Australia National Cricket Team Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has shared his burning desire to register a Test series victory over the India National Cricket Team. Pat Cummins has tasted huge success against India, especially in the mega-events. Pat Cummins guided the Aussies to epic wins over the Men In Blue in the ICC World Test Championship and ICC ODI World Cup finals. However, he is yet to win a Test series as captain against India.
Australia’s Test captain, Pat Cummins, has reiterated that he is desperate to win a series against India. Pat Cummins statement comes ahead of the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy between the two sides scheduled Down Under.
Australia’s last series victory over India was in 2014
Australia last beat India in a Test series in the 2014/15 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (2-0).India avenged the loss with a 2-1 win at home in 2017. The series was embroiled in controversies. India then became the only Asian side with a Test series win in Australia (2018/19). They also won the 2020/21 series Down Under before beating Australia at home (2023).
There is a lot of excitement around Australia’s upcoming Test series against India. The reigning World Test Champions will host India in five Test matches. India have won the last two Test series Down Under, while they have held onto the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy since March 2017.
Team India are the current holders of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they beat Australia at home in the previous series. Australia have not got their hands on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy since 2014, which was the last time they won the Test series. The Indian team have won the last four series between the teams, including the victories on Australian soil on the last two tours in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
With three weeks remaining for the highly-anticipated series, Australian skipper Pat Cummins has issued a warning to the Indian team, highlighting their defeat in the ongoing home series against New Zealand. Notably, the Rohit Sharma-led side lost to the Kiwis by eight wickets in Bengaluru and 113 runs in Pune to concede an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. With this outcome, India’s remarkable streak of 18 consecutive home Test series victories came to an end.
Pat Cummins has led Australia in only three Tests against India and managed a victory in just one match and that was the all-important ICC World Test Championship final last year. Pat Cummins, a veteran of 62 Tests, has never been a part of Australia squad, who won the Test series against India. No wonder, he is desperate to turn things around in the forthcoming series.
Pat Cummins desperate to beat India in upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25
Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has admitted that beating India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is ‘one big thing’ that he wants to ‘tick off’. He asserted that the Aussies are confident of doing well in the upcoming Test series against India at home.
While he has some glorious cricketing achievements to his credit, Cummins has never been part of an Australian side that has beaten India in a Test series. The Aussies last won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2014, when they beat India 2-0 at home. However, Cummins was not part of that series.
India have won the last four Border-Gavaskar Trophy contests, two of the triumphs coming Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21. Speaking to AAP, the fast bowler admitted that he wants a Test series triumph against India to be part of his impressive resume. Cummins said (as quoted by Cricbuzz):
“It’s kind of the one big thing that I want to tick off. Particularly winning at home. Most Australians, me included, expect us to do well whenever we play at home.
“We’ve lost the (last) two series against them (in Australia), so this is a big one. We feel like our team’s in a really good place, so we’ve got no reason why we shouldn’t perform really well. I just always expect us to do well against whoever we play. But India, particularly, is a big year, big season,” the experienced fast bowler added.
India beat Australia by 2-1 margins Down Under in 2018-19 and 2020-21. When the Aussies visited India in 2023, the hosts clinched the four-match series 2-1.
Pat Cummins on Border-Gavaskar Trophy challenge
While India have done exceptionally well against Australia in Tests over the last few years, Rohit Sharma and Co. might be a bit short of confidence heading into the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy after New Zealand created history by registering their maiden Test series win in India.
Cummins admitted that playing an under-confident India might not be a bad thing, but added that they will come hard at the visitors nevertheless.
“I think any time a team’s under pressure, it’s not a bad thing if you’re playing against them. But they’ve been out here before and performed well. Our job is to try and keep them quiet, see how we go,” the Australian captain said.
The team that wins the Border-Gavaskar Trophy could be well poised to earn a place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s next year. India are currently heading the points table, followed by the defending champions Australia.
The marquee series is slated to get underway on November 22 in Perth and the action will then shift to Adelaide (December 6-10), where both teams will face each other in a Day-Night Test. The last three Tests are set to take place in Brisbane (December 14-18), Melbourne (December 26-30), and Sydney (January 3-7).