Attendance record for the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series stood at 8,37,879 which is incredibly high. The figures left Ponting stunned and he said that it will be interesting to see the attendance for the Ashes which is set to be played next summer.

He added that if the numbers aren’t the same then the Border-Gavaskar trophy is undoubtedly bigger than the Ashes.

“I had a look at the numbers yesterday, it was something like 837,000 people came to watch the Test matches, which is unheard of here in Australia. So now that this series has happened, Australia have England coming out next summer so we’ll get a better idea then. If the numbers aren’t the same, then there’ll be no doubt that the (Border-Gavaskar) rivalry (is bigger), certainly from the fans’ point of view,” Ponting told ICC.

“There’s two separate parts to this: There’s what the fans want to see and the rivalry that they want to make of it, but it’s also how the players view the rivalry between the three teams now,” Ponting added.

Former India head coach and cricketer Ravi Shastri believes that spectators which attended the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar series, set the bar really high in the modern era.

“One stat stands out: 3,75,000 people coming through the gates in that Melbourne Test match, beating the record set 90 years ago of 3,50,000. (In) 1936/1937, when the ‘G’ could hold 120,000 people and when Bradman was playing. It just goes to show the sudden interest in the modern era. The bar has been raised. The bar has been raised big time,” Shastri said.

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India began the series on a high by triumphing in the first Test in Perth, however ended up losing momentum and went on to lose 3 out of the next 4 matches to lose the series by 3-1. This marked Australia’s first Border-Gavaskar Trophy triumph in a decade, their last win came in 2014-15.

Jaiswal played all 5 matches of the series and scored a total of 391 runs at a strike rate of 53.42 and an average of 43.44. Following the series defeat, the 23-year-old took to Instagram and said that the Indian team will come back stronger.

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A post shared by Yashasvi Jaiswal (@yashasvijaiswal28)

“Learnt a lot in Australia… Unfortunately the result wasn’t what we had hoped for but we’ll be back stronger. Your support means everything,” Jaiswal wrote in his Instagram post.

With a defeat in the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar series in Sydney, India not only lost the series but also ended up losing any chance of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final which is set to be played later this year at Lord’s. It will be South Africa and Australia, who will battle it out to decide the best Test team in the world.

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One of the main reasons why the Men in Blue slumped to the series defeat was star player Virat Kohli’s flop show with the bat in almost all the 5 matches.

While analyzing India’s defeat, former cricketer Irfan Pathan minced no words and brutally criticized Kohli, highlighting his disappointing numbers with the bat while questioning his place in the team. He also said that a youngster can contribute the same number of runs that Virat is currently giving to the team.

“In 2024, in the first innings, where the match is set, Virat Kohli only averages 15. Over the last 5 years, he doesn’t even average 30. Does the Indian team deserve this from a senior player? Instead of this, give a youngster consistent rope, even he can give an average of 25-30. It’s not about an individual, it’s about the team,” Pathan said on Star Sports.

Pathan believes that the ‘superstar culture’ within the Indian team needs to be brought to an end and wants team culture to prevail. He also questioned why Kohli hasn’t played domestic cricket in a long time, whereas even an all-time great like Sachin Tendulkar did when he was out of form.

“We need to end superstar culture, we need team culture. You need to improve yourself and improve the Indian team. There were matches before this series, too, and they had an opportunity to play domestic cricket, but they didn’t. We need to change that culture,” Pathan said.

“When was the last time Virat Kohli played domestic cricket? It has been more than a decade. Even Sachin Tendulkar has played domestic cricket more recently, and he has retired,” Pathan added.

“We are not degrading Virat Kohli. He has scored a lot of runs and played superbly for India, but you are repeating the same mistake again and again. Sunny sir (Sunil Gavaskar) has pointed it out, and he is here at the ground. How long does it take to come to Sunny sir and talk about that mistake? It takes hard work to rectify that mistake, and I didn’t see any of that,” Pathan further said.

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“It’s always been a a wonderful contest. More than just the runs that he scored, he brings a bit of theatre to the game which is sometimes good and sometimes it can rile you up as an opposition, which I’m sure is part of his plans,” Cummins told PTI.

“Really enjoyed playing with him. You know, he’s been one of the star batters for the last decade or so. You know, if you get his wicket it goes a long way to winning a game so yeah, it will be sad if it’s his last series,” Cummins added.

The Australia skipper also admitted that Bumrah’s absence on the final day of the series did help the Baggy Greens in comfortably chasing the target of 162 in Sydney.

“Every time he (Bumrah) bowled he seemed to have an impact and took some key wickets. So yeah, no doubt that (his absence) helped our chase a little bit,” Cummins said.

“I think you’re always surprised when the captain kind of doesn’t play. And you know, same with Ashwin retiring, but honestly it doesn’t really affect us at all. You just turn up and you see who’s going to be on the team sheet and you play whoever eleven they put out there. Honestly, it’s been very little conversation I’ve chatted with him about what’s going on there,” Cummins added.

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The Test in Sydney was filled with drama as skipper Rohit Sharma was dropped from the side while stand-in captain Jasprit Bumrah got injured in the first innings, allowing Virat Kohli to lead the team once again.

Over the course of the match, a lot was said and written about Rohit’s future in India’s Test team, prompting suggestions that he could retire after the final match of the series. However, the 37-year-old himself cleared all doubts about it with an interview to the broadcaster.

India head coach Gautam Gambhir lost his cool when he was asked about Rohit’s future with the team in the post-match press conference.

“The first thing I would like to say is that there were so many reports written and things said, I mean you could be more sensible about it. When a captain or a leader takes a call, keeping the team in mind, I don’t think there’s anything bad. A lot of things have been said, but ultimately, individuals are there, but most importantly, there is the team and the country. I think all players should keep the team ahead of their individual interests. Rohit Sharma showed accountability at the top,” Gambhir said.

Gambhir was also asked about Bumrah’s absence from the entirety of the second innings due to a back issue. The head coach admitted that it would have been nice if the pacer was available, but added that the team isn’t dependent on one individual.

“It would have been nice if he would have been there, but we still had five bowlers, and a good team is one which is not dependent on one individual,” Gambhir said.

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The 27-year completed his half-century in just 29 deliveries, just behind his own record of a 28-ball half-century against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022. Pant was eventually dismissed by Australia skipper Pat Cummins to restrict India to 124/5.

Pant headed back to the dugout after playing a highly entertaining knock comprising of 6 boundaries and 4 massive sixes.

Fastest half-centuries for India in Test cricket

28 balls – Rishabh Pant vs Sri Lanka, Bengaluru, 2022

29 balls – Rishabh Pant vs Australia, Sydney, 2025

30 balls – Kapil Dev vs Pakistan, Karachi, 1982

31 balls – Shardul Thakur vs England, The Oval, 2021

31 balls – Yashasvi Jaiswal vs Bangladesh, Kanpur, 2024

The explosive half-century also saw Pant became the only player in history to score 2 fifties in under 30 deliveries in red-ball cricket. This was his first fifty of the series and the second-fastest by anyone on Australian soil.

Following the end of second day’s play, India pacer Prasidh Krishna highly praised Pant’s fearless innings.

“All of us were sitting together, the bowlers were sitting together and watching him bat and we definitely said if I was sitting at home and watching this, I would have loved it. To be able to do it from the ground, I mean, nothing like it. I know it’s a lot of risk, but that’s the way the game is played today,” Krishna said.

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The story behind the name of Border-Gavaskar Trophy is actually quite interesting. The first series between the 2 sides which was labelled as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was contested back in 1996.

India and Australia had played against each other a total of 50 times in red-ball cricket till 1996. The boards of both countries decided to make the 51st Test match between the 2 sides special. They did so by naming the one-off Test played between the 2 sides as the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

The series played between the 2 countries has been named in honor of legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar and former Australia captain Allan Border.

The first-ever Border-Gavaskar Trophy was won by a Sachin Tendulkar-led Indian team which defeated Australia comfortably by 7 wickets. The match was played at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi.

Since 1996, a total of 16 Test series have been contested between the 2 teams with India emerging victorious in 10 while Australia coming out on top in 5. Finally, one series ended in a draw.

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The video of Pant’s first-ball six off Scott Boland’s bowling went viral on social media within no time. Pant’s six off Boland was the seventh instance of an Indian batter hitting a six off the first ball of an innings in Tests and only the second time that it happened in an away Test.

Pant showed a completely opposite attitude than what he showed in the first innings of the Sydney Test. The 27-year-old batted quite sensibly, scoring 40 runs off 98 deliveries in the first innings and was the top-scorer for the Men in Blue.

The wicketkeeper-batter came out to bat after Boland dismissed Kohli for just 6 runs on the first ball of the 14th over of India’s second innings.

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Courtesy of his dismissal, Kohli went on to register an embarrassing record, as he recorded the second-lowest first innings average in Test cricket, taking matches since the start of 2024 into consideration.

Kohli embarrassingly has a lower average than that of India pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah in Test cricket since the start of 2024. The only player who has a lower average than that of Kohli is South Africa spinner Keshav Maharaj.

Lowest first inning averages since the start of 2024 in Test cricket

1. Keshav Maharaj (South Africa) – 5.4

2. Virat Kohli (India) – 7

3. Jasprit Bumrah (India) – 8

4. Shoaib Bashir (England) – 8.3

Things could have turned out to be far worse for Kohli during the first day of the Sydney Test as he ended up edging the very first delivery that he faced down to the second slip. Fortunately for him, Steve Smith ended up dropping the catch, giving Kohli a massive lifeline.

Smith seemed to have let the ball touch the ground as he tried to grab the ball in slips. Eventually, the decision was handed to the third umpire, who ruled in Kohli’s favour and the batter remained on the field.

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This announcement came following Rohit’s dismal batting display in the 3 Border-Gavaskar Tests he participated in. Scoring only a total of 31 runs in 5 innings, the team management took the huge decision of dropping the 37-year old from captaincy and playing XI.

After Bumrah, the stand-in captain, said that Rohit opted to rest from the fifth Test, legendary India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that this might signal the end of the player in Tests.   

“Melbourne Test would be Rohit Sharma’s last, maybe. The selection committee will now be looking at somebody who can lead till the 2025-2027 World Test Championship final. I mean, India may not qualify but the thinking process will be like that from the section committee. So, maybe, we have probably seen Rohit Sharma for the last time in Tests,” Gavaskar told Star Sports.

Speculation over Rohit’s future in red-ball cricket increased after India lost the fourth Test in Melbourne which saw them trail the Aussies by 2-1 in the series.

Rohit, who has so far played 67 Tests in his career, is expected to announce his retirement from the format soon.

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