Glenn Maxwell : Ashwin and Jadeja will command the Test series results in BGT 2024-25
Before the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25, one of the all-rounders of Australia, Glenn Maxwell felt that how the Indian spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will command results for the series of the Tests. The five-match Test series between India and Australia would begin from November 22; it would be the first of such a sequence since the 1991-92 season, when a five-match test series would take place. The spin duo for Maxwell spells out the difference, though: between victory for the coveted trophy.
Ashwin and Jadeja Master the Win For India in Cricket
In the last few years, Ashwin and Jadeja have been the bulwarks behind which India has achieved unparalleled success while playing test cricket at home. Test victories led by these two made India a side that no one wants to face in their matches.
Looking back at the battles he had to fight with the duo, Maxwell praised the constant run of dominating games. “I think that over a long period of time, having played against guys like Ashwin and Jadeja, those two seem to have always been the ones we’ve faced consistently, and the battles we’ve had with them have often dictated the outcome of the game,” Maxwell said while speaking to Star Sports.
More than their bowling, the impact of Ashwin and Jadeja transcends. Both the cricketers have appeared with marvelous batsmanship at times and delivered the required runs for India when it really mattered for their Test team.
Recent Form of Ashwin and Jadeja
The Indian spin duo has been in top form ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Ashwin and Jadeja were also crucial for India as it topped Bangladesh in its recent Test triumph at Chennai. He scored 113 while scoring a magnificent hundred and also took five wickets, whereas Jadeja scored 86 and took five wickets in two innings.
Such is the performance of these two that they alone are evidence of how both bat and ball change a game’s course; their form and confidence will prove to be critical in this series for India against Australia.
Max said Australia was underlined to counter the attacking duo. “If we play well against those two (Ashwin and Jadeja), we’ll generally find ourselves in a better position compared to when they’ve had a field day and run through us,” Maxwell said. “Those two guys have been there for most of my career, being of a similar age.”.
Jasprit Bumrah: The X-Factor
Apart from Ashwin and Jadeja, Maxwell feels another who can do the trick for India is the paceman, Jasprit Bumrah. Back after a long time off the field, Bumrah has already started making his presence felt from word go in international cricket. His five-wicket haul in the recent outing after India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup 2024 proves that he is back among the runs.
Maxwell remembered facing him when he was with Mumbai Indians for the first time in 2013. “I was there in his first year of the IPL in 2013 at Mumbai and pretty much faced him every day in the nets,” said Maxwell. “To see him evolve from a young, untapped talent to what he is now—the probably best bowler across all three formats—is a pretty amazing story.”
Bumrah, with his ability of both ways bowling and with death yorkers, is incidentally a potent weapon on every kind of conditions. With brilliant displays in earlier tours to Australia, Bumrah stands out in the line of the world’s best fast bowlers. He will not surprise if he again performs well in the series as well.
The Plan by Australia: How to Overcome the Spin and Pace
For Australia to win the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, though their batsmen have to counter the spin threat by India as well as the deadly pace of Bumrah on the tracks that spin nicely and render results, which Australian batsmen have always faced miserably in India in past decades, where Ashwin and Jadeja ruled the pitches spinning. Hence, Maxwell said BCCI won’t have much to worry as its duo’s pretty much determinant of Australia’s chances to take the series home.
Australians, under Pat Cummins, would have to prepare in advance to face the challenge of Ashwin and Jadeja. The issue of playing spin well, especially on turning tracks, will become a differentiating factor in this series that is serious. And Australia also needs to be careful of Bumrah’s fiery speed, especially in the second innings of Tests, when reverse swing may be the condition.
Conclusion
Scheduled for the top clash for supremacy, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 between India and Australia is on the horizon and boasts one hell of a contest. For India, Glenn Maxwell feels that there are two bright shining stars of spin and Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will play a decisive role in bringing the curtain down on the series. He recognizes that they have been highlight performers at their best with prevailing form and history against Australia.
This adds more complexity to Australia as they would have to face the issues of spin and pace to at least have some hope of winning. As the series progresses through its later stages, all eyes are set for it to see how Australia will handle these issues while going for Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
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