Basit Ali Predicts India's Victory In Crucial Fourth Test In Melbourne
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali believes that India has the best chance to win the fourth Test in Melbourne. The ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy stands at 1-1, India winning the first Test in Perth while Australia bounces back in Adelaide. The third Test in Brisbane gets drawn as it was covered by dark clouds and was washed out due to rain. The remaining two Tests are crucial for both the teams in order to make their spot in the World Test Championship (WTC).
Basit Ali on his YouTube channel said,
"India will have the best chance to win in Melbourne. There can be two spinners in Melbourne and Sydney. Australia is concerned about the possibility of missing out on the WTC final if they lose in Melbourne. Australia's two matches against Sri Lanka won't be easy. If the batters make the same mistakes as in Brisbane and Adelaide, then India will be in trouble."
Ahead of the crucial Boxing Day Test, India included Tanush Kotian in the team to fill the spot of Ravichandran Ashwin after he announced his retirement from the international format.
In the press conference, the Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said that they wanted someone who could come here as soon as possible, and Tanush was the one who was ready, and he played here.
"Yeah, Tanush was here a month ago (for the Australia A series). And Kuldeep (Yadav), I don't think, has a visa (laughs). We wanted somebody who could get here as quickly as possible. Tanush was the one who was ready, and he played here."
Further, he said that in the last two years Tanush has shown his performance in domestic cricket. The team needed a backup in case two spinners play in Sydney, so you need a backup option.
"Not that Tanush is not good enough. He has shown in the last two years what he has done in domestic cricket. We really just wanted a backup in case, you know, we need two spinners playing here or in Sydney; you need a backup option."