India’s schedule for the historic five-Test Border Gavaskar Trophy tour to Australia in late 2024 was announced by Cricket Australia (CA) on Tuesday.
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India and Australia will be locking horns in a five-Test match series for the first time since 1991-92 with the first Test slated to be played at the Perth Stadium from November 22-26. The second Test, a day-night pink-ball affair, will be held in the first week of December at the Adelaide Oval. The pink-ball Test will be India’s fifth day-night Test and the second against Australia since December 2020 where they registered their lowest Test total (36 all out) in an eight-wicket defeat.
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The third Test will be held at The Gabba in Brisbane followed by the customary Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground from December 26-30, 2024. The landmark series, set to form an integral part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle, will conclude with the fifth Test in Sydney in January 2025.
The men’s series coincides with a three-match ODI series between the women’s teams of the respective countries, to be played in Brisbane and Perth between December 5-11.
India are the reigning Border-Gavaskar Trophy champions with three successive triumphs, including consecutive historic triumphs in Australia in the 2018-19 and 2020-21 tours.
What happened in the last five-match Test series between India and Australia in 1991-92?
India and Australia’s last five-match Test series in 1991-92 ended with hosts Aussies recording a 4-0 win. However, the series is remembered for Ravi Shastri’s double hundred in Sydney and a young Sachin Tendulkar’s 114 on a fiery Perth surface.
Speaking on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said: “The BCCI remains steadfast in its dedication to preserving the rich heritage of Test Cricket, a format we hold in the highest esteem.
“Our ongoing collaboration with Cricket Australia in extending the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to five Tests underscores our collective commitment to nurturing and elevating Test cricket’s significance.
CA Chair Mike Baird added: “We are absolutely delighted the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has been extended to five Tests given the intense rivalry between our two great cricketing nations and the excitement this creates.
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