All the numbers ahead of the crucial India-Australia Tests
Australia and India, currently ranked No.1 and 2 respectively in both the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings and the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023 cycle, will meet in a four-match Test series in India.
The first Test will be played in Nagpur between February 9 and 13.
The two teams faced-off in 50 Tests across 12 series between 1947-48 and 1991-92, after which the trophy was named to honour the two legends Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. India and Australia first played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 1996-97.
India are the current holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, having won the series held in Australia in 2020-21.
They have named a strong squad for the upcoming series in India, when the hosts will aim to become the first team to win four consecutive Test series between the pair.
India’s Test squad for the first two Tests against Australia: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vc), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), R. Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammad Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Suryakumar Yadav.
Australia Test squad for tour of India: Pat Cummins (captain), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey (wk), Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.
India and Australia have played in 27 Test series since their first meeting in 1947-48. Australia lead the way with 12 series wins to India’s 10, while five series have been drawn.
India have hosted Australia in 14 Test series and hold an 8-4 lead, with two of the series being drawn.
Eight of these Test series in India have been played for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with the hosts holding a 7-1 series lead in that time and a 16-5 win-loss ratio across the 25 Tests on their home soil.
Australia’s lone series win in India in that period came in 2004-05 - by a 2-1 margin - with the visitors winning two of the first three Tests in the four-match series under Adam Gilchrist with regular skipper Ricky Ponting sidelined.
India have won each of the last three Test series played between the two sides: at home in 2016-17, and away in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Matches: 102
Won by India: 30 (29.41 percent)
Won by Australia: 43 (42.15 percent)
Drawn: 28
Tied: 1
The last edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy played in Australia in 2020-21 was arguably one of the greatest series in the history of the sport.
India were famously bundled out for 36 in the second-innings of the series-opening pink-ball Test in Adelaide to go down by eight wickets, and with skipper Virat Kohli flying back home with paternal leave the team was not given much of a chance to turn the series around.
However, what followed was a stunning response in Melbourne with stand-in skipper Ajinkya Rahane registering a brilliant first-innings hundred to inspire the visitors to a resounding eight-wicket win.
Rishabh Pant, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari played starring roles in a hard-fought draw in Sydney to set up a decider in Brisbane.
India entered the fourth Test with a host of their senior players injured, with Mohammed Siraj in his third Test the most experienced bowler in an attack that included debutants T Natarajan and Washington Sundar.
Sundar and Shardul Thakur scored defiant fifties to stage India’s fightback and keep the game in balance after the first two innings of the Test, while Siraj bagged a maiden Test five-for in the second innings to set up a thrilling final day finish.
Powered by young guns Shubman Gill and Pant, and guided by Pujara, India hunt down the 328-run target with three wickets to spare to hand Australia their first Test defeat at the Gabba in a staggering 32 years and complete an epic series win.
**Australia:**D, W, W, W, W, L, W, W, D, D
**India:**W, W, L, W, W, L, L, W, W, D
Australia registered Test series wins against the West Indies and South Africa recently, while India’s last Test assignment was their 2-0 clean sweep on the Bangladesh tour in December.
Australia sit at the top of the current ICC World Test Championship standings with a points percentage of 75.56, and are primed for a spot in the WTC Final to be played at The Oval later this year.
India are placed second with 58.93 percentage points, closely followed by Sri Lanka on 53.33 and South Africa in fourth on 48.72.
Australia are well-placed to qualify for the WTC Final regardless of the series result against India.
India need positive results in the upcoming series, and ideally to avoid a series defeat and having to rely on New Zealand to beat Sri Lanka in their two-match series in March to have a chance of appearing in the WTC Final.
A 4-0 series win for India would help them attain a points percentage of 68.06, which is likely to be enough for a crucial top-two finish in the WTC standings.
Most runs
Sachin Tendulkar leads the run-scoring charts in India v Australia Tests with 3630 runs at an average 55 with 11 tons, followed by Ricky Ponting who scored 2555 runs at 54.36 with eight hundreds.
Cheteshwar Pujara (1893 runs at 54.08) leads the way among current players, followed by Steve Smith (1742 at 72.58) and Virat Kohli (1682 at 48.05).
Highest individual score
Michael Clarke’s match-winning 329* in the 2012 New Year’s Test in Sydney is the highest individual score in Tests between the teams, followed by VVS Laxman’s epic 281 at the Eden Gardens in 2001.
Most wickets
Former India captain Anil Kumble is the leading-wicket taker in India-Australia Tests with 111 scalps at 30.32, followed by Harbhajan Singh (95 wickets at 29.85).
Nathan Lyon, who currently has 94 wickets at 34.75, is next best and could surpass the duo with another influential series in India.
Best bowling
Jasubhai Patel’s 9/69 in Kanpur in 1959 is the best return in an innings between India and Australia, followed by Nathan Lyon’s 8/50 in Bangalore in 2017 and Harbhajan Singh’s 8/84 in Chennai in 2001.
Kapil Dev (8/106), Anil Kumble (8/141) and Jason Krejza (8/215) have also claimed a remarkable eight wickets in an innings in clashes between the teams.
Harbhajan’s 15/217 across the two innings of the Chennai Test in 2001 is the best bowling figures in a match.
First Test: February 9-13
Second Test: February 17-21
Third Test: March 1-5
Fourth Test: March 9-13
First ODI: March 17
Second ODI: March 19
Third ODI: March 22