Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has stated his opinion on Team India leaning on spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to win the first Test in Nagpur comfortably in the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
India is the current Border-Gavaskar Trophy winner, having won the four-match series 2-1 in 2020-21. Even back then, after losing the first Test at the Adelaide Oval, India staged a comeback. Australia’s Test cricket record in India has been poor since they last won a series in 2004.
“I believe Ashwin will get the most wickets, but Jadeja will certainly get some. These two spinners are up to the task. They have a lot of left-handers, therefore Ashwin will most likely start with the new ball. “I believe India’s spinners will win the match tomorrow,” the 42-year-old declared in a video posted to his YouTube page.
On Day 1 of the first Test, the former spinner was immensely pleased by the Aswhin-Jadeja pair, and he noted that with such a confident start to the series, particularly by this tandem, it would be upon them to lead India home. In the first innings, the spin-twins shared 8 wickets, with Jadeja taking a magnificent fifer.
Moreover, Harbhajan reserved particular admiration for all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. In the first Test, the 34-year-old displayed his all-around abilities to perfection. Harbhajan Singh remarked that Jadeja’s performance has put forth a blueprint for how to play Test cricket.
“With the ball, he took five wickets. Yet the innings he pitched were spectacular. It wasn’t like Jadeja simply walked in and started pounding. He exhibited strong defence and a nice step over. He demonstrated the game of Test cricket,” he concluded.
