It’s time for yet another edition of the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The first Test is scheduled to get underway on Friday, November 22 at the Perth Stadium. The Indian team has already started preparing for the series with full intensity as they look to make a hat-trick of Test series wins on Australian soil after 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Rohit Sharma will be absent from the Perth Test after he recently became a parent for the second time. Shubman Gill is also yet to recover from a thumb injury. KL Rahul, in meantime, has recovered from injury and is one of the contenders to open the batting with Yashasvi Jaiswal.
India recently lost 0-3 to New Zealand at home after the likes of Ajaz Patel, Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips made their batters struggle. With the losses, India are in with a tough task of making their way through to the final of the World Test Championship.
Australia, on the other hand, would be high on confidence as they are sitting right on top of the table in the 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship. With the likes of Pat Cummins, Steve Smith and Nathan Lyon in their squad, the Aussies won’t be an easy opposition by any means.
On that note, let’s look at India’s Test history in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia
Tendulkar, Laxman’s fight in vain
Back in 1999-00, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman scored hundreds, but could not save India from a 0-3 defeat Down Under. Tendulkar got scores of 116 and 52 in the MCG Test, but India lost the match by 180 runs. Laxman, on the other hand, sparkled with a 167-run knock at the SCG only for India to lose by an innings and 141 runs. Ajit Agarkar and Javagal Srinath took 11 and 10 wickets respectively.
Rahul Dravid gives India famous win
India drew their four-match Test series 1-1 when they toured Australia in 2003-04. Rahul Dravid’s 233 overshadowed Ricky Ponting’s 242 as India took a 1-0 lead with a four-wicket win at the Adelaide Oval. Ajit Agarkar’s six-wicket haul also blew Australia away. Virender Sehwag scored 195 in Melbourne, but could not save India from a nine-wicket defeat. The Sydney Test was Steve Waugh’s last appearance in international cricket.
‘Monkeygate’ takes centre-stage
India’s tour of Australia in 2007-08 is mostly remembered for the ‘Monkeygate’ scandal between Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh in the Sydney Test. The situation worsened to the extent that India threatened to pull out of the tour. But the series continued and Australia won 2-1. Irfan Pathan was hero for India in the Perth Test after the visitors won by 72 runs.
Disaster strikes India
Back in 2011-12, India slumped to a 0-4 defeat at the hands of Australia. After losing the Melbourne Test by 122 runs, the hosts lost the Sydney and Perth Tests by margin of innings. The visitors finished off with a humiliating 298-run loss in Adelaide. Interestingly, Virat Kohli notched his maiden Test hundred in the Adelaide Test, scoring 116 runs in the first innings.
MS Dhoni bids goodbye to Tests
Back in 2014-15, India lost 0-2 to Australia in their tour of Down Under. They began with losses in Adelaide and Brisbane. After the third Test in Melbourne, Dhoni announced his retirement from Tests after which Virat Kohli took charge as a full-time skipper. Kohli scored 692 runs with four centuries, but his efforts were just not enough for India to secure victory.
Kohli makes history for India
The 2018-19 tour of India was a historic one for India as they won their maiden Test series on Australian soil. In the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith, who were temporarily suspended for the Newlands ball-tampering scandal, Australia looked hapless. India won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs before losing the Perth Test. India took a 2-1 lead with a 137-run win in Melbourne and finished off with a drawn Test in Sydney.
India breach Gabba Fortress
The 2020-21 tour of Australia started on a disastrous note for India after lost the Adelaide Test by eight wickets. Virat Kohli also left the Indian team after the series opener. From there on, Ajinkya Rahane helped India make a stunning comeback to win the series 2-1. Rishabh Pant won the Player of the Match at the Gabba, where the Aussies did not lose since 1988.
