Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar confidently said that India will win their upcoming Test series against South Africa and start off 2024 on a grand note. India have lost seven out of eight Test series on South African soil. It was only back in 2010 that India drew the series 1-1 under the leadership of MS Dhoni.
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Out of 23 Tests, India have won only four matches, losing 12, while seven games ended in draws. Gavaskar, in the meantime, said that India have the upper hand in the series because the South African batters aren’t in the best of form.
“I think they will because I think South Africa are not quite the same. Also, the South African batters aren’t quite in form and that gives India a terrific opportunity to win this game,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying to Star Sports before the opening Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion.
He also said that India are ahead of the Proteas in terms of experience. Gavaskar mentioned India would want to make the most of the experience that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma has in South Africa.
“Indian batters, on the other hand, have been in prime form in all the matches. If you’ve seen, they have got experience on their side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma playing here many times before. So, clearly, I think India will celebrate the New Year with a win,” he added.
In seven Tests on South African soil, Kohli has scored 719 runs at an average of 51.35 with two hundreds to his name. Kohli got this top score of 153 back in January 2018 in Centurion, although India lost the match by 135 runs. At the SuperSport Park, India have won one out of three Tests.