After India were thrashed by 333 runs by Australia in the opening Test at Pune, Indian off-spinner Harbhajan Singh took to his Twitter handle to congratulate the visitors, especially praising skipper Steve Smith for his stupendous century which laid the foundation for a thumping win for his side.
Prior to the start of the series, the 36-year-old off-spinner had predicted a 4-0 scoreline for India, adding that if Australian team played well then it would be 3-0 in India’s favour. He also added that this was the ‘weakest’ Australian side, which he had come across.
Extra Cover: Virat Kohli opens up after India's humiliating loss in the first Test against Australia
“This is the weakest Aussie side. There are no Waughs, no Gilchrist, no Hayden or Ponting and McGrath. That was the champion team who dominated the world, won three World Cups.
“This is a namesake Aussie side. Apart from Steve Smith and David Warner, I don’t even know any other cricketer. They have four spinners in the side considering they came to play in India and if they play bad, they will lose 4-0. If Australia play well, India will win 3-0. That is if Australia play well," Harbhajan had said prior to the start of the series.
There were a few fitting replies as well for his prediction:
Led by a superb bowling performance by Steve O’Keefe who took match figures of 12 for 70, the Australians defied every critic, who were calling for a commanding Indian performance in the series after having dominated the entire home season, that began in September.
The win was Australia's 1st on Indian soil after a gap of 13 years and ensured that it was India, who go to Bengaluru for the second Test on the backfoot and under a bit of pressure to level the series.
A couple of things will be of interest ahead of that game: How much will the pitch assist the spinners and will India make any changes to their playing XI? Will they look to bring in Karun Nair? Will Kuldeep Yadav be considered? Will KL Rahul learn from his mistakes and score big on his home ground?
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