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Ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 between Australia and India, right-arm seamer Josh Hazelwood lauded the stalwart batter Virat Kohli and said he has performed exceedingly well in Australia in the past and also said that he will be crucial wicket for the hosts.
The first Test between India and Australia will kickstart from Friday at Perth's Optus Stadium. Both sides, placed at the top two spots of the ICC World Test Championship points tally will be aiming to make their chances for the final stronger. While India seeks to bounce back after a rare, but humiliating home setback against New Zealand, Australia would be aiming to avoid a hat-trick of series losses to India at home. "Not only Kohli, but our focus is on all the players. He has found a lot of success in the past and of course, will be a crucial wicket. But there are other guys also like a Rishabh Pant or a Jasprit Bumrah who can be equally good with their respective skills," Hazelwood said in the pre-match presser. After a disastrous home season with the bat against Bangladesh and New Zealand and underwhelming Test numbers over the years, which includes just two centuries, Virat would be making his fifth and one of his toughest tours to Australia. All the speculation around Virat's form, future in Test cricket and lack of centuries have not affected his hype in Australia as newspapers feature posters and attractive images/slogans highlighting the larger-than-life status the batter enjoys in Australia. Kohli has an impeccable Test record in Australian conditions, racking up 1352 runs across 25 innings at an impressive average of 54.08 with six hundreds to his name. He captained his side to a historic win in 2018/19, when India became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia. After the series opener in Perth on November 22, the second Test, featuring the day-night format, will take place under lights at Adelaide Oval from December 6 to 10. Fans will then turn their attention to The Gabba in Brisbane for the third Test from December 14 to 18. The traditional Boxing Day Test, scheduled from December 26 to 30 at Melbourne's iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground, will mark the series' penultimate stage. The fifth and final Test will be held at the Sydney Cricket Ground from January 3 to 7, promising an exciting climax to a highly anticipated series. India's squad for Border-Gavaskar Series: Rohit Sharma (c), Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammad Shami, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sarfaraz Khan, Virat Kohli, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar. Australia squad for the first Test: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Nathan McSweeney, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc. (ANI)
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