5 best all-round performances in Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia ft. Shardul Thakur at The Gabba in 2021
India and Australia will resume their famed red-ball rivalry when they clash in the first Test of the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Perth starting Friday, November 22. The India-Australia rivalry is considered on par with the Ashes and the India-Pakistan clash owing to the quality of cricket it has produced.
India have won the last two Border-Gavaskar Trophy contests Down Under. They stunned the Aussies 2-1 in 2018-19 to register a historic triumph and pulled off an encore during their 2020-21 visit. Australia, however, will go all out to avoid a hat-trick of losses against India in home conditions.
Barring the last two series, Australia have dominated the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home and will be looking forward to reclaim the ascendancy. There have been some wonderful all-round performances in BGT matches held in Australia over the years. Ahead of the latest edition of the competition, here's a recap.
#5 Simon Katich (75 & 31, 2-59 & 2-22)
This is an unheralded effort as Australia went on to lose the Test against India in Adelaide in December 2003. Batting first, the Aussies put up 556 on the board. While Ricky Ponting top-scored with 242, the underrated Katich chipped in with a crucial 75 off 109 balls.
India responded with 523 as Rahul Dravid struck 233, but Katich chipped in with a couple of handy wickets with his left-arm spin. He dismissed Parthiv Patel and Ajit Agarkar to end with figures of 2-59 from 16 overs. In the second innings, the Aussies folded up for 196 as Agarkar starred with career-best figures of 6-41. Katich was one of Agarkar's victims, but not before contributing a brisk 31.
India were set a target of 230 to win their first Test in Australia in 22 overs. They got home courtesy of Dravid (72*). However, Katich did give the visitors a mild scare, picking up two wickets. He dismissed VVS Laxman for 32 and Parthiv for 3.
#4 Ryan Harris (74 & 21, 4-70 & 2-30)
Former Australian pacer Ryan Harris was obviously known more for his bowling exploits. However, he came up with an excellent all-round effort in the 2014 Boxing Day Test against India in Melbourne in a match that ended in a draw.
Batting first, the Aussies put up 530 as Steven Smith top-scored with 192, but Harris frustrated India with 74 off 88 balls. India replied with 465 courtesy of tons from Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane. The score could have been much bigger, but for Harris claiming 4-70 in his 26 overs.
Australia declared their second innings on 318-9, with Harris again chipping in with the bat, playing a cameo of 21. Set a target of 384, India finished on 174-6, with Harris getting the scalps of Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli.
#3 Irfan Pathan (28 & 46, 2-63 & 3-54)
India made a strong comeback following the Monkeygate controversy in Sydney, winning the next game of the 2007-08 series in Perth by 72 runs. All-rounder Irfan Pathan was the Player of the Match for his stupendous performance.
Batting first, the visitors posted a competitive 330. Dravid top-scored with 93, while lower down the order Irfan contributed 28 off 44. The latter then picked up the first two wickets to fall in Australia's first innings. Irfan dismissed Chris Rogers and Phil Jaques to reduce the hosts to 13-2. The other left-arm pacer, RP Singh, also claimed 4-68 as the Aussies were held to 212.
Laxman's 79 and Irfan's 46 (batting at No. 3) guided Team India to 294 in their second innings. Chasing a target of 413, Australia were held to 340 as Irfan claimed 3-54 from 16 overs. The left-arm pacer again dismissed the Aussie openers before returning to add the scalp of Stuart Clark.
#2 Andrew Symonds (162* & 61, 3/51)
The Sydney Test of the 2007-08 series was marred by multiple controversies. Umpire Steve Bucknor had a horror match and India bore the brunt of his poor decisions. The late Aussie all-rounder Andrew Symonds rode his luck to smash 162* off 226 balls in the first innings as the hosts batted first. Symonds' knock included 18 fours and two sixes as Australia posed 463.
India replied with 532 as Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman hit tons. Australia hit back by putting up 401-7 declared in their second innings. While Matthew Hayden and Michael Hussey scored hundreds, Symonds made another crucial contribution, scoring 61 off 100 balls. Set to chase a target of 333, India folded up for 210. Symonds got the three massive wickets of Dravid, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.
#1 Shardul Thakur (3-94 & 4-61, 67)
Shardul Thakur came up with a superlative all-round effort as India stunned Australia at their fortress in Gabba to clinch the 2020-21 series 2-1. Batting first, the Aussies were held to 369 despite Marnus Labuschagne's 108 as Thakur, T Natarajan and Washington Sundar all claimed three scalps each. Thakur got the scalps of Marcus Harris, Tim Paine and Pat Cummins.
In response, India crumbled to 186-6. However, Thakur (67) and Sundar (62) featured in a famous seventh-wicket stand of 123 to lift the visitors' spirits. Thakur struck nine fours and two sixes in his innings before being cleaned up by Cummins. India ended up scoring 336 in their first innings.
Thakur played a key role with the ball in the second innings as well, picking up 4-61. His victims included Harris and Paine again, while he dismissed Cameron Green as well for 37. Mohammed Siraj picked up a five-fer as India held the Aussies to 294. Shubman Gill (91) and Rishabh Pant (89*) then lifted the visitors to an unforgettable victory at The Gabba in a chase of 328.