The hype and anticipation in Australia is like never before. The Indian cricket team is on tour for the much-awaited Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The fans, media, journalists, broadcasters, everyone seems to be talking about the India-Australia rivalry.
Australia have not won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 10 years and that is only adding to the spice. India have won the last four series against the Aussies, two at home and two away.
After more than 30 years, India and Australia will be facing each other in a five-match Test series. Nick Hockley who is the chief executive of Cricket Australia (CA) is very excited with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy around the corner. It is also tipped to be on par with the Ashes which is a massive boost.
“We’re proud and super excited that the India series is now a five-Test series, and the whole premise of that was for the Border-Gavaskar to be on an equal billing with the Ashes,” CA chief executive Nick Hockley was quoted saying according to The Guardian.
In fact, they are even hoping that the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) fills up on Boxing Day to almost complete capacity. Hockley believes the opening day of the Boxing Day Test could see about 80,000 or even 90,000 people in the stands. He added that crowds from all over the world are expected to fly in to watch the series.
“This series coming up, it’s not just Indian and Australian fans, all cricket fans all around the world are really keen. And we’re seeing that with ticket sales. There are people coming from the US, Canada, Europe, all over the world to watch this,” Hockley added.
India’s past performances in Australia making a difference
Moreover, another thing that has added to the rivalry is India’s performance in Australia over the last few years. Since the start of the 21st century, only the 2011-12 series was a lopsided affair. Apart from that, Indian teams have competed very well in Australia. They even won the last two series (2018-19 and 2020-21) in Australia which has created a lot of interest in the fans.
“The Indian team seems to be more competitive on the field, making it a bit more of an attractive proposition for fans to come and watch their team play, because there’s a chance they’re winning. And you look at those generations of Indians that have emigrated to Australia over the years. Now they’ve also a bit more disposable income. They’re a bit more settled, they’ve got good careers, their spending power has changed. And now they can afford to travel, not just to watch cricket within their state, but outside their state as well,” the CA chief explained.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on the 22nd of November at the Optus Stadium in Perth. Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney are scheduled to host the remaining games.
