Former Pakistani batter Basit Ali, who has now donned the hat of an expert, has slammed star Australian spinner Nathan Lyon for his prediction for the 2024-25 edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India is set to travel to Australia later this year to take part in a five-match Test series. The series opener is scheduled to take place in Perth on November 22, after which the action will move to Adelaide, where both teams will face each other in a day-night Test. The last three matches are scheduled to take place in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney, respectively.
During a recent interaction with Alyssa Healy and Brad Haddin on Willow Talk’s YouTube channel, Lyon made a prediction for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and said Baggy Greens will win the series 5-0. Lyon’s bold prediction for the marquee series didn’t go down well with Basit, who described the Aussie bowler’s bold claim as ‘stupid’ on his YouTube channel.
“I will only say one thing about Nathan Lyon’s stupid statement that Australia will defeat India by six Tests, but only by words,” he said.
https://youtu.be/Mvot_DBgnic? si=6Hzxr_YMPHzbzDcz
Slamming Lyon’s overconfidence, Basit even urged India’s premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin to reply to the Aussie’s sharp words. “In the past two series, India has dominated Australia. Such comments don’t suit cricketers. Ricky Ponting or former cricketers can make such statements. I request Ashwin to reply back and say that India will defeat Australia by 5-0,” Basit said.
https://youtu.be/Mvot_DBgnic? si=6Hzxr_YMPHzbzDcz
Lyon, who is the all-time leading wicket-taker in World Test Championship history, during his interview on the Willow Talk podcast said, “It’s been ten years since we have won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. I started thinking about this series when England were over in India, watching them go about it. I love the game, and I will watch a decent Test match, but I have eyes on this series for a long time now.”
Australia hasn’t won a Test series against India since the 2014-15 series. In the last two tours of Australia, India has managed to get the better of 2023 World Test Championship winners by a margin of 2-1.
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