The highly-anticipated Border-Gavaskar Trophy kicked off on February 9, with the World number one-ranked Australia taking on familiar foes India at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium. The current edition bears further significance for both sides, as the chances of qualifying to the ICC World Test Championship 2021–23 final depend on the outcome of the next four matches. As it turns out, the Aussies will be watchful of the mighty Indian spin attack led by Ravichandran Ashwin. Historically too, Team India have managed to pull off incredible feats against their opponents on the home shores. On that note, we take a look at five major records that are on the cusp of being broken in the 1st Test. (Pic Courtesy: AP)
Updated On: 2023-02-09 01:06 PM IST
Team India’s batting maestro Virat Kohli is only 64 runs away from becoming the sixth player in history to amass 25,000 runs in international cricket. He has played an overall 490 matches, scoring an impressive 24,936 runs at an impressive average of 53.74. Thus far, batting legend Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian to achieve the feat of scoring 25,000 or more runs in international matches. If Kohli pulls off this feat, the 34-year-old right-handed batsman will find his name alongside an elite list of cricketers who have accomplished this milestone in the past.
Ranked second among bowlers and all-rounders in cricket’s longest format as of December 2021, Ravichandran Ashwin, is a name alone feared by many. The star off-spinner is only a wicket away from scalping 450 wickets in the Test format. Ashwin became the fastest Indian bowler and world’s second fastest to claim 200 Test wickets after Australian spinner Clarrie Grimmett. If he claims a wicket in the 1st Test, he will become the fastest Indian bowler to achieve the impressive feat in the history of Test cricket.
Famously known as the most successful off-spin bowler for Australia, Nathan Lyon is on the brink of entering an elite list of cricketers with the most wickets against India. Having scalped 94 wickets in 22 matches against Rohit Sharma-led India, Lyon is only six wickets away in the Nagpur Test to become only the third bowler to claim 100 plus wickets against India. If he achieves this feat, he will join Indian bowling legend Anil Kumble as the only second bowler to claim a century of wickets in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
With a distinct ability to milk any bowling attack on the home turfs, Cheteshwar Pujara has gained quite a momentum in the sport’s longest format, the one he seemed forever destined for. Pujara, a stalwart of the Indian batting challenge for many years, has amassed an overall 1893 runs from 20 matches against the Aussies. He is only 107 runs away from crossing the 2000-run mark in the Border-Gavaskar Test Series.
Former captain and batting mainstay Steve Smith is best known for his consistency with the bat in Test cricket, having drawn comparisons to the legendary Don Bradman. In the ongoing 1st Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Test Series, Smith could equal Sachin Tendulkar's record if he notches a century. To date, Smith has amassed a total of eight centuries from 28 innings across 14 Test matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, while Tendulkar boasts of nine triple-digit numbers in 34 Test matches.
