Pat Cummins has had the privilege of winning the Ashes, the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup as Australia captain; but a Test series win over India remains missing from his impressive CV, and the 31-year-old pacer wants to fill that void by beating India in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).
India will be in Australia for a five-match Test series, beginning in Perth on November 22, to defend the BGT.
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“It’s kind of the one big thing that I want to tick off,” Cummins told AAP at the launch of his book on Tuesday. “Particularly winning at home. Most Australians, me included, expect us to do well whenever we play at home.”
India have not lost the BGT in the last 10 years, which includes triumphs in their last two tours of Australia.
“We’ve lost the (last) two series against them (in Australia), so this is a big one. We feel like our team’s in a really good place, so we’ve got no reason why we shouldn’t perform really well. I just always expect us to do well against whoever we play. But India, particularly, is a big year, big season,” Cummins, who has played 62 Tests so far, said.
India’s preparations for the Australia tour have taken a hit with two consecutive Test defeats at home against New Zealand, who have taken a historic series-winning 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
India’s fancied batting line-up faltered badly in the two Tests, which further extended the lean run of batting icon Virat Kohli.
“I think any time a team’s under pressure, it’s not a bad thing if you’re playing against them. But they’ve been out here before and performed well. Our job is to try and keep them quiet, see how we go.”
The series is also part of the World Test Championship and will decide if India and Australia manage to retain their current respective first and second positions to qualify for the final.
Australia defeated India in the last WTC final to become Test world champions.