Rohit Sharma, the captain of Team India, said that after crushing Australia by innings and 132 runs in the first Test in Nagpur, the home team would not take anything for granted. Although he noted that they will be ready for the task, he predicted that the Australians would mount a powerful comeback.
On February 11, the first Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test saw India defeat Australia in three days. Australia’s second innings only lasted 32.3 overs after India scored 400 in their first innings before they were bowled out for 91.
When India was skittled out for 36 in their second innings of the first Test in Adelaide, they had a somewhat similar beginning to the 2020–21 series in Australia. However, the visitors heroically fought back to win the series.
“Australia love playing Test cricket” – Rohit Sharma
At the press conference following the game, Rohit Sharma responded to the question of if India anticipated the Australians to mount a similar comeback:
“Good one. Australia is always a good team. The good thing about this team is we don’t think about what has happened in the past. It’s important to stay in the present. Lot of the guys who played in that series are not here for Australia. For us as well, a few guys are missing.”
“Australia love playing Test cricket. They pride themselves in coming out and representing their country. We are quite aware of them bouncing back. We are pretty much aware of what they can do as a team. By no means are we ruling them out. We want to play the cricket that we played in this game.”
Only four Australians reached double digits in their second innings, as off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin from India took 5/37.
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