, apart from sharma, dont see any of your boys surviving at the gabba, especially not king kohli or your aussie hero pujara. Sharma didnt even play last time, i think?
In recent times, your record in australia has been better than ours, but that because theres no swing in australia due to the pitches and kookaburra ball, which is both the aussies and your guys weakness!
Its the reason why we do better in england than you guys. We are quite good with.swing and seam, but poor with high bounce.
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Kohli and Rahane are one the best when it comes to handling bounce. What are you talking about?

They can handle Perth but not Gabba? :facepalm:
 
Sidilicious said:
Gabba bouncier then Perth? What are you smoking?

Stop making excuses. Even at Gabba we would have won or worst drawn against the Aussies.
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They are making up their own facts to arrive at their own conclusions. :))
 
Lol. So Ganguly must have been a great player of bounce since he scored a 100 at Gabba.
 
It's astonishing how everyone tries to discredit india's wins. I think people should accept that India is the best test team in the world today and infact for last few years.

1. Nobody can beat them at their home.
2. India is the best touring side in this era.
3. They won in Aus vs Aus. Aus chose their best possible team.

No team can be the best based on two players. India deserved every single praise for their performance. So I don't consider it a debate. The way India are playing right now I don't think Smith and Warner would have mattered that much but yes they would have put a better fight and could have at least drawn the series. But there are too much ifs and buts there. So overall things is india did something no Asian did ever in history. That's a HARSH truth, perhaps the reason why everyone is trying to discredit them.
 
Sidilicious said:
I would have preferred had we won with Smith and Warner in the side.

However, lets not kid ourselves. Many many asian sides have gone to Australia ravaged by the WSC in late 70s, and then later weaker teams in the 80s, and have come back with nothing. Winning against any Australian side in Australia is an achievement.

If we really started looking into these excuses, then one can find such excuses for ever victory or loss.
India lost in England due to loss of Bhuvi. Australia drew in England due to Anderson's absence. Who knows how many if Australia's wins were due to sandpaper.

Also, people using excuses to discredit Pakistan's #1 in T20I are also ridiculous. Pakistan may not have been the greatest T20I team, however maintaining #1 for 2 years in no mean feat. They can only beat whatever team is put to them. And they did that.

A win is a win, and lets respect that. I hope India win again in Australia next year, putting this whole discussion to bed.
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Very sensible!
People like you are an inspiration, with your unbiased honesty.

Unfortunately, people like you also take all the pleasure out of these type of forums!
 
B_Positive said:
It's astonishing how everyone tries to discredit india's wins. I think people should accept that India is the best test team in the world today and infact for last few years.

1. Nobody can beat them at their home.
2. India is the best touring side in this era.
3. They won in Aus vs Aus. Aus chose their best possible team.

No team can be the best based on two players. India deserved every single praise for their performance. So I don't consider it a debate. The way India are playing right now I don't think Smith and Warner would have mattered that much but yes they would have put a better fight and could have at least drawn the series. But there are too much ifs and buts there. So overall things is india did something no Asian did ever in history. That's a HARSH truth, perhaps the reason why everyone is trying to discredit them.
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The reason some people discredit India's aus test series win not just aus missing their best players but also india's recent record against other sena teams too, lost their last test series in New Zealand, South Africa and England. Not to forget in England where Pakistan have drawn the series not once but twice recently, India got smashed 4-1. I think these are reasonable points.
 
Shoaib88 said:
The reason some people discredit India's aus test series win not just aus missing their best players but also india's recent record against other sena teams too, lost their last test series in New Zealand, South Africa and England. Not to forget in England where Pakistan have drawn the series not once but twice recently, India got smashed 4-1. I think these are reasonable points.
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no they are not reasonable points because they are different countries. and why just selecting england. why not sa where pakistan where whitewashed in their last two series. nz where pak was whitewashed last series?

it's just sour grapes. india won in aus and pakistan are on their way to a 5th straight whitewash in aus, no match even drawn. this hurts a lot of people sot hey are coming up with all sorts of random excuses. lol. i am enjoying watching pakistan getting smashed during the day then watching india doing the smashing later on in the day. these days are so common nowadays.
 
geraltofrivia said:
no they are not reasonable points because they are different countries. and why just selecting england. why not sa where pakistan where whitewashed in their last two series. nz where pak was whitewashed last series?

it's just sour grapes. india won in aus and pakistan are on their way to a 5th straight whitewash in aus, no match even drawn. this hurts a lot of people sot hey are coming up with all sorts of random excuses. lol. i am enjoying watching pakistan getting smashed during the day then watching india doing the smashing later on in the day. these days are so common nowadays.
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Umm, I clearly did mention all 3 countries- South Africa, New Zealand and England, not just england. Maybe even you dont know that India have lost their last test series in all 3 of these countries.
 
And just to add, Unlike you, I actually enjoy asian countries smashing SENA countries in their home. Yes, that includes India smashing the Australian team last test series.
 
Shoaib88 said:
Umm, I clearly did mention all 3 countries- South Africa, New Zealand and England, not just england. Maybe even you dont know that India have lost their last test series in all 3 of these countries.
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yeah but india WON in aus.
 
Shoaib88 said:
The reason some people discredit India's aus test series win not just aus missing their best players but also india's recent record against other sena teams too, lost their last test series in New Zealand, South Africa and England. Not to forget in England where Pakistan have drawn the series not once but twice recently, India got smashed 4-1. I think these are reasonable points.
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India last toured NZ in 2013. Things have changed a lot now. India won tests in SA and England. More importantly they competed so well. Pakistan except for that England draw has been just getting whitewashed everywhere. And to top with that is the home form. And if on the other hand when India won something in Australia, we discredit them. Don't think it's fair.
 
Captain caveman said:
Gabba is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, apart from sharma, dont see any of your boys surviving at the gabba, especially not king kohli or your aussie hero pujara. Sharma didnt even play last time, i think?
In recent times, your record in australia has been better than ours, but that because theres no swing in australia due to the pitches and kookaburra ball, which is both the aussies and your guys weakness!
Its the reason why we do better in england than you guys. We are quite good with.swing and seam, but poor with high bounce.
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rofl. I live in Brisbane. Perthis far bouncer. India is better on bouncy pitches. Always have been. Pak is better in swing friendly pitches or England.
 
tyron_woodley said:
then Aus 2004 win away should never be rated as well.
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I don't know too many details of that or the greater context.

When I say this win will never be rated, it's still way above what the current sides like Pak and SL can do in Aus.

However, if we manage to beat a full strength Aus side then the IND win win have no meaning.
 
Hawkeye said:
I don't know too many details of that or the greater context.

When I say this win will never be rated, it's still way above what the current sides like Pak and SL can do in Aus.

However, if we manage to beat a full strength Aus side then the IND win win have no meaning.
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never happening. if they could, no one would undermine india's achievement. it's the knowledge they can't that makes pakistani fans so defensive and angry. sa fans don't give a damn about ind's win in aus.
 
geraltofrivia said:
never happening. if they could, no one would undermine india's achievement. it's the knowledge they can't that makes pakistani fans so defensive and angry. sa fans don't give a damn about ind's win in aus.
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india are more than capable of beating g a full strength aussie side in australia. india also played without Mayank and Shaw for the first 2 tests.

yes Shaw is very good and people will learn that soon enough.
 
Slog said:
India may have drawn at best
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india would have won the series of the last test wasn't rained out even with smith GOaT and warner home track hack.

otherwise probably a draw overall considering india dint have their best opening pair for the first 2 as well.
 
Srilanka also toured Australia after our tests.
This forum people were expecting Australia will lose to srilanka but respects are total different.
Do some good discussion instead of covering failures of your team.
 
Revolution said:
Srilanka also toured Australia after our tests.
This forum people were expecting Australia will lose to srilanka but respects are total different.
Do some good discussion instead of covering failures of your team.
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That sri lankan had just come from a thrashing received by New zealand in tests too, it was a team in transition phase. Although they battering they received in new zealand and australia served the better for them as they used they used the recent experience in these two countries to whitewash south africa in their own backyard and become the first asian team to win test series in South Africa!
 
B_Positive said:
It's astonishing how everyone tries to discredit india's wins. I think people should accept that India is the best test team in the world today and infact for last few years.

1. Nobody can beat them at their home.
2. India is the best touring side in this era.
3. They won in Aus vs Aus. Aus chose their best possible team.

No team can be the best based on two players. India deserved every single praise for their performance. So I don't consider it a debate. The way India are playing right now I don't think Smith and Warner would have mattered that much but yes they would have put a better fight and could have at least drawn the series. But there are too much ifs and buts there. So overall things is india did something no Asian did ever in history. That's a HARSH truth, perhaps the reason why everyone is trying to discredit them.
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Cannot accept the best test team if they haven't won in SA, NZ, ENG and only in AUS and that too against Australia C
 
Would have been, could have been, should have been threads are nothing but poor attempts to undermine achievements that are real. They are devoid of facts and rely on assumptions and hypotheses. But to each his own!
 
Bleedgreen4ever said:
Cannot accept the best test team if they haven't won in SA, NZ, ENG and only in AUS and that too against Australia C
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so, who is the best team?

There has to be a best. Simply one that is better than the rest, even if by a very slight margin.

And India has been that team for 3 years now
 
Sidilicious said:
so, who is the best team?

There has to be a best. Simply one that is better than the rest, even if by a very slight margin.

And India has been that team for 3 years now
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Be patient we will get our answers in Newzealand series.
 
When was the last time Pak beat any Aus team in test in Australia ? Seems like 3 decades possibly ?
 
Captain caveman said:
Very sensible!
People like you are an inspiration, with your unbiased honesty.

Unfortunately, people like you also take all the pleasure out of these type of forums!
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Shoaib88 said:
The reason some people discredit India's aus test series win not just aus missing their best players but also india's recent record against other sena teams too, lost their last test series in New Zealand, South Africa and England. Not to forget in England where Pakistan have drawn the series not once but twice recently, India got smashed 4-1. I think these are reasonable points.
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B_Positive said:
India last toured NZ in 2013. Things have changed a lot now. India won tests in SA and England. More importantly they competed so well. Pakistan except for that England draw has been just getting whitewashed everywhere. And to top with that is the home form. And if on the other hand when India won something in Australia, we discredit them. Don't think it's fair.
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Hawkeye said:
No.

They got lucky. This win will never be rated.
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If india's win in australia isnt good enough to be rated then following series wins/draws should also not be rated:

1.Ashesh 2005,Mcgrath foot injury.So next time no credit should be given to eng bcoz they won against a weakened side and that too at home.

2.Pakistan series draw vs great windies in 1987-88,the one test pakistan won in that series was when viv richards(GOAT),malcomm marshall(GOAT),gordon greenidge didnt play.

3.Aus 's victory in ind 2004,they won only those tests in which both sachin and harbhajan werent playing.

If you do not rate all these victories/draws then its ok to not rate india's victory in aus too.
 
jeeteshssaxena said:
If india's win in australia isnt good enough to be rated then following series wins/draws should also not be rated:

1.Ashesh 2005,Mcgrath foot injury.So next time no credit should be given to eng bcoz they won against a weakened side and that too at home.

2.Pakistan series draw vs great windies in 1987-88,the one test pakistan won in that series was when viv richards(GOAT),malcomm marshall(GOAT),gordon greenidge didnt play.

3.Aus 's victory in ind 2004,they won only those tests in which both sachin and harbhajan werent playing.

If you do not rate all these victories/draws then its ok to not rate india's victory in aus too.
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Yes I actually don't rate those victories either because they didn't play a full-strength team.
 
Request to fellow Indians: Don't get worked up when some posters' attempt to discredit Indian test victories. India's test team is doing way better than any other team in the world. Their greatness doesn't require any validation from random people on the internet. By participating in this silly discussion of ifs and buts, you guys are feeding them to troll more.
 
ChennaiFan said:
Request to fellow Indians: Don't get worked up when some posters' attempt to discredit Indian test victories. India's test team is doing way better than any other team in the world. Their greatness doesn't require any validation from random people on the internet. By participating in this silly discussion of ifs and buts, you guys are feeding them to troll more.
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Well said. No need to feed trolls...
 
What matters most is how much do we believe in our team and to a slightly lesser extent, our no.1 ranking. No need to seek validation from nobodies.
 
No India is not great team . They have been lucky every time for last 19 years with their fluke win percentage in flat tracks :moyo2:moyo2
 
I don't think people recognize how good Smith is. In his last 8 tests against India he has scored 7! hundreds at an average of 98. I cannot see India beating Australia with him
 
MP2011 said:
What matters most is how much do we believe in our team and to a slightly lesser extent, our no.1 ranking. No need to seek validation from nobodies.
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true. But for comparison sake, australia beat india at their home 2 -0 in a 4 test series back in 2014. India had a far inferior bowling attack at the time when ishant was scrawny and underdeveloped. Had an average of 43.
shami was raw and was playing through an injury. varun aaron was in the squad and picked over better players purely cause of his pace. Opener were mediocre like dhawan. karn sharma played and india only had 4 bowlers in the team. Rahul also played 2 of the games.

Aussies had 6; hazelwood, harris, Johnson, marsh, Lyon, Watson.

india is far stronger now. current team would beat that 2014 aussie team away and obviously crush them at home as usual.

India are more than capable of beating the current Aussie side who are a solid team themselves but not invincible.
 
therealAB said:
I don't think people recognize how good Smith is. In his last 8 tests against India he has scored 7! hundreds at an average of 98. I cannot see India beating Australia with him
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you mean away I believe. At home australia will get crushed by india. No one is beating india in India.
 
therealAB said:
Yeah obviously, although Aus still have the best chance of getting a test due to him
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I think india needs to focus completely on the task at hand. one series at a time. first beat n.z in n.z. crush England at home like last time.
then worry about Aussies.
they are not invincible. India is far harder to beat away than Aussies. Indian bowling attack is phenomenal now.
batting is strong with the addition of vihari, Mayank and potentially Shaw.
keeper would be pant who can play bounce well.
Good chance for india to win away vs a full strength team of australia.
 
Yasir today showed that the Australian bowling is really not that lethal. It is possible to beat Australia in Australia.
 
Napa said:
Yasir today showed that the Australian bowling is really not that lethal. It is possible to beat Australia in Australia.
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I think they key is to survive the new ball like Pujara did and grind them down. And when they bowl loose deliveries then punish them as the kookaburra ball does go soft.

But regardless it’s tough to win in Australia even when they are weakened they still put up a hell of a fight. If you look at the series during the packer era Australia still was very strong at home.

So India’s achievement should not be underplayed still one hell of a performance by the Indian side. Next year should be good with a full firing India vs a full and firing Aus! Could go either way the series.
 
Man, they have made Mitchell Starc into a god :starc.

Jadeja and Pant were smashing him around like a club bowler.
 
AamchiMumbaikar said:
Starc was useless against us, Pak are making him look like Waqar in peak :facepalm:
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Not saying that he's great, but he has bowled exceptionally well here and the commentators were discussing he's made some changes to his action, etc. He had a relatively poor record against Pakistan as well, before this series, so maybe something has changed.

Or maybe we just brought another guy back into form.... we're experts at it.
 
Napa said:
Yasir today showed that the Australian bowling is really not that lethal. It is possible to beat Australia in Australia.
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Yasir showed nothing. He survived 5 chances and Australia started strolling around after Pakistan were 6 down. Once they turned the switch on again, it was the same as usual.
 
The Labushane India olayed wasn't the same Labushane Pakistan is playing.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
The Labushane India olayed wasn't the same Labushane Pakistan is playing.
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Labu is being overrated.
Even Renshaw scored 170 against us last time. Where is he now?

We can only judge Labu when he plays overseas. He did alright in England but didn't score a hundred so wasn't THAT Impressive
 
Relic said:
Labu is being overrated.
Even Renshaw scored 170 against us last time. Where is he now?

We can only judge Labu when he plays overseas. He did alright in England but didn't score a hundred so wasn't THAT Impressive
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handscomb etc
 
At a similar stage in their career, Babar was averaging 27 with no hundreds while Marnus is averaging 53 with 2 tons, courtesy of 185 and 162 in back to back innings.

Though I'll say that he needs to play a match defining innings in India to truly announce his arrival in test cricket.
 
freelance_cricketer said:
The Labushane India olayed wasn't the same Labushane Pakistan is playing.
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yea no. India made him look like that because India's bowling is the best inn the world.
We shall see Anyway. Next tour we will face all these boys again. Unlike azhar, kohli and co will dish out beautiful expletives and sledge back. Aussies are pansies. Once people stand up to them they they scared. lol.
 
Relic said:
Labu is being overrated.
Even Renshaw scored 170 against us last time. Where is he now?

We can only judge Labu when he plays overseas. He did alright in England but didn't score a hundred so wasn't THAT Impressive
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Why is he not impressive. He has an unique method of playing the off stump channel which is close to Smith's method. Also he handles short balls well. He plays with straight bat. He plays spin with utmost ease. Dare i say his on side shot against spin is similar to Indian players playing. He is mentally tough. He has the ingredients to do well all over the world.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
Why is he not impressive. He has an unique method of playing the off stump channel which is close to Smith's method. Also he handles short balls well. He plays with straight bat. He plays spin with utmost ease. Dare i say his on side shot against spin is similar to Indian players playing. He is mentally tough. He has the ingredients to do well all over the world.
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Of course he does but the sample size is too small.
He's played a lot of his matches at home hence this high average.
170 against this bowling attack frankly doesn't matter. It's obviously good but as I said before even Renshaw scored 170 and Burns scored 170 just recently.
Let him play against stronger teams then we'll judge
 
You cannot take the current series and compare it with how India would have done... Pakistan have struggled a lot more in Australia than India has. Similarly Pakistan has done amazing in England while India struggle there.
 
Relic said:
Of course he does but the sample size is too small.
He's played a lot of his matches at home hence this high average.
170 against this bowling attack frankly doesn't matter. It's obviously good but as I said before even Renshaw scored 170 and Burns scored 170 just recently.
Let him play against stronger teams then we'll judge
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I generally go by the technique, adaptability. Nt just by scores. There was a time Australia came up with a player named Greg Blewett. He was considered a better prospect than Ricky Ponting. But his game again spin looked dodgy. Infact it was horrible. Not that Punter's technique was very good at that point. But Blewett was one of the worst against spin. Predictably he failed. Even one major weakness completely undo your career if you don't know how to hide. So far from what I see Labu has a decent technique. No real major weaknesses. He sure can be stopped with clever fieldset and bowl to a plan. But you can do that to any batsman.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
I generally go by the technique, adaptability. Nt just by scores. There was a time Australia came up with a player named Greg Blewett. He was considered a better prospect than Ricky Ponting. But his game again spin looked dodgy. Infact it was horrible. Not that Punter's technique was very good at that point. But Blewett was one of the worst against spin. Predictably he failed. Even one major weakness completely undo your career if you don't know how to hide. So far from what I see Labu has a decent technique. No real major weaknesses. He sure can be stopped with clever fieldset and bowl to a plan. But you can do that to any batsman.
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labu has weakness vs spin. He struggled vs jadeja. Small sample size but he hasn't faced a true test yet. We shall see vs india in India. Dont get me wrong. He is indeed a good player. I like his style. He is gritty and seems to be a fighter.

warner, labu, smith is a good core.
burns is still suspect. wade is ok. still has weakness vs short ball.

Anyway labu he looks like Darren till from UFC. Guys you can look him up if u want to. Its weird.
Travis head is average and Paine is just trash.

Australian team is beatable at their home.
 
tyron_woodley said:
labu has weakness vs spin. He struggled vs jadeja. Small sample size but he hasn't faced a true test yet. We shall see vs india in India. Dont get me wrong. He is indeed a good player. I like his style. He is gritty and seems to be a fighter.

warner, labu, smith is a good core.
burns is still suspect. wade is ok. still has weakness vs short ball.

Anyway labu he looks like Darren till from UFC. Guys you can look him up if u want to. Its weird.
Travis head is average and Paine is just trash.

Australian team is beatable at their home.
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India trapped Labu by having a short mid-on at close range. An unusual spot. Rahane clung on to a low catch. He did look dogged during his short stay against quality bowling. I think he is here to stay. Compared to other Aussie new guys I have seen, he has a method to survive.
 
therealAB said:
Not necessarily required (ponting)
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you have to perform against india if you want to assert yourself as a GOAT batsman.
You have to perform against the best team in the world. No question about.

punter is not a GOAT level batsman for a reason. He is a GOAT odi player but no one cares about odi. Test cricket is real cricket.

That's why kalis is the real GOAT. He performed against the best team so his era. He performed vs Australia, India and Pakistan. England is the only place he struggled a little.
 
tyron_woodley said:
you have to perform against india if you want to assert yourself as a GOAT batsman.
You have to perform against the best team in the world. No question about.

punter is not a GOAT level batsman for a reason. He is a GOAT odi player but no one cares about odi. Test cricket is real cricket.

That's why kalis is the real GOAT. He performed against the best team so his era. He performed vs Australia, India and Pakistan. England is the only place he struggled a little.
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Actually Brian Lara has a poor record in India as well.
 
tyron_woodley said:
you have to perform against india if you want to assert yourself as a GOAT batsman.
You have to perform against the best team in the world. No question about.

punter is not a GOAT level batsman for a reason. He is a GOAT odi player but no one cares about odi. Test cricket is real cricket.

That's why kalis is the real GOAT. He performed against the best team so his era. He performed vs Australia, India and Pakistan. England is the only place he struggled a little.
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How is GOAT a singular term

Also he said to "announce arrival in test cricket". I feel that we can agree that Ponting had a successful career
 
therealAB said:
How is GOAT a singular term

Also he said to "announce arrival in test cricket". I feel that we can agree that Ponting had a successful career
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ponting did have a successful career and he is one of the best. Probably top 10 in test. There are several ahead of him as their performances vs top teams have been better overall.
 
tyron_woodley said:
ponting did have a successful career and he is one of the best. Probably top 10 in test. There are several ahead of him as their performances vs top teams have been better overall.
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Agree. Hence doesn't have to have a great innings in India to announce himself as a test cricketer
 
Virat Kohli will know that the 2018 Australia team was not best of this generation: Sourav Ganguly

India under Virat Kohli created history on their 2018-19 tour of Australia when they beat the home side 2-1 to launch their first-ever Test series victory Down Under. However, former India captain and current BCCI head Sourav Ganguly thinks that the team which Kohli's India defeated comprehensively wasn't the best team to come from Australia, possibly referring to the absence of 2 key players - Steve Smith and David Warner - from the side.

Smith and Warner were serving their respective banns handed out to them by Cricket Australia when India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last time. But India are scheduled to tour Australia again in late 2020 for a 4-Test series which will also feature the batting duo of Smith and Warner.

On his part, Ganguly admitted that he still expected India "to win in South Africa and England" but the Australian challenge in 2020 would be a bigger threat to overcome than what Kohli and Co. had to face the last time they went to those shores.

"They beat Australia in 2018. But I will still expect to win in South Africa and England. And I think, they are going back to Australia next year. That's going to be a bigger challenge and I am sure with the standards that Virat sets for himself and the others, he will know at the back of his mind that the 2018 Australia team was not the best Australian team of this generation. And what he is going to face next year, which is not very far away, is going to be a different Australia," Ganguly told India Today Consulting Editor Sports Boria Majumdar.

"The full-strength Australia are a strong Australia. They (India) have the team to beat them. They will just have to believe and get everything right to beat them. That's what I am looking for," added Ganguly.

"When I became a captain, one of our aims was to compete with the best. And I remember, 2003 in Australia against that Australia, we were outstanding. And this team has the potential to do it. They have proper fast bowlers, they have spinners, they have a champion in Virat Kohli as a batsman," said Ganguly.

Ganguly also said that despite winning a series in Australia, he would still like Virat Kohli's team to get past the hurdle of semi-finals at ICC tournaments. Under Kohli, India have now lost at the last-4 stages of both World T20 2016 and World Cup 2019 while losing the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy to Pakistan.

"As I said, it's a very strong team. But then you have to get past the semi-final. Like in this World Cup, they played so well but lost to New Zealand one day. This is something that they will have to address. At some stage, we will speak to Virat, Ravi (Shastri) and then the players. You need to find a way to get past that hurdle in the big game. Whether it's a mental hurdle or whatever, they will do that. I still expect them to win in England and South Africa in Test matches which they need to do to be a good side

On the issue of captaincy, Ganguly conceded that it is not prudent to "compare captains" across eras while revealing his admiration for the current captain Kohli.

"Very good (Kohli's captaincy). But I don't think you can judge captains because the teams were different, the strengths were different. I don't think you can compare captains of any era with the captains of other eras. He is a fantastic cricket, a fantastic person. Yes he may make mistakes, he may say something, everybody does.

"I believe, as a human being, you carry what you do off the field to the field. He is a very solid person off the field. A lot of things rest on his shoulders in India.

"When India travel to Australia, it won't be easy. It will not be as easy as in 2018. I don't know whether I will still be board president then but I will be looking forward to Virat beating this Australian team in 2020 when they get there after the T20 World Cup," concluded Ganguly.

https://www.indiatoday.in/sports/cr...australia-tour-inspiration-1632193-2019-12-28
 
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