‘Spoils the momentum’ - Harbhajan Singh on gap between Perth and Adelaide Test

India defeated Australia by 295 runs in the first Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT 2024-25) in Perth. They played a warm-up against Prime Minister XI in Canberra before flying to Adelaide for the second game. Australian players, on the other hand, were on a break before resuming training ahead of the Adelaide Test, which began on December 6.

Despite the warm-up game, the visitors enjoyed a significant break and according to former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, it can sometimes spoil the momentum. He noted that Australia didn’t expect to suffer a defeat in Perth but they ended up losing by a massive margin. Following the win, Team India were confident of winning in Adelaide but lost by 10 wickets instead.

Harbhajan also believes that India are the favourites to win the fourth and fifth Test, which will be played in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively. However, if the Rohit Sharma-led side wins the Test in Gabba, they can seal the series later on according to the off-spinner.

“This series is tough because both teams have had losses. What happened with Australia in Perth, maybe they didn’t expect it. And what happened with India in Adelaide, maybe India also didn’t expect it. Although there was a very long gap in the middle between the two Tests, sometimes such a gap spoils the momentum, and it happened here,” Harbhajan told Star Sports.

“If we look at this as a series of three matches, India has to win two out of these. Their best chances will be, I think, in Sydney and Melbourne. Anyway, if you play your best cricket at The Gabba and win there, then you will definitely win one match out of Melbourne or Sydney. So you should think about that. The equality of the first two Tests shows that both teams have the ability to come back. Australia has come back; now maybe it’s India’s turn to turn the tables,” he added.

The momentum Indian team got in Perth was lost during 10-day gap: Sunil Gavaskar

Former India legend Sunil Gavaskar also believes that the 10-day gap between the two Tests broke India’s momentum. He noted that after the win in Adelaide, the Pat Cummins-led side has gained an edge over the visitors.

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“The momentum that the Indian team got in Perth was lost during the 10-day gap. Now the momentum is with Australia because they have won this Test match. After the Adelaide Test, a few days later, you are playing at The Gabba. So, the momentum is now with the Australian team,” Gavaskar said.