Border-Gavaskar Trophy: The five recent Test series between India and Australia 

By Rahul Pandey

India's upcoming tour of Australia, stacked up with five Test matches, is likely to decide the fate of one, or maybe both finalists, for next year's ICC World Test Championship summit clash with the two teams currently occupying the top two slots in the table.

As the two prepare to lock horns for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, here's a look at the last five instances when India and Australia squared up against each other in a Test series.

2014/15: Kohli takes charge, Australia extend home streak

While Australia emerged victors by 2-0, the four-Test series between the two nations - played in the aftermath of Phillip Hughes’ tragic passing - was far more closely contested than it was four years back when Australia swept India 4-0.

All-format captain at the time, MS Dhoni, missed out the first time and in his stead, Virat Kohli was handed the reins in Adelaide. Under the scanner after a dismal Test series of England earlier that year, Kohli led from the front - scoring centuries in both innings. Despite falling short by 48 runs, India put together a memorable exhibition of a fourth-innings chase.

Australia doubled their lead in Brisbane with a narrow win before India managed to draw the third Test in Melbourne. The game was followed by Dhoni calling it quits in the longest format of the game, with Kohli promoted as India’s red-ball captain.

The newly appointed skipper racked up another century in Sydney as both teams closed the series with another stalemate. Kohli ended up scoring 692 runs from the four games, only behind Steve Smith, who compiled a staggering 769 runs.

2016/17: A 2-1 classic as Smith and Co. come close

Australia’s first tour since Steve Smith assumed the command of the Test team saw the tourists deliver an unexpected drubbing of 333 runs in the first Test in Pune. Playing his first Test in India, Steven O’Keefe claimed 12 wickets across the two innings as India lost a Test at home after 19 matches in four years.

The hosts pulled one back in Bengaluru with KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara stitching crucial knocks, and Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin snapping six-wicket hauls each.

A draw in Ranchi with Cheteshwar Pujara’s marathon innings of 202 runs off 525 deliveries meant the series went down the wire to the fourth and final Test. Playing in the absence of skipper Kohli, India eventually clinched the series 2-1 under Ajinkya Rahane with an eight-wicket win in Dharamsala.

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2018/19: A historic first series win for India

Missing two seasoned batters in David Warner and Steve Smith, Australia’s batting was constantly put to test by India’s pace troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, who accounted for a total of 48 wickets in the series.

The visitors kicked-off the series on a winning note in a final-day thriller in Adelaide. And even though Australia seized a commanding win in Perth to square the series, India bounced back in the Boxing-Day Test and played out a draw in Sydney to wrap-up a first-ever Test series triumph in Australia.

Cheteshwar Pujara, adjudged the Player of the Series, scored more runs than anyone in both camps - 521 runs from seven innings that included three centuries.

2020/21: A turnaround for the ages

The odds were stacked up against India after the first of four Tests in Adelaide. A shell-shocking dismissal for 36 in the final innings, Virat Kohli missing out on the remainder of the series, and a host of injury woes. Led by Ajinkya Rahane, though, the team mounted an incredible comeback.

While Rahane alongside the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Ravindra Jadeja were some of the experienced campaigners who laid the track for the comeback, youngsters such Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammed Siraj also emerged as key protagonists.

The series finale at the Gabba saw India chase down a mammoth 328 in the fourth innings on the final day of the Test to hand Australia a series loss.

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2023/24: Indore scare, but the hosts prevail

Another face-off between these two teams where the spinners had their say. While the duo of Ashwin and Jadeja shared 47 wickets among them, Australia’s veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon, alongside fresh faces in Todd Murphy and Matthew Kuhnemann, accounted for 45 scalps.

Just as India looked to be cruising to a comfortable series win after claiming the opening two Tests, Australia pulled off a stunning nine-wicket upset in Indore in a low-scoring affair.

The series decider in Ahmedabad saw heaps of runs in contrast with Usman Khawaja, Cameron Green, Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli all scoring hundreds to force the game to a draw. The result meant both teams progressed through to the 2023 World Test Championship Final in three months time at The Oval, where Australia pipped past India to claim the title.