Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane. These venues hosted the first three Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy and with two Tests to go, the scoreline of the five-match series is 1-1. Team India would've grabbed this situation with both hands had it been offered ahead of the series, especially after the 3-0 series loss at the hands of New Zealand that ended their home dominance. Going into the last two matches, India will certainly feel confident having dominated in Melbourne and Sydney on the last couple of tours Down Under.
A sellout crowd is waiting for the Boxing Day Test to commence at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on December 26. While India's recent record at the Boxing Day Test in the last decade or so has been impeccable, let us have a look at the reason why this is the most celebrated Test match in Australia.
What is the Boxing Day Test?
Boxing Day Test is an annual fixture played during the home summer in Australia at the iconic MCG. The game draws massive crowds every year as it is a celebration of culture and it also symbolises the sporting excellence in the country. Interestingly, this tradition has been gradually built over the years. Earlier, during the 1950s, Boxing Day was never the start of the Test match. In the 1950-51 Ashes, the Melbourne Test was played from December 22 to 27 which means the fourth day of the match was Boxing Day.
However, Cricket Australia had to start the Melbourne Test on December 26 (Boxing Day) during the 1974-75 Ashes to accommodate six Test matches. This match turned out to be the origin of the tradition. However, it was not until 1980 that the Australian board formalised the event officially. Since then, in every Australian summer, the Melbourne Test begins on Boxing Day and hence, the tradition.
Even for the upcoming Test match at the MCG, the Boxing Day was sold out more than two weeks ago. With the thrilling series set up nicely for the conclusion, the cricket fans in the country are set to light up the MCG with their families and enjoy the fierce action in the middle between two powerhouse teams in the sport.
India's record in Boxing Day Tests
India have so far played nine Boxing Day Test matches in history winning two, drawing as many and losing five. Not a great record to boast, right? Well, India last lost a Boxing Day Test in 2011. Yes, in the last 13 years, India have not lost in Melbourne and in fact, have won on the last couple of occasions.
India last lost a Boxing Day Test back in 2011 and since then, drew in 2014 (which was also the last Test match for MS Dhoni), won in 2018 and 2021. This fact certainly gives the team a lot of confidence going into the upcoming Melbourne Test especially with the batting not clicking in the last two matches.
Have Indian batters struggled historically at the MCG?
The Indian team of old struggled immensely to come to terms with the MCG Test and the jam-packed crowd used to put a lot of pressure on the visiting team as well. However, that is not the case with the modern-day cricketers. They thrive under pressure and the results in the last two Boxing Day Tests prove it as well.
Ajinkya Rahane's century in the first innings on the back of a 36 all-out in Adelaide on the last tour and Jasprit Bumrah's six-wicket haul to skittle Australia during the 2018-19 tour came at the crunch time in the series. Add to it, Cheteshwar Pujara's century facing more than 300 balls and Australia would really feel the heat. Such performances proved to be the turning point as well not only in the match but also in the series.
The conditions at the MCG are challenging for the batters even now but the current crop of batters have shown that resilience to grind it out. Not that the team of the early 2000s struggled completely at the MCG. Players like Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag have also notched up tons at the venue. Three Indian players - Tendulkar, Rahane and Bumrah have also won the Player of the Match awards in Boxing Day Tests. Another tradition that is followed in Melbourne Tests is that the players winning the Man of the Match award get the Mullagh medal, named in honour of Indigenous Australian cricketer Johnny Mullagh.
Lot of new faces in India's Test squad since the 2020 Boxing Day Test
For quite a few years now, team India is going through a transition in Tests. If the playing XIs from the previous Boxing Day Test are compared to the upcoming game, the changes are stark. The major change is the absence of Ravichandran Ashwin who retired at the Gabba Test in Brisbane. Even without playing, India were used to having the genius in Ashwin around and suddenly, his absence will be felt in the camp. He was the one who made use of the damp pitch at the MCG four years ago to nip Steve Smith for a duck and set the Test match nicely for India.
Apart from him, the team management has also moved on from the heroes of the 2018 and 2020 tours Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. The twin debutants of the 2018 Boxing Day Test debutants - Mayank Agarwal and Hanuma Vihari - featured on the previous tour as well. However, both of them are not with the team anymore with comebacks unlikely as well.
Will the new-look team, under veteran Rohit Sharma's leadership, be able to turn the tables on Australia for the third consecutive time in Melbourne? India have a great chance to go against the odds and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fifth consecutive time. The stats are in their favour this time and after luck favoured them in Brisbane to keep the series tied at 1-1, it is time for the players, especially the batters to step up and deliver.
