Australia vs India: Mitch Marsh’s take on 2024 Border-Gavaskar Test series

The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy gets nether mode astatine Perth Stadium connected Friday with India, coming disconnected the backmost of a daze 3-0 nonaccomplishment astatine location to New Zealand, aiming to proceed their occurrence against Australia by winning their 3rd successive distant bid down under.

Australia whitethorn person defeated India successful past year’s World Test Championship Final but it’s been a decennary since they’ve won a bid against their large South Asian rivals.

Australia’s prima all-rounder Mitchell Marsh spoke to Melinda Farrell, moving connected behalf of Al Jazeera Sport, from Perth up of the archetypal of 5 Test matches.

Marsh is looking guardant to playing successful his archetypal Test bid against India since 2018.

Al Jazeera: Mitch, successful the past 18 months Australia person won the World Cup and World Test Championship Finals against India but immoderate players successful this squad person ne'er experienced a Test bid triumph against India successful a series. Is it an itch you truly privation to scratch?

Mitchell Marsh: I don’t deliberation it’s an itch to scratch, but everyone’s precise excited to play successful this series. There has been a immense build-up. And we’ve built a large rivalry with this squad and the radical that are successful it, truthful we’re conscionable each excited to ace connected and hopefully, it’s a truly entertaining series.

Al Jazeera: Is it unthinkable for Australia to suffer 3 consecutive location bid successful a enactment to India? Does the anticipation of a 3rd consecutive decision bring this bid into adjacent sharper focus?

Marsh: One of the existent strengths of our squad implicit this past small play is conscionable our quality to enactment contiguous successful high-pressure situations, which determination surely volition beryllium passim this series. For us, looking backmost astatine bid that we’ve mislaid and bid that we’ve won, oregon trophies that we’ve won implicit the past fewer years, they’re large memories. Obviously, the losses are not large ones. But close now, it’s conscionable astir focusing connected this series. And we don’t request immoderate other information to correspond our state and to play successful the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, truthful we won’t look back. We’ll enactment contiguous successful the moment.

Al Jazeera: Is this the astir susceptible India person been coming into a bid against Australia successful caller years, with heightened scrutiny aft the mislaid New Zealand bid and question marks astir the signifier of cardinal Indian players?

Marsh: We’ve got a batch of respect for India. We cognize that they’re a fantastic cricket side. Any bid that you lose, you’re ever disappointed, truthful I’m definite they were disappointed to suffer to New Zealand. But for us, it’s astir truly focusing connected what we’re trying to achieve, the mode that we privation to play, and zero successful connected that. We cognize that astatine our champion we’re a precise bully cricket side, arsenic are they.

Al Jazeera: Will this beryllium a bowlers’ bid oregon a batters’ series?

Marsh: For my sake, hopefully not bowling! [laughs] Look, I deliberation it’s going to beryllium a truly adjacent battle. Both teams person got large bowling lineups. The wickets successful Australia implicit the past fewer years person been large cricket wickets. There haven’t been the large scores [in caller years], but yet we don’t know. The champion squad volition triumph the bid by batting and bowling truly well.

Australia’s Mitchell Marsh volition beryllium a changeless menace with some bat and shot successful the upcoming Test bid against India, opening connected November 22 successful Perth, Australia [Patrick Hamilton/Reuters]

Al Jazeera: How important volition your relation arsenic a 4th seamer be, particularly without Cameron Green successful the squad?

Marsh: I’m looking guardant to it. It’s not caller territory for me. I’ve been present plentifulness of times. I consciousness truly calm and I’m conscionable going astir my work. If you look astatine however galore overs the all-rounders bowled implicit the past 3 to 4 years, it’s truly not a lot, but they tin beryllium important overs. And for me, whether it’s a mates of overs present and there, oregon 10 overs to 15 overs, it’s conscionable astir competing and being truly wide connected my relation and trying to springiness the boys a pat retired erstwhile required. I’m truly relaxed astir my bowling and wherever it’s astatine and I consciousness truly good prepared. That feels good.

Al Jazeera: India’s superstar batsman Virat Kohli, arsenic always, has been nether peculiar scrutiny but Australia often seems to bring retired the champion successful him. Do you effort to get nether his tegument oregon is it a lawsuit of decidedly don’t poke the bear?

Marsh: He’s the caller Harley Reid [West Coast Eagles subordinate successful the Australian Football League], successful presumption of backmost pages. He’s connected the backmost leafage of the West Australian [newspaper] astatine the moment. It’s been amusive to read. We cognize he’s 1 of the top to ever play the game, and you don’t go 1 of the top without being capable to execute nether pressure. So it’s ever precocious stakes. We’ve got a batch of respect for Virat, and hopefully, we tin support him quiescent passim the series, but we cognize that determination are going to beryllium times erstwhile helium whitethorn get connected apical of us, and you respect that. I conjecture you’re conscionable looking guardant to the situation of playing against guys similar that.

Al Jazeera:  That sounds similar don’t poke the bear.

Marsh: He’s been poked galore times!

Al Jazeera: Will this beryllium a Test bid wherever it tin consciousness a spot much similar an distant crowd? Newspapers person been publishing articles successful Hindi and Punjabi and there’s a immense Indian fanbase successful Australia.

Marsh: I deliberation it’s fantastic. We cognize that the Indian cricket squad is astir apt 1 of the biggest sporting teams successful the world, successful immoderate sport. Anywhere they go, they person a immense magnitude of support. Indian cricket fans are immoderate of the champion successful the world, and truthful the accidental to play successful beforehand of them anyplace you spell is ever fantastic. I situation accidental we’re inactive going to person a batch of Australian fans. It’s been a immense build-up, and we know, surely with these large series, however overmuch our fans get astir us. So to spot some sets of fans going astatine it astatine the grounds, volition beryllium astonishing to beryllium a portion of.

Al Jazeera: Final question, Mitch. What are your favourite Border-Gavaskar bid memories, either watching oregon playing?

Marsh: Seeing Australia triumph successful 2004 erstwhile Gilly [Adam Gilchrist] was captain. It was conscionable backs against the wall, and the mode they went astir it was beauteous special. Watching arsenic a young kid past was amazing. And my archetypal Test triumph was against India astatine Adelaide Oval [in 2014]. It was a truly peculiar week. It was my archetypal Test astatine home, my 3rd Test match. Gazza [Nathan Lyon] spun america to victory. I took a drawback connected the outfield. I was a young, bright-eyed kid and that was a truly peculiar moment. I sang the squad opus with my aged antheral [father] retired successful the mediate of Adelaide Oval. It was precise special.

Mitchell Marsh is looking guardant to playing successful his archetypal Test bid against India since 2018, starting with the opening Test that begins connected Friday, November 22 connected his location crushed successful Perth, Australia [Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images]

The interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.