Australia vs. India: The rivalries that have ignited our summer of Test match spice
With shoulder charges, sledges and send-offs galore this edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been an all-time classic. Watch all the biggest moments here.
It’s been the summer of spice.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is now indisputably every bit the rivalry that the Ashes is and there have been a multitude of flashpoints, rivalries and bubbling controversies that have led us to this do-or-die fifth and deciding Test in Sydney.
If Australia win or draw at the SCG the trophy that has eluded them the last two times India has toured will finally be in their possession.
Lose and the embarrassment will continue as India will flee with the spoils for an incredible third straight tour.
Here are the clashes that have made this series an all-time classic.
KOHLI V KONSTAS
The King Virat Kohli going out of his way to deliberately shoulder charge The Kid Sam Konstas will go down as one of the most memorable clashes in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
The extraordinary subtext to the MCG bump which, in another world, could have brought upon a charge on AFL Grand Final day, was that Konstas idolised Kohli as a kid.
In social media videos, Konstas declares Kohli is one of three people he’d invite over for dinner and that he’d choose him to bat over now teammate, Steve Smith.
That all went out the window when Kohli walked diagonally out of his line to bump Konstas in an attempt to throw him off his game. Kohli was slammed for trying to bully and intimidate a 19-year-old young enough to be his son on his Test debut.
Konstas was unfazed and went on to whoop it up in both innings when Kohli was dismissed. In the space of five days, Konstas became an enemy of Indian fans and a poster boy for the new generation of Australian cricket.
STARC V JAISWAL
What a classic seesawing battle it has been between Australian spearhead Mitchell Starc and Indian opener Yashasvi Jaiswal. In Perth, the honours were shared when Starc snared Jaiswal for a duck in the first innings of the Test, before the 22-year-old wunderkind struck back with a massive second innings hundred which secured India a landslide come-from-behind victory.
The fact he sledged Starc with comments such as “too slow” despite bowling 145km/h thunderbolts shows you the confidence of the Indian superstar in the making.
Then Starc delivered the most spectacular of counterpunches in Adelaide when he trapped Jaiswal lbw first ball of the Test match. It was electric stuff.
Despite this and another quiet Test in Brisbane, Jaiswal showed he is going nowhere this series when he smashed back-to-back 80s in the Boxing Day at the MCG, albeit in a losing side.
You can’t look away when Starc has the new ball in his hands and Jaiswal is facing up – it’s sporting theatre at its best.
KONSTAS V BUMRAH
The electric confrontation between the 19-year-old debutant and perhaps the greatest fast bowler to have ever toured Australia on Boxing Day at the MCG will go down in history as one of the most enthralling – and bizarre – of all time.
The master Jasprit Bumrah beat the bat of Konstas four times in a relentless first over. Then on the fifth ball of Bumrah’s second over, Konstas shocked the world with an attempted reverse ramp shot.
Konstas missed with that attempt, and his next, but ultimately the outrageous tactics succeeded in throwing Bumrah off his game plan and forcing India to make field changes as the scoreboard ticked over.
Konstas’ 60 off 65 balls might have been lucky, but it was the brave initiative no other Australian batsman had managed to show against Bumrah all series and it may prove the turning point that wins his team the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
SIRAJ V HEAD
This was the heated, old-fashioned bowler v batsman dust-up that really brought this series to life in Adelaide. Travis Head had pounded Mohammed Siraj all over Adelaide Oval and the Indian quick had even dropped a chance off the Australian century-maker just to add insult to injury.
All that pent-up frustration poured out of Siraj when he finally got his man – but Head didn’t appreciate the animated celebration when he’d just piled 140 on the board and gave Siraj an expletive-laden return-serve.
Siraj then showed Head where the dressing room was, with both men incurring a fine from the match referee. From that moment Siraj became public enemy No. 1 and was booed mercilessly by the Adelaide crowd.
SIRAJ V LABUSCHAGNE
Siraj had obviously watched the 2023 Ashes when Stuart Broad successfully tried his voodoo trick of changing Marnus Labuschagne’s bails on him and bringing about a wicket from the cricket Gods.
Siraj tried the same move in a bid to break Labuschagne’s concentration. The Australian batsman was onto him and immediately changed the bails back … but he was out an over later with some commentators speculating Siraj had successfully broken Labuschagne’s concentration.
There was another attempted episode of bail changing at the MCG, and as Tom Moody said on X, surely it’s time for the ICC to ban players playing around with the bails. Enough is enough, the joke has worn off.
JAISWAL V ROHIT
There were heated scenes out in the middle of the MCG on day four when young opener Jaiswal dropped three catches. Captain Rohit Sharma became increasingly animated with his demonstrative reactions to each fumble, and right in Jaiswal’s eye line as well.
The frustration was understandable in the sense the drops cost India any realistic chance of restricting Australia to a second innings total they could chase down.
But it was a poor look for a skipper to be so belittling towards one of his junior teammates. Especially when Jaiswal has been India’s best batsman and Rohit can’t buy a run.
JAISWAL V KOHLI
As Nathan Lyon described it, the calamitous run-out of Jaiswal on 82 in India’s first innings of the Boxing Day Test – sparking a mini collapse before stumps on day two – was one of the great barbecues of all time.
But the question is who was responsible for the mid-pitch cookout? Most good judges said it was primarily Jaiswal’s fault for haring down the wicket following a shot he had punched much harder to the fieldsman than perhaps he intended.
There was no run in it.
But Kohli also played his part because he was ball watching, a cardinal sin, particularly given he would have been running to the non-danger end. Kohli did not respond at all and if he was more aware of what was going on, perhaps he could have sacrificed himself given Jaiswal was the in-form batsman closing in on a hundred.
The mix-up also undid Kohli though and he was out a short time after. Oh to be a fly on the wall of the Indian dressing room.
KOHLI V AUSTRALIAN MEDIA
There were ugly scenes at the Brisbane airport when Kohli reacted angrily in the belief TV cameras were filming his family without permission. It was a storm in a teacup in many ways, although reporters on the scene said Kohli’s reaction was way over the top.
What the incident did do was spotlight Kohli’s mental state, which was then laid bare with some of his aggressive antics at the MCG.
JAISWAL V DRS
The young Indian opener smashed the cover off a Pat Cummins short ball which travelled through to Alex Carey in the tense final day theatrics at the MCG. But after starting to move off the field, Jaiswal held his ground when he realised umpire Joel Wilson was not giving him out.
When Snicko failed to register a noise to the ball hitting the face of the bat, Jaiswal remained resolute at the crease, despite replays clearly showing a deflection off the bat.
When common sense prevailed and Jaiswal was given his marching orders he refused to go and argued the point with the on-field umpires as he was gently jibed by the Australian fieldsmen.
In Jaiswal’s defence it was confusing that the technology had not clarified what seemed such an obvious dismissal, but the third umpire followed all the correct protocols in giving him out, so on your bike, son.
BUMRAH V THE ENTIRE AUSTRALIAN TOP ORDER
Individual Australian batsmen like Steve Smith and Travis Head might have had their moments in the sun, but rarely has Test cricket seen a bowler completely dominate an opposition like Bumrah has done his hosts.
Bumrah has taken 30 wickets at a staggering average of 12.83 and is on track to record the greatest ever tour by an overseas bowler.
ROHIT V MOHAMMED SHAMI
Rumours have been circulating out of India that there is a personal issue between Indian captain Rohit Sharma and veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami.
The BCCI say Shami simply hasn’t been fit enough to join the tour and there is no reason to disbelieve them.
But the rumours have been hard to ignore because of how much Shami could have changed the course of the series had he been flown in after the first or second Test.
Shami working in conjunction with Bumrah would have been absolutely lethal, but he’s been nowhere to be seen.
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