The stakes are immense for both teams. India are wounded after the series defeat at home against New Zealand, the World Test Championship final spot is hanging in the balance.
Nov 22, 2024 05:00 IST First published on: Nov 22, 2024 at 05:00 IST
In the feverish anticipation it has generated in the build-up, in its ability to pull audiences to stadiums, streaming platforms and television screens, the latest instalment of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which unfolds in Perth on Friday, matches the Ashes as the most compelling rivalry in the sport. India and Australia might not share a border, nurse diplomatic tensions or cultural antagonisms, but they exude a fierce competitiveness, built exclusively on sporting tropes. It’s a pure, 24-karat sporting rivalry, but with all the intensity, spice and aura of a traditional one.
The stakes are immense for both teams. India are wounded after the series defeat at home against New Zealand, the World Test Championship final spot is hanging in the balance. A thrashing could signify the end of an era. The losses to India in 2018 and 2021 still rankle Australia, who have lost the last four of their series against them. Starring in the grand contest are some of the modern-day greats. Two of the finest batsmen in the world, Steve Smith and Virat Kohli, will try to out-perform each other. Both have fallen off the rarefied space of greatness they once inhabited, both will be determined to retrace and retrieve. Two of the finest off-spinners, Ravichandran Ashwin and Nathan Lyon, on 536 and 530 wickets respectively, will be locked in combat. The sleight-of-hand sorcery of Jasprit Bumrah will be juxtaposed against the orthodox versatility of Josh Hazlewood. India’s captain Rohit Sharma is a nudge away from losing captaincy; his counterpart Pat Cummins is a push away from being considered one of his country’s greatest leaders.
The two proud cricketing nations have orchestrated matches and individual performances of epic scale. Be it VVS Laxman’s 281, Rahul Dravid’s 233, or Sachin Tendulkar’s 241, the Miracle of Eden, or the Mohali heist, the Adelaide capitulation or the Brisbane shock, the folklore is diverse and rich. The buzzing hope of another blockbuster series will shape the next two months in the cricketing universe.
