The upcoming Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 is a crucial event for India and Australia to secure their spots in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 finals.

Team India’s under-pressure captain Rohit Sharma and his teammate Virat Kohli, who are undergoing the toughest phases of their career will be scrutinized in terms of batting performance. The Ro-Ko pair needs to make use of this 5-match test series to re-establish their dominance in the sport’s longest format.

Most importantly, New Zealand’s 3-0 whitewash has left India in a must-win situation to conclude the series with a 5-0 or 4-0 scoreline to confirm their spot into their third consecutive WTC final. As a result, it could be an uphill task for Rohit Sharma to guide India to a convincing victory in its last series of the WTC 2023-25 cycle.

On the other hand, the mighty Australians were never whitewashed by any team in the home test series and ranked as the table toppers in the WTC 2023–25 points table after India’s crushing loss to New Zealand. With seven more matches remaining in the ongoing cycle (5 vs India and 2 vs Sri Lanka), the Pat Cummins-led test cricket team’s qualification scenario is clear, yet challenging by having to win at least 5 matches.

However, determining the winner would be much more challenging as the 17th edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy promises to be one of the best series in the 21st century.

In this preview, you will find out the head-to-head records of India vs Australia in the previous editions of the BGT that help to predict the winner of the high-voltage contest. Let’s make this session much more intriguing by delving deeper to explore the schedule, squads, and the top bowlers’ stats on Australian soil since 2018.

Schedule and Venue of 5-match Border Gavaskar Trophy Series 2024-25:

Here is the schedule and venue of the 5-match test series between India and Australia in the Border Gavaskar Trophy all you need to know about:

India vs Australia Head-to-Head Records in Border Gavaskar Trophy from 1996 to 2023

Out of the 16 editions of the BGTs, India holds the upper hand against Australia, and the head-to-head stats are tabulated below:

10 Most Successful Captains in the Border Gavaskar Trophy: From MS Dhoni to Rohit Sharma

Here is the list of the top 10 captains who achieved the most wins in the Border Gavaskar Trophy with MS Dhoni ranking at the leading position:

India and Australia Squad for BGT 2024-25

Here is the detailed list of Indian and Australian squad for BGT 2024-25:

Indian Cricket Team 17- Member Squad:

Australian Cricket Team 18-Member Squad (only for 1st Test in Perth):

Top Bowlers Stats on Australian Soil Since 2018

Regardless of the total score accumulated, if a team needs to win a test match, then it is the bowlers’ job to grab all 20 wickets of the opponent team’s batters (10 wickets per inning). So, it becomes important to analyze the below listed best-performing bowlers and their noteworthy stats against the opponent team batters who have taken the most wickets on Australian soil since 2018:

AUSTRALIAN BOWLERS vs INDIAN BATTERS (At Home)

1. Nathan Lyon (off-spinner):

2. Josh Hazlewood (Medium-pacer): 

3. Pat Cummins (Pacer):

 INDIAN BOWLERS vs AUSTRALIAN BATTERS (Australian Pitches): 

1. Ravichandran Ashwin (Off-spinner):

 2. Jasprit Bumrah (Medium Pacer):

Challenges for India and Australia Ahead of BGT 2024-25: Final Thoughts

These are the challenges that make India and Australia pressurized before the commencement of BGT 2024-25:

1. INDIA:

• Rohit’s absence in the first test: As the Indian skipper is on paternity leave, Jasprit Bumrah is appointed as the stand-in captain for the first test. Rohit’s absence in crucial moments could affect his team’s success rate.
   
• Yashasvi Jaiswal’s challenge on overseas pitches: Although the Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has shown his dominance in-home test series, he has a real battle in front of him to prove his consistency in SENA countries.
  
• Shubman Gill’s Injury: It is a huge blow for Team India as Shubman Gill faces a fractured thumb during the practice sessions, thereby adding a huge concern to the Indian team’s batting line-up.
  
• No.6 Spot remains a question: Either Sarfaraz Khan or Dhruv Jurel can be batted at the sixth position if Virat Kohli moves ahead in the batting order and KL Rahul batting at the fifth spot due to Gill’s injury. But, Jurel’s proven abilities by scoring back-to-back fifties in the recent unofficial test against Australia could result in Sarfaraz getting sidelined as he is yet to prove his worth in overseas conditions.
  
• Virat Kohli’s downfall in recent times: The BGT is the only opportunity left for Virat Kohli to prove his worth in test cricket after witnessing a huge decline in his recent form. Despite having a stunning track record in Australia, his struggle against spinners since 2021 remains a worry for the Indian cricket team.

2. AUSTRALIA:

• A New Opening Combination for Aussies: After David Warner’s retirement, it is expected that the debutant Nathan McSweeney could be the perfect opening pair alongside Usman Khawaja. At the same time, the 25-year-old all-rounder needs to overcome his nervousness playing against a competitive team like India.
  
• 10-Year BGT Drought: The Australians won their last BGT at home in 2014. Since then, the WTC champions have lost two consecutive seasons and couldn’t afford to make it a hat-trick of losses in front of their home crowd.
  
• Star Batters to get back into form: Apart from Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Marsh, the top-scoring batters such as Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been undergoing a lean patch in test cricket since their triumph in the WTC 2023 finals against India. The Australian batters need to bat out of their comfort zone to post a highly competitive total against India.