Australia is gearing up to host India in a highly anticipated five-match Test series later this year. The Australian team is determined to put an end to their dry spell in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, as they aim to secure victory against their formidable opponents. It has been a tough decade for Australia, with several players who have represented the team in the past 10 years never tasting success in this prestigious series. The last time Australia claimed the trophy was in 2014/15, when they defeated India 2-0 on home soil. Since then, they have suffered four consecutive series losses to India, including two defeats on their own turf. The upcoming series promises to be a thrilling encounter as Australia looks to reclaim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and redeem themselves against their long-standing rivals.
Fast bowler Josh Hazlewood is one of the few players remaining who was part of that 2014/15 Australian side. "There are quite a few players who have never beaten India in a Test series. It's quite astounding to say that," he is quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "That's one we need to tick off, definitely, in particular at home - we should pretty much win every series here at home.
"That last series we obviously bowled them out for 36 in Adelaide and we thought here we go, [we are] back at home [and] confident on these grounds. People say we played India B in that last Test, but they can sometimes be stronger than the best team. They've got unbelievable depth in all formats and we are starting to see that now."
While their first series defeat in 2018/19 marked the first time any Asian side had managed to beat Australia in a Test series Down Under, the second series loss in 2020/21 was arguably even more stunning. India had lost the first Test in Adelaide after being all out for just 36 runs in their second innings. Their captain and talisman Virat Kohli returned after that for the birth of his first child and India were then beset with injuries to nearly all their senior players over the course of the series. However, India recorded stunning wins at the MCG and the Gabba and a stirring draw in Sydney to win the series 2-1.
Meanwhile, Australia may have been the team that came closest to challenging India's dominance at their home but they never really posed a realistic danger to the latters' chances of winning the two series 2-1.
'The way Jaiswal played vs England was quite amazing' - LyonNathan Lyon, another member of the last Australian team to have won a Test series against India, was all praise for young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. "I haven't come across him [Jaiswal] yet, but that will be a massive challenge for all us bowlers," he said. "The way he played against England, I watched that quite closely and thought that was quite amazing. I had some really good chats with Tom Hartley about different ways he went about it to different guys which I found quite interesting," he said.
Jaiswal has scored a whopping 1028 runs in just nine Test matches at an average of 68.53 in his fledgling career, smashing three centuries and four half-centuries. He converted two of those Test tons into double centuries and those innings came in consecutive matches in India's home series against England earlier this year. Jaiswal had scored 712 runs in that series with those two double centuries and two half-centuries.
Stay informed with the latest updates on live cricket score, cricket players, match schedules and ICC rankings. Keep an eye on your favourite cricket team, including the stellar performances of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Check out the cricket schedule, track team standings and dive into player stats and rankings on Crickit, powered by Hindustan Times website and app.