“It always feels like it’s 50-50” – Australian captain Pat Cummins looking forward to ‘fiercely competitive’ Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australian captain Pat Cummins is looking forward to the fiercely competitive Border-Gavaskar trophy against India. India has won the last two Test series while playing in Australia and the Rohit Sharma-led team will look to replicate the same success against the hosts.

Cummins feels it is always 50-50 against the Indian team and the series will be fought tooth and nail by the two cricketing powerhouses. The Australia captain is going to hold the key as a leader as well as the lead fast bowler of the team.

Meanwhile, Australia won the WTC 2021-23 final against India and they will look to make the most of their home conditions on this occasion.

Speaking to Star Sports, Cummins said, “The most recent Test match was, of course, the World Test Championship in neutral conditions, and we came out on top in that match. It’s always fiercely competitive, and it always feels like it’s 50-50. I’m 10 out of 10 excited for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.”

“The last two series here in Australia, we haven’t been successful, so it’s been a long time. Hopefully, it’s time to make amends. You know, we’ve played them plenty of times where they’ve beaten us, but we’ve also had plenty of wins against them as well, which we’ll draw confidence from,” he added.

On the other hand, Australian talismanic batter Steve Smith expects the upcoming series against India to be a great one. Smith will hold the key for the hosts and it will be interesting to note where he bats.

“It’s going to be a great series. You know, India have been playing outstanding cricket. We’ve been playing really good cricket the last couple of years. You know, we haven’t beaten India in the last two times they’ve come out here. Obviously got a terrific side, very well-balanced team, all bases covered.

“So, you know, they’ve played really good cricket out here. They’ve played good cricket when we’ve been over in India as well, where we know they’re very, very difficult to beat. So it’s going to be a big summer. It’s going to be an exciting one. And yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”

The opening Test match between India and Australia will be played at Perth from November 22 onwards.