Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has put his weight behind India to qualify for their third straight World Test Championship final after managing a draw against Australia at the Brisbane Test. If India manages to win the next two Test matches against Australia at Melbourne and Sydney, they will not only qualify for the WTC final but also will retain the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
India was in a shoo-in position to qualify for their third consecutive WTC final but the home series loss against New Zealand has hampered their chances
“India can definitely reach the WTC final. Of course, you need to win the series. The series cannot end in a draw. We will be out if the series ends in a draw. You had the chance of two wins and a draw before Gabba but since this game ended as a draw, you need to win the next two games,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel.
The renowned commentator said it would be magical if India wins the next two Test matches against the Aussies.
“You will be able to leave here after winning the series 3-1. That would be absolutely miraculous because no one expected us to win in Perth but we won there. We didn’t perform well in the pink-ball Test match in Adelaide. We collapsed there but we somehow held on to a draw in Gabba,” he observed.
The former Delhi opener highlighted that Melbourne and Sydney are two Australian venues which will favor the Indian team. India has won their last two Test matches at the MCG on 2018-19 and 2020-21 tour.
“Rain did help us slightly there (in Brisbane) but Melbourne and Sydney are two grounds that favor us. Previously we used to go to the easier venues at the start and there they (Australia) used to fall behind in the series, but this time Australia said they would start from Perth and then go to Gabba, even though there is forecast of rain there in the first three weeks of December,” he said.
“They hosted the match early there with the thinking that they would reach Melbourne 3-0 and would have already won the series. However, nothing like that happened. So there are full expectations. I feel it is still possible,” Chopra added.
The fourth Test match between India and Australia will be played at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from 26th December.
