India's tour of Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 edition was billed as the biggest Test cricketing event of 2024 months before India had even won the T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean.
Why so?
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy brings together two of the best teams in the red-ball business. One that has been as consistent as a team can be in the most demanding format of the game, having qualified for the finals of both editions of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) so far and the other - the reigning WTC champions.
After looking at India's WTC 2023-25 schedule, everyone expected them to head to the Australian shores by shellacking Bangladesh and New Zealand given their pedigree at home.
However, India shot themselves in the foot as some of the experts of the game described their 3-0 drubbing at the hands of New Zealand on home turf. The whitewash inflicted by the Blackcaps on India ended their unparalleled 18 consecutive Test series wins at home - eight more than any other team.
Having beaten Australia on their last two trips down under, the Rohit Sharma-led side was expected to make it three in a row but that narrative has changed after an unexpected flight by the Kiwis in India.
India in Australia
Australia is one of the most captivating places in the world. The biodiversity that exists in the country is rare and leaves a lasting impression on the minds of tourists. While Australia always finds itself on the bucket list of most tourists, the thought of visiting the nation for a cricket tour is enough to send shivers down the spine of teams.
As welcoming Australia is for curious tourists, it is hostile for touring teams. For a very long time, Australia began their Test summer by mauling opponents at The Gabbatoir before shredding them into bits and pieces at the other venues in the country.
There is a distinct reason why Australia start their Test season by hosting a match in Brisbane or Perth. The Gabba in Brisbane, the WACA or the Optus Stadium in Perth are the strongholds for the Aussies.
The decks at these venues are rapid and bouncy. They are used by the Australian pacers to splinter the tourists down into submission and set the tone for the series.
While playing in Australia, India were no different than other teams during the entirety of the 20th century. India first toured Australia in 1947/48 for five Tests and got steamrolled 4-0.
India toured Australia seven times during the 20th century, got beaten five times and drew twice. Before the watershed 2018/19 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India had toured Australia 11 times with five wins, and a staggering 28 defeats.
It took 60 long years before the gulf between the two sides reduced and the Indians achieved unheralded success in the form of winning a series down under with a 2-1 scoreline.
Lightning struck twice when India repeated the feat during the 2021/22 tour and even conquered the fortress - The Gabba.
India set out to achieve rare treble
When India won their first Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, some of their fiercest critics downplayed it by alluding to the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith, who were serving their respective bans for involvement in the Sandpapergate.
But India's feat in 2021-22 turned those detractors into mute spectators when they beat a full-strength Australia down under with a 2-1 series win.
Having done it twice in a row, India stand at the threshold of an incredible treble - to become only the fourth team in history to beat Australia in Australia in three-consecutive Test series.
England (1884/85, 1886/87, 1887/88), West Indies (1984/85, 1988/89, 1992/93) and South Africa (2008/09, 2012/13. 2016/17) are the other three to have achieved the record before.
But India have their task cut out. Their series loss to New Zealand at home has raised deafening alarm bells, none louder than the ones on their ability to accumulate runs.
Barring Sarfaraz Khan who scored a 150 in the second innings of the first Test, none of the other India batters could reach the triple digits in the series against the Blackcaps.
KL Rahul was benched for the second and third Test after his failure in Bengaluru and managed scores of 4 and 10 during his appearance for India A vs Australia A in the second unofficial Test recently.
While skipper Rohit Sharma is unavailable for the first Test after the birth of his second child, India's number three, Shubman Gill is likely to be ruled out as he is nursing a thumb injury.
Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is up and firing but needs someone at the other end to support him so that he can unleash his repertoire of mind-blowing shots and knock the living daylights out of the opposition.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was in blazing form leading into the New Zealand series but could only aggregate 190 runs across six innings against the Kiwis while averaging 31.66. As this is Yashasvi's first visit down under, fans need to be realistic in terms of their expectations.
With players either on their first trip to Australia or unavailable for the series opener, India stare at their premier batter and someone who has had remarkable success playing down under - Virat Kohli.
This is Virat's fifth Test tour of Australia. He announced himself to the Aussies and the rest of the world with a gritty 116 at the Adelaide Oval in the final Test of the 2011/12 tour.
The century in Adelaide was the only one that came from the willow of an India batter in that series and was a sign of the glorious success that awaited the lad from Delhi. Virat activated beast mode following the tour and churned out runs like a machine.
His consistency and match-winning performances helped him earn the moniker - King Kohli. But the King's crowning moment came when India went back to Australia for the 2014/15 tour.
692 runs, four centuries, and one half-century - all at a jaw-dropping average of 86.50. Though India finished on the wrong side of the result, losing 2-0, Kohli left Australia with everyone in awe of his calibre.
After exhibiting such a domineering display against a mighty opposition it becomes close to impossible to better it. But words like impossible only lie in the dictionary of mere mortals and Kohli proved that he is anything but mortal when Australia dished out a lively surface at the Optus Stadium during India's 2018/19 tour.
On a strip where the ball flew after landing and batters were made to smell the leather, Kohli played his best Test knock in Australia, scoring 123 off 257 balls, studded with several sumptuous boundaries.
On a deck where the other India batters struggled to put the ball away, Kohli played an unrivalled knock for the ages against Australia's famed fast bowling cartel and their ace spinner.
A few hours later, India will begin their quest to register a hat-trick of series wins in Australia at the same Optus Stadium and against the same formidable Aussie attack and though they won't have their designated skipper, what they would have is a king who knows how to rule Australia with an iron fist.
