New Delhi, August 14 "
India great Ravi Shastri is tipping the side he had coached to continue their recent dominance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and defeat Australia in the eagerly-awaited upcoming series between the two Test nations.
India have won the last two Test series Down Under and have held onto the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy since Australia claimed a 2-0 series triumph on home soil at the start of 2015, as per the ICC.
While Australia gained some revenge over their rivals when they defeated India in the ICC World Test Championship final at The Oval last year, Shastri knows Pat Cummins' side will be keen to re-claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy when the two teams meet Down Under for a five-match series that commences in November.
Australia legend Ricky Ponting predicted a 3-1 series scoreline to his former side when speaking recently on The ICC Review and Shastri has taken his turn to have his say ahead of the crucial World Test Championship series.
While India won the most recent Test series in Australia 2-1 under the watchful coaching eye of Shastri, their batting struggled at various stages of the tour and none more so than when they were skittled for just 36 in the second innings of the pink-ball Test in Adelaide.
India will be reliant on their experienced top-order that includes skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli and Shastri believes their batters must fire if they want to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
"The Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia over five Test matches is going to be a humdinger. India has beaten Australia twice on the last two tours and Australia has not got a hand on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in almost a decade and that's the reason why everyone will be waiting for these two heavyweights of Test match cricket over the last five to eight years to go head-to-head," Shastri said as quoted by ICC.
"It is going to be one heck of a series and India have every chance of making it a hat-trick because they've got their bowlers fit and if they can bat well, they can tickle (beat) Australia once again," the former India head coach added.