Our focus is on devising strategies against Jaiswal, Gill: Hazlewood ahead of Border-Gavaskar Trophy

PTI, Sep 20, 2024, 3:19 PM IST

Sydney: Australian pacer Josh Hazlewood said his team would be more focused on devising strategies to counter young Indian batters like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill during the Border-Gavaskar series, given that they have played very little cricket against them.

The five-Test Border-Gavaskar series is scheduled to commence in Perth on November 22 with India hoping to extend their dominance on the prestigious trophy. Australia, on the other hand, would be aiming to showcase their bowling might to win it back after successive losses at home in 2018-19 and 2020-21.

Jaiswal and Gill have emerged as India’s top batters of late and would form the core of the batting lineup alongside captain Rohit Sharma and stalwart Virat Kohli.

Hazlewood, who is expected to be a key member of the Australian bowling unit as it aims to win back the trophy after 2014-15, said the hosts would focus on executing the basics to win the series, which would earn them crucial points in the current World Test Championship cycle.

“The strategy is probably more focused on the newer players we haven’t played much Test cricket against, like (Yashasvi) Jaiswal and even Shubman Gill, who we’ve only faced a few times,” Hazlewood told Star Sports.

“We’ve played against Virat (Kohli), Rohit (Sharma), and others for years, so we know what to do. The plan doesn’t really change that often. It’s about the basics; doing them well and for a long time,” added the pacer, who has been Australia’s mainstay alongside skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.

Hazlewood said Australia rarely falters when it comes to doing the basics right.

“We usually find that, 9 out of 10 times, Test cricket comes back to that Plan A. You adapt to conditions and change things throughout the day or innings, but most of the time, it’s about executing that plan,” he added.

The last time the two sides met was in 2020-21 when India managed to win the four-match series in one of the most historic comebacks in Test history.

After Australia crushed India in the opening Test, the visitors staged a stunning comeback by winning the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. They then drew the third Test in Sydney before clinching the final game of the series at the Gabba.