Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Gilchrist, Jayawardene back Australia to win 2-1; Gavaskar, Shastri back India

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The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) has once again taken the cricket world by storm and former cricketers have rolled out their prediction ahead of the first Test which kicks off from February 9 in Nagpur. The pitch at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium has created panic in the camp of the visitors but rather surprisingly they have backed by many to win the series 2-1.

Notably, Australia haven't defeated India in India since 2004. India, who have defeated Australia twice in a row Down Under, are on a winning streak of 15 successive series wins at home. Since the start of 2011, India have won 39 and lost only four of their 51 Test matches at home. Regardless, former Australia cricketer and a few other greats of the game have backed Pat Cummins' men to reclaim the BGT. Here's what they have to say.

Australia to win

Adam Gilchrist

The former Australia wicketkeeper-batter, who was part of the touring side which defeated India back in 2004, has predicted that India will lose the series. He has predicted a 2-1 winning margin in favour of Australia and has backed opener Usman Khawaja to score the most runs. Pat Cummins could be the leading wicket-taker of the series according to the Australian great.

"I think they’ll do it (win the series). I really do. I think they’ve got a squad and final XI that will have a lot of similarities to the team we rolled with in 2004," Gilchrist told Fox Cricket.

Allan Border

Former Australia captain Allan Border has also predicted a 2-1 win for the vistors. He has backed in-form Steve Smith to score the most runs and clinch the Man of the Series award. The 67-year-old feels chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav will be the highest wicket-taker in the upcoming 4-Test series.

Mahela Jayawardene

Former Sri Lanka captain Mahela Jayawardene has predicted that the Aussies should walk away with the series 2-1.

“I think it's always going to be a great series. I think Indian conditions and how the Australian batsmen tackle that, they do have a really good bowling unit and how do the Indian batsmen tackle that … it depends on how each team starts the series and who's got that momentum. But it will be fascinating," he said.

“It's difficult to predict, but being a Sri Lankan, I’m hoping that Australia can go all the way. Probably a 2-1 win for Australia, but it's going to be a tough one.”

Notably, if India win the series by a 4-0, 3-0 or 3-1 margin, Sri Lanka would be eliminated from the World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final race.

Ian Smith

Ian Smith, the former New Zealand wicket-keeper and veteran broadcaster, has opined that India would manage to win only one match, giving away the series 3-1 in favour of the Australians. He has touted Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon to top the runs and wickets charts respectively.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy to end in a Stalemate

Michael Hussey

Former Australia batter Hussey predicted a 2-2 draw and tipped KL Rahul to score the maximum number of runs and Lyon to grab the most number of wickets.

Mark Waugh

Virat Kohli would be the leading run-scorer in the BGT 2023 according to former Australia opener Mark Waugh. However, he reckoned that the series would end in a 2-2 draw. Lyon would be the highest wicket-taker in the series, believes Waugh.

India to win

Isa Guha

Former England cricketer Isa Guha backed India to win the series 2-1. The renowned broadcaster has backed Axar Patel to end up with the highest wickets in the series. Smith will be the one to score the most number of runs according to Guha.

Ravi Shastri

Former India coach Ravi Shastri has backed Rohit Sharma's India to win the series 2-0.

“As far as the series result goes, I think India should back themselves to win this series by a two-match margin. You’re playing at home; you’ve got the bowlers for that. You’ve got the batting line-up as well. I think you’ve got to put pressure from Test match one,” said Shastri.

Sunil Gavaskar

India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that beating India at home would be difficult and they should topple Australia by a 2-1 margin.