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IND vs AUS: Australia will smoke India 4-0 in Tests, predicts Michael Clarke

WION Web Team
New Delhi, IndiaUpdated: Nov 24, 2020, 02:37 PM IST
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A file photo Photograph:(Zee News Network)

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Former Australian captain Michael Clarke feels Australia will defeat India 4-0 in the Test series if the Men in Blue fail in the white-ball series. According to Clarke, Indian captain Virat Kohli has to set the momentum in the ODIs and T20Is or else India will fail to win even a single Test Down Under. 

India are set to take on Australia in three ODIs, as many T20Is and four Test matches in what promises to be a blockbuster series. With the first ODI taking place in Sydney on Friday, the anticipation and hype around the series are unparalleled. Former Australian captain Michael Clarke feels Australia will defeat India 4-0 in the Test series if the Men in Blue fail in the white-ball series.

According to Clarke, Indian captain Virat Kohli has to set the momentum in the ODIs and T20Is or else India will fail to win even a single Test Down Under. 

“These one-dayers and these Twenty20s is where Virat Kohli can really stand up and lead from the front. I think the tone he sets with this team will play a big role when he leaves, after the first Test match,” Clarke said on ‘Sky Sports Radio’ on Tuesday.

“If India don‘t have success in the one-dayers and the T20s, they are in deep trouble in the Test matches and they’ll get smoked 4-0, in my opinion,” he added.

Clarke further said that Indian pacers, especially Jasprit Bumrah, will need to be aggressive against the Australian batsmen while using the short deliveries consistently. 

“He‘s quick, he’s got a really different action, so I think he needs to set the tone and be really aggressive to the Australian batters. Even to someone like Steve Smith, he’s got to use that short ball consistently and regularly, as Jofra Archer did to Steve Smith in the Ashes,” Clarke further said.

“They’ve got to take the Aussies on and those two players are India’s best two players to be aggressive to the Australians,” he signed off.

With Rohit Sharma and Ishant Sharma likely to be out of the first two Tests and Virat Kohli leaving after the opening Test in Adelaide, it would be interesting to see how Team India faces the might of Australia on their home soil.