Maybe it’s just coincidence, but the institution of a trophy for what till then was a largely one-sided rivalry has changed the dynamics of India-Australia Test cricket. In recognition of the services to the sport and to their respective trophies, the cricket boards of India and Australia decided that from 1996 onwards, the two countries would battle it out in Test cricket for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy . Allan Border oversaw one of the most difficult transitional phases for Australia in the mid-80s, eventually taking them to the 1987 World Cup title and helping them turn the corner, while Sunil Gavaskar is India’s first true batting legend, a magnificent amalgam of technique, temperament and pride that made him the first batter to reach 10,000 Test runs.
Australia had lorded several of the exchanges between the sides until that point, primarily at home, but in the last few decades, there has been a greater levelling of the field. India can lay claim to bossing the recent faceoffs, keeping the trophy in their possession since 2017 when they scored a hard-fought 2-1 triumph at home. Since then, they have grabbed the last three series too by identical score lines, including twice in Australia.
Having waited 71 years for their first series win Down Under in 2018-19, India reprised their heroics two years later with a severely depleted side in arguably the greatest moment in Test cricket for India, home or away. Recency bias will perhaps tilt the scales towards the astonishin.