India are all set to host Australia for a four-match series under the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The first Test match will be played in Nagpur and will start on 9 February. There is huge anticipation for the Test series with a spot in the World Test Championships Final up for grabs for India. Both teams will be looking to seal the series by a good margin in order to better their preparation.
Amid all the hype, former Australian men’s coach Darren Lehmann has suggested the spin bowling combination the team management should go with. Lehman has backed Ashton Agar to take the second spot alongside Nathan Lyon. The former Aussie coach expects Agar to do what Steve O’Keefe did during the 2017 Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“Having been there, I’m probably more inclined to play finger spinners,” Lehmann told SENQ Breakfast. “It just gets through the air quicker and some spin and some don’t. The leg spinners sometimes spin it too much, if that makes sense… (for finger spinners) some skid on and you get beaten on the inside and you get an LBW.
“That’s probably why they’re looking at a finger spinner. We certainly did that four years ago and Steve O’Keefe bowled India out basically on his own in one of the last Test matches to win there, that’s why I’d be looking at someone like an Agar, bat a little bit, bowl as that second spinner.”
Notably, Steve O’Keefe had played a crucial role for Australia during the 2017 tour. The left-arm orthodox had played a big role in Australia’s win in the first Test of the series, bagging 12 wickets in both innings of the Test match. On the back of this stunning performance from O'Keefe, Australia had defeated India by 333 runs.
