Former Australian fast bowler Mitchell Johnson has claimed that the pacer friendly nature of the Dharamsala wicket in Himachal Pradesh, which is set to hold the fourth and the deciding Test of the series between India and Australia will make the Indians nervous.
Johnson who was not long ago the pace spearhead of the Aussie attack knows the Dharamsala pitch well, as he has played there during the IPL with the Kings XI Punjab. Johnson said, “Dharamsala is an amazing ground and the only times I have seen it are with grass on (the pitch). So I think that’s why the Australians will probably be confident and India will be a little bit nervous.”
Johnson also accused the Indians of heading into the series, over-confident in their nature. “I think they’ve been overconfident in this series and I think the scoreline shows that.”
The Australian pacer is also of the opinion that Australia might drop a spinner and bring in a pacer for the final Test match. “I think Nathan Lyon will get a lot more bounce and he has been turning the ball quite nicely. But then again, you’ve got to look at left- and right-hand combinations. If it’s more of an Australian kind of wicket, I think you’ll see Nathan Lyon bowl and Bird come in as the third quick,” he added.
Finally, Johnson believes that drawing the Test in Ranchi will come as a huge boost to the Australians, who will head into the Dharamsala Test with massive confidence. “The result in Ranchi gives Australia a huge advantage I think. For them (India) to know that it’s not about Steve Smith and David Warner, other guys in the team can perform and can play out for a draw. They dug in and played exceptional cricket. They (Australia) will be pumped after that. Even though it was only a draw, to them it will feel very good and very positive. Because they have collapsed a lot in the past. That’s why I’m confident Australia will win.”