Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Perth Test: Unsettled India face steady Australia | Cricket news

Pat Cummins of Australia and Jasprit Bumrah of India pose with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)

Since 2014, serial winners of global trophies Australia have laid hands on two 50-over World Cups (2015, 2023), four Ashes (2017-2018, 2019, 2021-2022, 2023), a T20 World Cup (2021) and the mace that declared those of the recent World Test Champions (2023).
However, one piece of silverware has proved strangely elusive – the Border Gavaskar Trophy. It is the prize for winning the Test series between India and Australia, named after two legendary cricketers, Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar, who were the second and first respectively to cross the 10,000-run mark in Tests.
Border Gavaskar Trophy
Australia have been challenged since 1996 and last touched it in 2014-2015 when they beat India 2-0 Down Under in the four-match series. The following four instalments, all hotly contested, have been conceded by India 2-1.
Thanks to Rishabh Pant’s maverick genius at the Gabba in January 2021, broadcasters and fans asked for more, and what have you: A first five-Test series of BGT. VVS Laxman’s heroics in Kolkata and the thrilling Test series in 2000-01 saw a three-Test series grow into a four-Test affair, and Pant’s pyrotechnics seem to have had the same effect.
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting, not known for hyperbole, likened the India-Australia rivalry to the Ashes. Ditto for former Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan. However, it is now up to the visitors to justify this massive hype.

With the bitter taste of a 0-3 home humiliation against New Zealand still lingering, Jasprit Bumrah-led India will be up against it when they take on Pat Cummins’ Australia at the Optus Stadium in Perth in what is likely will be a quick and bouncy pitch for the first Test.
The build-up to the series has been far from ideal for the visitors. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma will be missed as he is on paternity leave. Mohammed Shami, probably India’s finest exponent of seam and swing, is injured. Their promising no. 3 bat Shubman Gill, who has played to success on Australia’s quick wickets and is extremely confident in the tie, is nursing a thumb injury. Virat Kohli, their heartbeat, is out of form.

While India had contingency plans in place for Rohit’s absence, Gill’s injury is a setback as it has forced mass changes to the top six.
Lacking confidence and pathologically inconsistent, KL Rahul will be forced to open as the team management is unsure about Abhimanyu Easwaran after the Bengal batsman failed to complete the four innings he was given to impress against Australia A in the two matches. Patience as a commodity is in short supply when teams lose.
Karnataka left-hander Devdutt Padikkal, who was on his way home after his efforts for India A, was asked to unpack and report to Perth and is likely to take Gill’s place at no. 3rd place. Wicketkeeper batsman Dhruv Jurel, who batted well for India A and scored twin 50s at the MCG, is expected to bat at no. 6, a place that would normally have gone to Sarfaraz Khan.
There is talk of the visitors opting for medium-pace bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy to hold up one end and give breaks Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep a breather.

What it will also ensure is that the tail does not consist of four nos. 11s. India are expected to go in with a 4-1 combination with offie R Ashwin likely to do the spin-bowling duties, keeping in mind the Aussie top seven, which has three left-handers. The hype in Australia has been unprecedented ever since it was announced in April 2022 that the BGT will be a five-Test series. Captain Cummins (269 wickets) spent most of his time answering questions about the India series even while playing the first two ODIs against Pakistan.
He forms a quarter of arguably the greatest bowling quartet Australia has ever produced with Mitchell Starc (358), Josh Hazlewood (273) and off-spinner Nathan Lyon (530).
All of them are adequately rested and have prepared well by playing the odd Sheffield Shield game to shake off red-ball rust.
There are a few concerns about the declining batting averages of Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head in the current WTC. But history suggests that the sight of India has always triggered a rise in their form and fortunes.
Australia has all the aces. Can cornered India do an encore of 2021?