Former Australian opener believes that Australia no longer has a 'home advantage', especially in floodlights
Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden believes Australia no longer have the home advantage they had in recent times and the runs they score in the upcoming five-match Test series will be invaluable.
Hayden also gave his opinion about the five different pitches (Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney) to be used in these Test matches during the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards ceremony. He said, "Three out of the five, i.e. Perth, Adelaide and Sydney will have drop-in pitches."
"The test match to be played in Adelaide will be a day-night match, as soon as the evening starts (twilight zone), the conditions will be very difficult for the batsmen. In these conditions, Australia's home advantage is getting reduced to a great extent. Suppose you are batting and you are 130-4 but in twilight your score can also be 150-8. Therefore, you cannot maintain your dominance in the match, it will keep happening like this throughout. Meaning, a different kind of cricket will be seen because now those traditional pitches are not there."
Australia have not only lost the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy but it has been 10 years since they won it. Not only this, their streak of not losing in Brisbane has been broken twice in the last three years. First they lost to India in 2021, after which West Indies also defeated them in January this year and the series was drawn 1-1.
The eight-run loss to the West Indies was also Australia's first loss in a Pink Ball Test. Before this, they had won 11 consecutive day-night Tests.
Hayden considers the upcoming Test series between India and Australia to be an 'amazing and historic' series but unlike his former captain Ponting, he is not naming any one team as a contender.
Hayden said, "You look at the line-up and it's really hard to tell who has the upper hand. I think it's the runs that will be the difference between the two teams. So staying at the crease is going to be the most important thing in this series and runs are going to be very 'premium'. The tournament is starting in Western Australia and ending in Eastern Australia, this scenario is somewhat unique. Get ready for a great series."
All eyes will be on two experienced players in this series - Virat Kohli and Steve Smith - both are currently the highest run scorers for their respective teams. Also, both of them score a lot of runs against each other. Kohli's average against Australia is 47.48, while in Australia it increases to 54.08. Whereas Smith scores even better runs against India at an average of 65.87.
Hayden said, "I'm sure those two players, who are in the final stages of their cricket careers, will be very keen to dominate this series. That's their nature: they've done it in very different ways. They'll obviously be the key to success for their teams."
"His strokeplay is superb. His ability, in particular, to hit over cover is unmatched. [But] there will be weaknesses. I'm looking forward to seeing how he adapts to bouncy pitches."
Matthew Hayden on Yashasvi Jaiswal
Australia has not captured the Border-Gavaskar since 2014-15. During this time, they have also lost two consecutive series at home. In 2020-21, India was trailing 0-1 and was all out for 36 runs in Adelaide, but after that the team won in Melbourne and created history in Brisbane. Along with this, they were also successful in drawing an unforgettable Test in Sydney.
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