Former Australian speedster Brett Lee has described the Indian team as a “powerhouse that don’t want to bow down” to anyone, cautioning his compatriots who will take on the Asian giants in an upcoming five-match Test series. Lee’s remarks came after India’s eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand in the Bengaluru Test earlier this week. India, aiming to qualify for their third successive final in the World Test Championship, will be travelling to Australia next month to defend the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
“This day and age, India is a powerhouse that don’t want to bow down. They know how to win, and they know they can beat Australia; they know they can beat the Kiwis. They know they can beat anyone on any given day,” Lee told ‘Fox Cricket’.
Commenting on India’s outing in the Bengaluru Test against the Kiwis, Lee felt that they might have got influenced by ‘Bazball’, leading to playing some loose shots.
“India just didn’t go into their shell. Maybe it’s Bazball brushing off on other cricketers around the world,” he noted.
“I know that India won’t be proud of the way they played. They played some pretty loose shots.” India’s decision to bat first in overcast conditions raised eyebrows, as the team was bowled out for 46 in the first innings of the opening Test, its lowest Test score at home.
Lee said the side needs to “weigh up the risk factor” and added the Indians should have judged the conditions better.
“But, you’ve got to weigh up the risk factor as well. There are times when you’ve got to go, ‘Okay, well, maybe the big shots aren’t working today’.
“Maybe, just rein it in a little bit. I don’t think they sort of summed up the conditions as quickly as what they should have done,” Lee said.
India play two more Tests against New Zealand — Pune (October 24-28) and Mumbai (November 1-5) — before leaving for Australia.
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