The highly anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy will get underway on November 22 (Friday) at the Optus Stadium in Perth. India and Australia will be locking horns in a five-match Test series for the first time since 1991-92 and the series opener is expected to be an enthralling encounter even as Virat Kohli looks to regain his lost form in Test cricket.
Australia is the perfect country and Perth is the perfect venue for the former India skipper to return to scoring runs in the format. He loves to play down under and especially against the Aussies and the man is also closer to a special milestone. Kohli is only 21 runs away from becoming only the seventh batter to complete 2000 runs in the history of Border-Gavaskar trophy.
He has so far scored 1979 runs in 42 innings (24 Tests) at an average of 48.26 with eight centuries and five fifties to his name. Overall, four Indians and two Aussies have crossed this barrier before with Cheteshwar Pujara being the latest to do so during the series played in 2023.
Most runs in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
| Players |
Runs |
| Sachin Tendulkar |
3262 |
| Ricky Ponting |
2555 |
| VVS Laxman |
2434 |
| Rahul Dravid |
2143 |
| Michael Clarke |
2049 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara |
2033 |
| Virat Kohli |
1979 |
Apart from Pujara, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid have amassed more than 2000 runs in the history of BGT. For the unversed, India and Australia have been locking horns in Test cricket since the 1947-48 season but the clash between the two giants in the longest format was named the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in the 1996-97 season in honour of two former greats Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar.
Since then, both teams have fought for the said trophy in Test cricket and India have owned it since 2013 winning the last four Test series against Australia at home and away. The upcoming series is a chance for the Aussies to reclaim the trophy with Inda under immense pressure having lost to New Zealand 3-0 at home recently. However, the onus to turn things around will be on Virat Kohli who is also on the cusp of a special milestone.
