Warne also emphasized on Mohammed Shami's absence in the Boxing Day Test.
Former Australia cricketer Shane Warne claims that the hosts will blow away India in the second Test match at Melbourne Cricket Ground. Team India suffered a humiliating 8-wicket defeat in the opening Test at Adelaide Oval as the visitors were bundled out India for their lowest-ever Test score of 36 in the second innings of the match.
The visitors will miss the services of Virat Kohli, who has returned to India for the birth of his child, Ajinkya Rahane will lead India in the remaining three Test.
“I think Australia is probably going to blow them away,” Warne, who claimed a record 708 Test wickets for Australia, told ‘Fox Cricket’.
“Having said that, they have some class players to come in like KL Rahul. Young Gill will come in. (Ajinkya) Rahane is a class act. We know what (Cheteshwar) Pujara can do,” he said.
Warne also emphasized on Mohammed Shami’s absence in the Boxing Day Test. Shami sustained a wrist fracture in the Adelaide Test and is ruled out of the series. Warner feels MCG pitch will assist a bowler like Shami.
“(Mohammed) Shami is a huge loss as well. He’s such a quality bowler. And if you look at bowlers for the Melbourne conditions drop-in pitches Shami hits the seam and stands it up and bowls a good length and straight.”
The Australia pace battery was right on the money in the pink-ball Test as they exposed Indian batters technical faults.
However, Warne believes the Australian pace battery deserves more credit for the win in the series-opener than the criticism faced by the Indian batsmen.
“Yeah, you can have a go at the Indians but I think you would rather give credit to the Australians and how well they bowled,” the 51-year-old former leg-spinner said.
“They were outstanding, that bowling attack. The four bowlers plus Green, they have been good bowlers for a long time. They are turning themselves into great bowlers now. To watch them go to work in Adelaide was fantastic.”
Warne believes the current quartet of Cummins, Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon is already on track to become Australia’s greatest bowling unit.
“They are definitely in the conversation (to compare them to my era). They are outstanding those four bowlers and they have been for a while,” Warne said.
“If they continue on this form for the next four or five years going like this, then they will be in the conversation as the best bowling attack Australia maybe has ever had. You think of Lillee, Thommo, Lee, Gillespie and those guys… But as a four any one time, these guys are in the conversation as some of the best Australia has ever had,” he said.
