Border Gavaskar Trophy: Clash Of Titans

India and Australia, these two countries’ names, have been among the most famous in world Cricket history. Indian fans used to get stuck to the tv screen, wishing the final result came in India’s favour. However, no game between the two countries had ever been a one-sided match. None of them has ever disappointed the audience. In short, whenever these two countries came together, they gave the audience some worth remembering matches. Some of the greatest cricket matches between India and Australia happened in the Border-Gavaskar trophy series.

Even though years passed, different batters came, and both teams got different captains; all the test series came with excitement.

Border Gavaskar Trophy: Clash Of Titans

The Indian cricket team has rivaled Australia in fifty test matches between 1947 to 1996. The test series between these countries later became famous as the Border-Gavaskar trophy to celebrate the outstanding achievement of the great Indian cricket legend Sunil Gavaskar and Australian captain Allan Border.

What Is The Fuss Now?

With the upcoming Border-Gavaskar test series, the prediction of Australia’s chances of winning in the test series has indeed taken a serious hit on India. Ian Healy, the former cricketer and present broadcaster, has taken a dig at India about the pitch created in 2016.

Even though the Border-Gavaskar trophy has always been the focal point of world cricket history, India, this year, is expected to perform better. It has two reasons:
India’s winning of the World Cup in 2012 is always remembered.
Australia has yet to win any test series since 2004.

Healy commented, “I think if they produce fair Indian wickets, that are good batting wickets, to start with, (that) probably spin and spin pretty consistently but spin a long way, late in the match..we win..”

Ravichandran Ashwin, the veteran Indian spinner, reacting to this comment, has said, “the statement has set a spark.”

This not-so-face-to-face conflict is not just giving a kick start to the upcoming Border-Gavaskar test series but also gives a lot of predictions and excitement. In short, the Border-Gavaskar test series has a long history of winning and losing. Now that both kings of cricket are coming together to become rivals again, we are bound to remember some of their past performances.

How did the BGT started?

India and Australia have always been capable of creating a spark on the field. The spark became more intense when both teams started to play the test series together. The first test series occurred in 1996 under Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar’s banner. After the Australian team’s tour in India, our country had beaten Australia by seven wickets. Nayan Mongia was honoured with the man-of-the-match trophy. That was the first-ever test series between the two countries.

A year after, when the Australian team visited India again, the Indian team held the trophy again. These two test series happened in India. India had already bagged two test series trophies in two consecutive years. However, the next match changed the game.

The First Border-Gavaskar Trophy Match under Tendulkar’s Captaincy

After the show off of Gavaskar and Border in the India and Australia test series, it was time for the third season. Captain Sachin Tendulkar led India in this edition played between 1999 and 2000.

As we mentioned earlier, the match changed the game. Since then, India has suffered a major loss. It had lost most of the games and won only three of them. It continued for the next five years, during which Australia toured India six times. This time too, Australia beat India in all of the matches held in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide stadiums.

This match not only introduced one of the fastest bowlers in Australian cricket history, Brett Lee, but it is also famous for the infamous LBW decision against the then-Indian captain, Sachin Tendulkar.

A True Game Changer for India: The 2001 Test Match

The 2001 test series had a lot of good things. With Saurav Ganguly leading the Indian team against Australia that year the Indians played like never before. They crushed the star-studded Australian team’s previously set record.

Though Australia had won the opening game, the Indian team returned with a courageous response to win by 2-1. This series saw one of the best performances of the Indian team. VVS Laxman’s impressive innings and Harbhajan Singh’s hat trick helped the team score 281 runs. Also, the 376 runs scored at the test match of the same season marked the victory of the Indian team in Kolkata’s Eden Gardens and Chennai.

India’s Majestic Performance in Australia

The next test match happened between the two countries in Australia. This time too, the Indian team could retain the trophy by showing some remarkable performance. Even though the final result was a draw, that year’s performance was considered one of the best performances of the Indian team.

With Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar bagging compliments for being remarkable batters and Kumble’s double century, India showed its power as a cricket team.

The Last Border-Gavaskar Trophy

After Australia’s last success in the 2014-15 test series, India won the toss and was chosen to bat first. This time the Indian team was led by the captain, Virat Kohli, who scored 74 before being run out. Australian captain Tim Paine was the top scorer. However, the first innings came with the defeat of Australia because it was bowled out for 191.

The second inning was registered as India’s lowest total in test cricket history. This inning was also considered the lowest total in the 21st century.

The second test happened in Melbourne. Even though the Indian team captain was on paternity leave then, the vice-captain Ajikya Rahane’s performance was outstanding. He led India with utmost efficiency in Virat Kohli’s absence.

Even though Tim Paine’s team won the toss and was selected to bat first, the team was bowled out for 195 runs. India scored 326 runs as a result of Rahane’s century. In the second innings, too, the Australian team was bowled out for 200, with Ajinkya Rahane getting the title of the man of the match.

Even though India faced hard competition from the rival team on the final day, it finished the game by winning by three wickets. Rishav Panth became the man of the match, and Pat Cummins was honoured with the title of man of the series. The ICC has also regarded this match as the Ultimate test match series ever.

Border Gavaskar Trophy: Clash Of Titans

Conclusion

With the upcoming excitement of the Border-Gavaskar trophy series, both countries’ cricket lovers are anticipating their teams to win the match. However, the journey has always been bumpy; needless to say, the series will take a lot of work. So, buckle up for the next series while it is on its way to creating another remarkable year for cricket lovers.