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India vs Australia: ‘They are playing in their own backyard,’ Kapil Dev says Tim Paine & co. ‘have the edge’ in Adelaide Test
India vs Australia: But the 1983-World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev believes that India seamers still lack experience of bowling on Australian pitches which would be a huge factor in deciding the contest.
Former India captain Kapil Dev believes that the hosts Australia will have an edge over the Virat Kohli-led Indian team in the upcoming pink-ball Test in Adelaide which begins this Thursday. India will be missing pacer Ishant Sharma, despite having the likes of Jasprti Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the playing XI. Umesh Yadav has pipped Navdeep Saini to be the 3rd pacer in the team in the Day/Night affair and he could really use the conditions to his advantage.
But the 1983-World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev believes that India seamers still lack experience of bowling on Australian pitches which would be a huge factor in deciding the contest.
Also read: Can ‘King of Adelaide’ Kohli get over ‘first Test’ jinx to resurrect 2020?
“Our fast bowlers are not that used to bowling on Australian pitches. Sometimes they may get carried away when they see a little bit of bounce and start bowling short. It’s very important to understand their pace and back their strengths,” Kapil said during a virtual session hosted by the Indian Chamber of Commerce.
“We may have a very good pace bowling attack at this stage, but they (Australians) know the conditions better than our fast bowlers,” he added.
“Definitely Australia have the edge. They are playing in their backyard. If India were playing a pink ball Test in India, I would say 80 per cent our chances. But Australia have played so many (pink ball) Tests and they understand the conditions better under the floodlights,” he further said.
Meanwhile, Kapil picked his India debut in 1978 as the biggest moment of his career, ahead of the country’s 1983 World Cup win under his captaincy.
“The biggest ever moment happened for myself was the day I played for India. I would call it 1000 times bigger than winning the World Cup because representing your country was always a dream. I still cherish the moment and feel so proud,” he signed off.
(With PTI inputs)
