Last Updated on 2 weeks by Charbel Coorey

For the first time since 2017, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) is back in the hands of Australia after their 3-1 win. Beau Webster’s winning runs were met with raucous cheers and applause from the Australian fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), confirming the end of India’s BGT streak, which had stretched to four.

The 3-1 scoreline accurately reflects the series, with Australia much the better team since Perth. Pat Cummins’ team played from in front in each of the four Tests, with India offering hope of stunning comebacks in Melbourne and Sydney, buoyed by the events of 2020/21.

However, India have been a shadow of their previous selves in Australia. While the pitches had more in them for the bowlers this time around, the absence of the rock that is Cheteshwar Pujara was felt. Also, the fact the surfaces offered more only amplified the disappointment around the reliance on Jasprit Bumrah, whose injury at the end of the series was a nightmare come true for India fans.

Key reasons why Australia went on to win the BGT 3-1

Australia and India had questions about the batting heading into the series, but the hosts delivered more when it mattered

For Australia, Steve Smith was back at four and Nathan McSweeney was given the task of opening the batting thanks to his strong First Class form in the past 12-18 months. Smith, along with Marnus Labuschagne, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head, were coming off an under-par season collectively in 2023/24, with all-rounder Mitchell Marsh the only top six batter to average 40 in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.

India also had their questions. Coming off a shock 3-0 home loss to New Zealand, the form of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli was firmly under the microscope, while Shubman Gill still had to prove some doubters wrong as to his viability as a long-term number three. With Yashasvi Jaiswal on his first tour of Australia, the fear was India may rely too heavily on counterattacking brilliance from Rishabh Pant to get them out of trouble.

In the end, Australia answered the questions better. India passed 200 just thrice in their nine completed innings, while the hosts struck 337, 445 and 474 to set up the Adelaide, Brisbane and Melbourne Tests. Overall, India averaged 21.38 per wicket in their first innings, while Australia averaged nearly eight runs more at 28.82. KL Rahul started the series so brightly, arguably holding the mantle as India’s best batter this series after three Tests, but the fact he finished with an average of 30.66 is classic Rahul.

Travis Head won man of the match in both Adelaide and Brisbane courtesy of his superb hundreds that put Australia on top. Steve Smith also enjoyed a return to his old ways in the third and fourth matches, with his MCG knock a convincing one to put Australia in the driving seat. Marnus Labuschagne, following his horror outing at Perth, hit three half-centuries in his next six innings.

It feels Labuschagne isn’t out of the woods yet given some of his recurring dismissals behind the wicket, but even his returns are the kind India would have been pleased to see from their underperforming stars. 22-year-old Yashasvi Jaiswal may have sore shoulders of his own after carrying the weight of responsibility given the struggles of Rohit and Virat, with the captain averaging 6.1 in his three Tests and the latter dismissed in the channel all eight times.

Sam Konstas was brought in for Boxing Day at the expense of McSweeney, with the task of asking different questions of Bumrah. He did, and while there are question marks around his dismissals, the performances of others around him, especially debutant Webster in Sydney, ensured Australia benefitted from the quick starts the 19-year-old provided.

Australia were tactically superior as India went defensive to mask their flaws

Because of India’s shaky batting and Rishabh Pant’s own under-par series, India were willing to sacrifice bowling prowess for a longer batting lineup. They played two spinners – Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar – with the main benefit of the longer batting lineup alongside Nitish Kumar Reddy to replicate the kind of lower-order contributions Cummins produced with the bat.

However, there is the bowling side India needed to consider. The best discipline of Cummins’ game is of his course his bowling. You can’t replicate Cummins as an overall player with two spinners in these conditions and another seam bowler whose a better batsman at this point of his career.

Sundar made a strong contribution with the bat in the first innings at Melbourne, batting 162 balls and combining for 127 runs with centurion Reddy, which increased India’s hopes of a draw given the time it took out of the game. However, India had conceded 474 and were relying too heavily on Jasprit Bumrah. India’s legendary quick was back for spell after spell with the fourth, fifth and sixth bowling options struggling to apply anywhere near the same pressure.

Inexplicably, India went for the same combinations on a much greener SCG pitch; a surface actually criticised by some Australian fans as one that can reduce the game into a pace bowling shootout. Jadeja bowled three overs, while Sundar took his mark to bowl for the first time with Australia needing 11 to win. That, along with their combined 65 runs for the match, seems an awfully low price to pay for Bumrah picking up the injury many feared he would get.

Compare this to Australia. The hosts were able to build pressure for much longer periods, even with Mitchell Marsh barely a factor with the ball. Scott Boland proved more than an able replacement for Josh Hazlewood, while Pat Cummins was at his relentless best after Perth. Mitchell Starc, not known as much for consistency, was able to ask questions even later in the series, particularly in the second innings at the MCG and first at the SCG.

Nathan Lyon, even in his limited capacity, conceded at just 2.70 per over, and Beau Webster’s superb debut enabled Cummins to rotate his quicks without worry of overworking them.

Four Australians – Cummins (167), Starc (153.2), Boland (101.4) and Lyon (122.4) – sent down over 100 overs, with Cummins and Starc’s figures inflated by Josh Hazlewood’s injury in Brisbane. For India, Bumrah (151.2) and Mohammed Siraj (157.1) contributed 308.3 out of India’s 620.4 overs, with Reddy sending down just 44. It is no surprise Siraj looked a tired figure by the time the second innings began at the SCG.

It was a similar story for India with regards to captaincy. Rohit, who reportedly “opted out” of the SCG Test, had a difficult year as Test captain. His propensity to go on the defensive all too quickly and refusal to stick to plans long enough saw a number of Australians – especially Travis Head – get into their innings.

India had their chance to even win at the MCG after reducing Australia to 91/6 in the second innings. However, Cummins counterattacked, Rohit stood back and Australia scored two 50-run partnerships for the last four wickets. More here.

Final thoughts

India had their good moments, but ruined it with some shoddy cricket, including the Yashasvi Jaiswal run out and losing seven wickets inside a session to crucially lose the MCG Test. Australia did better for longer periods, and in the end were willing to make the big calls, such as debuting Webster with the trophy still up for grabs.

In the end, the 3-1 margin for Australia is one to savour. Pat Cummins as a leader continues to grow from strength to strength, and this confidence can keep them in good stead for what promises to be another big year ahead in 2025.