AB Villiers backs India to do well in Oz

New Delhi: South African cricketer AB de Villiers believes India “have a very good chance” of beating Australia in the upcoming series, notwithstanding their recent losses overseas. Early this year, India played better in South Africa than they did in England in August-September, but ended up losing both the high-profile Test series. De Villiers, who shocked the cricketing world in May by retiring from international cricket, has backed Indian batsmen to do well in Australia in the four-Test series. “They have a very good chance. They came to South Africa, probably played better cricket but lost,” he said. “They lost in England but the first Test was on a knife's edge and could have gone either way, which would have changed the whole complexion of the series,” he added. De Villiers feels the trend of losing the series-opener will have to change if India were to do well against Australia, who will be without David Warner and Steve Smith. “They have got to take the opportunity, especially going to Australia. If you slip first Test match there, it becomes a snowball. Actually anywhere in the world, the minute you are playing away from home, the way you start is very important. They slipped in South Africa and England and it snowballed into a series loss," said de Villiers. — PTI