"The best way for India to shut Australia up is to beat them" - Kevin Pietersen talks up the visitors' chances in the 4th Test

Kevin Pietersen feels the pressure will be on Australia in the fourth Test as many expected them to cakewalk the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The former England batsman believes India will have a great chance to win the Brisbane Test if they manage to show similar courage as they did at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

India received a double-injury blow before the Gabba Test as both Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin failed to make the playing XI. Nevertheless, Pietersen feels the visitors have put themselves in a great position to achieve something special. Writing for Betway, the former swashbuckling batsman said:

"I saw plenty of people predicting 4-0 to Australia at the beginning of the series, particularly with Virat Kohli only playing in the first match, but India have put themselves in a position to secure a famous series win. The best way for India to shut Australia up is to beat them. We did that on a couple of occasions, and it’s quite extraordinary how quickly the media turn on their own players when they start to lose."

Pieterson added further:

"There’s nobody who will feel the pressure more than Tim Paine and a couple of others if India win. It’s going to be tough because the Gabba wicket is a bouncy track that will suit the Aussies’ pace attack. But India showed a lot of courage on the final day at Sydney, and more of the same would give them a great chance."

Batting first in the fourth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia are currently 115/3 at the time of writing the story.

Kevin Pietersen thinks Tim Paine will confront India again

Kevin Pietersen also feels Tim Paine's apology is inconsequential as the Australian will get into altercations with the Indian team again if things get heated. The Aussie skipper publicly apologized for his nasty comments on Ravichandran Ashwin during the third Test. But Pietersen is not reading much into that.

"If Tim Paine gets himself into another confrontation in the fourth Test, he will go again – regardless of what he says in between Test matches. It is in his and his team’s DNA, so you have to deal with it," said Kevin Pietersen.

India battled hard to save the Sydney Test as they played out 131 overs in the final innings. Although Australia are the favourite for the Gabba Test, Ajinkya Rahane's team have shown that they can compete with the hosts, even with depleted resources.