India and Australia will face each other in the first Test of the four-match Test series beginning on February 9. The Australian cricket team has failed to win a single Test series against the men in blue on Indian soil for the last 19 years. Moreover, Team India defeated the Aussies in the previous three editions of the Border-Gavaskar series. Ahead of the series, the Australian skipper Pat Cummins has expressed his unit doesn't carry the baggage of victories and defeats of his predecessors.
"No, this team is very different from a lot of the teams that have played here in the past. So we don't carry the wins, we don't carry the losses," Cummins said.
"We know it's tough to tour here, India are a really good cricket side, especially at home, so we are excited. And, yeah, we will give it our best shot," he added.
Cummins also explained the importance of a good first-innings score.
"Yeah, I think it's more important here than anywhere else in the world, that first-innings lead, hopefully. You just got to find a way to put a big total on the board, especially thinking if it is going to spin, it's going to get really hard in that second innings."
Cummins didn't want to predict a first-innings score.
"You have got to bat big in the first innings. It might not be the same for every venue. At some, 250 might be a good score, there might be other venues where you might need 500. Reading the wicket can be a bit difficult at times but you have to be ready for everything."
Cummins spoke about Nathan Lyon's role during the series.
"Nathan's going to be right up there with our most important bowlers for this series. He's got to bowl lots of overs, he's got the experience here. He's up for the challenge, he can't wait. He's been working with a lot of the other spin bowlers that are over here as well. He will lead our attack this series."
What was the result of the previous three editions?
- 2016-17 (Played in India) - India won
- 2018-19 (Played in Australia) - India won
- 2020-21 (Played in Australia) - India won
