Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has advised India to bat first in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, starting on December 14, even if the conditions on offer at the Gabba in Brisbane are challenging. The current five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series is locked 1-1 after Australia beat India by 10 wickets at Adelaide Oval. The last time India played a Test in Brisbane, they outclassed Australia by three wickets to win the 2020/21 series 2-1, on the back of Rishabh Pant’s heroic 89 not out.

“Brisbane, different ball game! It’s a home game, but it’s actually a very good game for India as well because they’ve got memories of the last time they encountered Australia in the BGT!”

“India must bat better, they must bat for time. They must bat a day of test match cricket. Under a day, unacceptable. Has to be in that 350 zone. India should bat first even if there are challenging conditions,” said Hayden to Star Sports.

Hayden also spoke about how the Indian bowlers, especially the fast bowlers, can get rid of Australian batters early on by bowling mostly in the channel outside off-stump. At Adelaide, India were unable to take out Travis Head early, who went on to make a match-defining 140.

“And India, when they do get a chance to bowl, they need to rely on hovering in that fourth, fifth stump line a bit more. And most importantly, they need to use their bounce. It’s a key arsenal as part of a fast bowling unit in Brisbane. The red ball will definitely be more familiar in terms of test match cricket. Australia have the running with the pink ball, they won so much with it!”

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