It’s time for another installment of the iconic Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The first Test will be held on Friday, November 22 at the Perth Stadium. The Indian team is already gearing up for the upcoming series with great determination to achieve a third consecutive Test series victory in Australia following their wins in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Rohit Sharma will miss the Perth Test as he has recently welcomed his second child. Shubman Gill still has not fully healed from a thumb injury. In the interim, KL Rahul has has healed from his injury and is now a potential candidate to start the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Meanwhile, Australia would be feeling very confident since they are currently leading the 2023-25 World Test Championship standings. Featuring players such as Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, and Nathan Lyon, the Australian team will not be a walkover for their opponents.
Let’s examine some of India’s celebrated victories in Australia:
The ‘Rahul Dravid’ show in Perth
India ended their four-match Test series against Australia in 2003-04 with a draw of 1-1. Legendary Rahul Dravid‘s 233 outshone Ricky Ponting’s 242 in India’s four-wicket victory, giving them a 1-0 lead at the Adelaide Oval. Ajit Agarkar’s outstanding performance of taking six wickets also thoroughly defeated Australia.
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Virender Sehwag made 195 runs in Melbourne, however, he was unable to prevent India from losing by nine wickets. Steve Waugh made his final international cricket appearance at the Sydney Test.
India breaches the Gabba fortress
India’s 2020-21 tour of Australia began poorly as they suffered an eight-wicket loss in the Adelaide Test. Virat Kohli departed the Indian team following the first match of the series. After that, Ajinkya Rahane assisted India in making a remarkable comeback to secure a 2-1 series victory. Rishabh Pant was awarded the Player of the Match at the Gabba, a venue where the Australian team had not been defeated since 1988.
Epic win during the ‘Monkeygate’ series
The 2007-08 India tour of Australia is best known for the ‘Monkeygate’ controversy involving Andrew Symonds and Harbhajan Singh during the Sydney Test. India’s threat to withdraw from the tour arose as the situation deteriorated.
However, the series persisted and Australia emerged victorious with a 2-1 scoreline. Irfan Pathan emerged as the standout player for India during the Perth Test where the away team emerged victorious with a 72-run margin.
