New Delhi, Feb 8 (IANS): Legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes that Australian pace attack could be the real threat to India in the upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy.

Australia captain and pacer Pat Cummins, the world's No. 1 Test bowler, finished as the leading wicket-taker during the 2020-21 Test series and also had a successful Pakistan tour.

"Cummins is a terrific bowler and, as we have seen in the past when the Australians are successful, it is their pace attack that has done the damage. With JoshHazlewood likely to miss the first Test with an injury, the advantage could well lie with India," Gavaskar told The Telegraph.

"If memory serves right, the first time he took a five-wicket haul was in the subcontinent (5/34 on debut vs Sri Lanka in Galle, August 2011). Being the top bowler that Nathan Lyon is, he will always be attacking and probing, but the real threat is likely to be the pacers."

The first Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the two teams will start from Thursday at Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium in Nagpur.

India is currently placed second on the World Test Championship (WTC) table and will need to win the series by an optimum margin to qualify for the final.