![\"Friday's](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/01\/336474\/pickerImage.jpg\")
<\/p>\nAustralian cricket teams are used to winning and draws rarely cut it in the demanding eyes of their fans.<\/p>\n
Particularly on home soil and particularly when they start a day with a big lead and just eight wickets to take against a severely wounded opposition.<\/p>\n
So a day or two of navel gazing and hand wringing is fair, after Australia spent a day in the field and took just three wickets in India's stirring SCG draw.<\/p>\n
But ignore all the kneejerk overreactions.<\/p>\n
Mark Taylor has seen it all and usually sees it pretty clearly.<\/p>\n
The Aussie Test great would play the same XI in Brisbane and he is very confident that team will win.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
"Fitness permitting I would be," Taylor told Wide World of Sports.<\/em><\/p>\n "Australia had the best of that Test match, a good bounce back after a disappointment in Melbourne.<\/p>\n "I don't see a lot of problems there."<\/p>\n Taylor's biggest concern is the fitness of opening batsman Will Pucovski (shoulder) and David Warner (groin).<\/p>\n There isn't much behind them and so the absence of either on Friday would bite. Marcus Harris has been named as the replacement opener<\/a>, if needed.<\/p>\n But that injury list is nothing compared to that of India.<\/p>\n Let's hope coach Ravi Shastri is rolling his arm over in his hotel room because the tourists are dropping like flies.<\/p>\n Already without new dad Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav and KL Rahul, India look set to be without both Ravindra Jadeja and Hanuma Vihari at the Gabba.<\/p>\n Triple threat all-rounder Jadeja has already been ruled out with a dislocated thumb, while the stoic Vihari will surely join him on the sidelines after saving the Test on painkillers for his pulled hammy.<\/p>\n "They're going to be without Jadeja, I can't see how Vihari can play so they've got to find a No.5 and an all-rounder option," Taylor said.<\/p>\n "Ravindra Jadeja has been fantastic in the two Tests he's played.<\/p>\n "He's made more than useful runs in both games, brilliant bits of fielding and picked up some handy wickets as well.<\/p>\n "His all-round performance is going to be a huge loss for India, for sure.<\/p>\n "They'll find it hard to replace him at that No.7 position.<\/p>\n "But I look at this Indian side and they are a resilient bunch.<\/p>\n "They proved that at the MCG when they fought back after the disappointments of Adelaide, with no Kohli.<\/p>\n "And they fought back again in Sydney.<\/p>\n "You thought they'd eventually roll over somewhere and Australia would go bang, bang, bang and win the Test match.<\/p>\n "But this Indian side has a lot of belief.<\/p>\n "They've probably got more concerns around their side than Australia has but there is nothing wrong with their team ethos.<\/p>\n "They're in good shape in that regard."<\/p>\n And then of course there's the venue.<\/p>\n Australia hasn't lost a Test at The Gabba since being rolled by the West Indies in 1988.<\/p>\n Taylor made his Test debut in that series and says: "Both teams will be very aware of the 'Gabba-toir' as everyone calls it. It is certainly a fortress."<\/p>\n The respected former captain also had few issues with Tim Paine's captaincy on day five at the SCG.<\/p>\n Shane Warne said Australia were "panicking" with their field settings<\/a> to the explosive Rishabh Pant but Taylor saw things differently.<\/p>\n "I wouldn't be too critical," Taylor said.<\/p>\n "You could say he could have tried (Marnus) Labuschagne more but that's a throwaway line.<\/p>\n "He moved (Nathan) Lyon around, tried different things \u2013 it was just one of those days where chances didn't stick and if they had, Australia would have won comfortably.<\/p>\n "Sometimes you have to manufacture a wicket and Australia couldn't do that today but it was mainly because they dropped catches.<\/p>\n "Tim and Sean Abbott, a tough one at square leg, but you hang on to two of those four chances and you're a good chance of winning the game."<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"Paine](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/01\/336446\/pickerImage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Indian](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/01\/336403\/pickerImage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Ashwin](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/01\/336439\/pickerImage.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Hazlewood](\"https:\/\/vms-network-images-prod.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/2021\/01\/336430\/pickerImage.jpg\")
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