Pat Cummins, the captain of the Australian cricket team, stated before the third test match against South Africa that the pitch in Sydney has a “huge connection” to the conditions in India. He expressed his hope that the match would provide his team with ideal preparation for the upcoming red-ball series in India.
The current score in the three-match series between Australia and South Africa is 2-0, and a victory for Australia at the SCG will virtually guarantee them a berth in the World Test Championships Final, which will take place at the Oval in June.
In general, Australia has struggled while playing in conditions that are typical of the subcontinent, and a dry, spinning surface is anticipated at the SCG in light of the fact that they will be touring India in February.
On Tuesday, Pat Cummins stated to the press that this is “a significant tie to India.”
“Fast bowling and reverse swing are going to come into play, and it is something that we can anticipate in India. Probably get more spin overs here, and probably also our batters will encounter more spin here, thus this is a great excellent link.
“Even on a more personal level,” he added, “captaining here might be a little different to the most recent few Test matches.”
With 10 wins from a total of 14 tests, Australia is comfortably perched atop the WTC points table at the moment.
Pat Cummins and company will play India, who are now in second place with eight victories, in the final series before the final.
Before facing their fiercest opponents England in the Ashes series, Australia will compete in the World Tour Championship final in June.
Over the course of the past few years, it has been a significant factor in our success. My opinion is that if we were to face India in the final, say, in London, at a site that was neutral, we would have a much better chance of winning.
That is a Very Exciting Thing! After receiving a penalty of four points from the International Cricket Council (ICC) for being two overs down in the score during the 2020 Boxing Day Test, Australia was eliminated from contention for a final slot in the WTC, which was ultimately awarded to New Zealand.
“It was still a new concept, so even things like overs rates – it wasn’t really spoken about as much as possibly the importance that we think about it now,” the Australian speed spearhead explained.
“I think we were down to nine minutes down at one stage (in a recent Test), so we simply made sure that we had Travis Head or ‘Smithy’ (Steve Smith, two part-time spin bowlers) as an alternative and we bounced back practically inside a couple of overs.
“Having barely missed out on making it to the World Test Championship final during the previous cycle, it was always going to be a significant aim for me.” I believe that we have been playing exceptionally well, and we have put ourselves in the position to earn that slot early, which is a significant motivator for us.
It is always great to play an Ashes series in England, but adding in a World Test Championship final is a huge bonus.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy will get with its first match on February 9 in Nagpur. The locations of the next three Test matches will alternate between Delhi, Dharamsala, and Ahmedabad.
India
