The four-Test match Border-Gavaskar Trophy is kicking off in Nagpur on Thursday, February 9, with the visitors Australia looking for their first victory against India away from home since 2004.
Both teams are working hard to field their best possible XIs and to bring a balance between the spin and pace departments, given how the pitches in India tend to work. It will be a first for Rohit Sharma as well, with the current India skipper having last played a Test for the country way back in March 2022.
Going back in the past, Indian cricket has had a very fruitful battle with Australia for this trophy. One of the players to take full advantage of this is the legendary spinner Anil Kumble, who is the only bowler in the long history of this tournament to take over 100 wickets — Anil Kumble.
Kumble and his century of wickets
Spin stalwart Anil Kumble is considered among the best bowlers in the world. Kumble has the most wickets against Australia for India, and from 1996 to 2008, in the 20 Test matches that he played against the Aussies, the off-spinner picked up 111 wickets at an average of 30.32. His best figures are 8/141 in the first innings at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), where Tendulkar scored 241 runs to draw the last Test and the series in 2003-04.
| Player | Mat. | Inns. | Wkts. | Avg. | SR | BBI | BBM | Econ. | 5wI | 10wM |
| Anil Kumble | 20 | 38 | 111 | 30.32 | 58.7 | 8/141 | 13/181 | 3.09 | 10 | 2 |
During this time, Kumble recorded 2 ten-wicket hauls and 10 five-wicket performances in the red-ball format against Australia.
Other players way behind Kumble
After Kumble, the second name on this list is another former Team India spinner in Harbhajan Singh. The veteran bowler has taken 95 wickets in 18 Test matches for the country. Australian star Nathan Lyon is third on the list. Lyon is just two wickets away from going ahead of Harbhajan.
The Australia spin maestro has taken 94 wickets in 22 Test matches in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Once Lyon gets his second wicket in the upcoming four-Test series, then he will become the second-highest wicket-taker in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, surpassing Harbhajan.
Following Lyon on this list is Ashwin with 84 wickets in 18 Tests. All-round veteran Ravindra Jadeja, returning to the team after injury, is fifth with 63 wickets in 12 Tests.
