It was Jasprit Bumrah vs Australian Team.
Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024/25 highlighted Jasprit Bumrah’s extraordinary skills as he took center stage against the Australian team. It seemed a one man show when he came to bowel . Bumrah was on song every time he was asked to bowel. He took 32 wickets in 5 tests , averaging 13.06. His performance clearly set him apart and has raised the bar for any overseas fast bowler visiting Australia in many coming years. Without him in the team it could have been easy 4-0/5-0 result.
Need for Change in Indian Senior Line-up?
Another noteworthy point from this year’s BGT was the disappointing performance of senior Indian batsmen, including Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sharma’s struggle against Pat Cummins and Kohli’s struggle against Scott Boland’s 5th-6th stump line was evident. Virat Kohli not only struggled with batting but also crossed the limit of being intimidating on the field. He seemed to have got it wrong and understandably got a befitting response from Aussie media and crowd.
Australian Selectors were on spot.
Sam Konstas, although did not score big apart from his first innings at MCG where he made 60, but he had a clear role to upset Bumrah and surprise INDIA which he did really well. The 18 year old did not make many friends in Indian team with his bold attitude but he proved his selection worthwhile in the end. Challenge for him will be to focus on his performance going forward and establish himself a good test batsman. All eyes will be on him in coming Aussie test series.
More from Scott Boland?
Scott Boland’s impressive displays have many speculating that we will see more of him as Australia builds its future strategy. His inclusion is squad against SL is truely justified given his extraordinary performance in BGT. He took opportunity with both hands whenever presented to him.
Unprecedented Media and Crowd Engagement
Lastly, the hype generated by both media and crowds during the BGT was at an unparalleled level, amplifying the stakes and excitement of the matches. There was almost daily headlines and front pages of magazines were full of BGT events. Crowd was overall supportive towards both teams but few unpleasant incidents and slogans were heard. Overall it was a heated series and i expect the same in next BGT.
