BGT- Indian Captains Who Lost Series In Australia

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is one of the most highly anticipated and watched rivalries in the red-ball format of the game. The recently concluded Border Gavaskar Trophy proved to be a nightmare for the Indian contingent in Down Under, as they not only conceded the series (3-1) to Australia and lost their spot in the World Test Championship final. In this place, team India looked all set to go after their home series against Bangladesh.

There have been many moments when Indian captains suffered humiliating series losses down under, today, we are going to discuss those captains & the series defeats in detail.

Indian Captains Who Lost Series In Australia

1. Sachin Tendulkar (1999-00) (3-0)

The 'Little Master' Sachin Tendulkar unfortunately became the first Indian test skipper to concede the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. It was the first time that a test series between India & Australia took place on the Australian shores. The mighty Aussies, under the leadership of Steve Waugh, clinched the series 3-0 inflicting a complete whitewash over the Indians. Ricky Ponting scored the most runs in that series (375) while Glenn McGrath was adjudged as the highest wicket-taker of the series with 18 wickets.

2. Anil Kumble (2007-08) (2-1)

This time it was Anil Kumble's turn to concede the Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia and this also resulted in Kumble announcing his last test tour. The series was controversial involving the infamous 'Monkeygate' slang involving Harbhajan Singh & Andrew Symonds to another infamous 'The Sydney Saga' that played a big role in not only the Sydney test but also the series. These two infamous incidents ensured that not only the teams but also the respective cricket boards were at loggerheads as tensions arose big time, things came to a point when Team India threatened to leave the tour midway.

On the Cricketing terms, Team India lost the opening two tests of the series but managed to win the third test at Perth marking a historic win for Anil Kumble & his men. The fourth Test at Adelaide ended in a stalemate. Sachin Tendulkar scored the most runs on that tour (493) & Brett Lee Picked up the most wickets in that series (24).

3. MS Dhoni (2011-12) (4-0)

Probably one of the worst nightmares of Indian Cricket in the test arena came in 2011-12 when a comparatively young Indian side led by 'Captain Cool' MS Dhoni was humiliated at its fullest by losing all 4 tests on that tour. A tour where India's 'The Wall' aka Rahul Dravid was bowled out 6 times in 8 innings.

The series saw India lose the first test by 122 runs while the next two tests resulted in innings defeats before the final nail in the coffin at the 4th test came where India ended up losing nearly by 300 runs. It is still one of the worst tours for team India despite winning the ODI World Cup that year. Skipper Michael Clarke led the Aussie charge with 626 runs with 329* coming in at Melbourne. Ben Hilfenhaus took 27 wickets to be the leading wicket-taker on that tour.

4. Virat Kohli & MS Dhoni (2014-15) (2-0)

Team India went on a long tour of Australia at the end of 2014 to play the Border Gavaskar Trophy followed by a tri-series involving the hosts, England & India & finally the 2015 ODI Cricket World Cup. Coming into the series the first test at Adelaide was led by Virat Kohli as MS Dhoni was unavailable for selection. Team India gave a tough fight to the Aussies at Adelaide where tons from Virat Kohli(141) & Murali Vijay's 99 almost got India to the brink of chasing history at Adelaide (364 target in 4th innings). However, post Kohli's dismissal the team fell like a pack of cards and lost the match by 38 runs to ensure Australia took the lead.

Dhoni returned in the second test but it ended up in another loss. The third test at Melbourne ended in a tame draw, the test match also saw MS Dhoni announce his retirement in the middle of the series with Kohli taking full-time leadership. The fourth test at Sydney too ended in a stalemate ensuring the Aussies won the BGT by 2-0. Virat Kohli was the leading run-scorer of the series with 692 runs while Australia's Nathan Lyon took the most wickets (23).

5. Rohit Sharma & Jasprit Bumrah (2024-25) (3-1)

The recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy was no less than a nightmare for the Indians after the 2011-12 series. Team India before arriving on the Australian shores lost the home test series to New Zealand sparkling plenty of debates, and criticisms so much so that the careers of the senior players were also under immense scrutiny. Team India started off their tour in fine fashion at Perth under the leadership of stand-in skipper Jasprit Bumrah winning the test by 295 runs.

Rohit Sharma returned as skipper for the 2nd test but the fortunes changed for team India albeit in a negative way as Team India went down by 10 wickets at Adelaide hence complicating their chances to make the WTC finals.

The situation didn't improve much as India drew the third test at the Gabba thanks to rain interruptions. Post the test India's ace off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced a sudden retirement from International Cricket. The fans looked at this retirement as a forced one, it was speculated that the atmosphere in the dressing room wasn't good and looked tense. The Boxing Day test proved to be the killer blow as India not only lost the test but also ensured that they no longer had their fate in their own hands to qualify for the WTC. Poor displays of batting from Rohit Sharma & Virat Kohli continued ensuring India struggled in the batting department.

The 5th test at the SCG brought some hopes back with the pitch aiding Indian bowling but, a similar script unfolded as Indian batting didn't click again & Bumrah's injury worsened the situation for India in the final bowling innings of the series. It can be said that India was in the driver's seat but let down things in the crucial moments. Hence, ended up conceding the BGT after 10 long years. Travis Head was the leading run-scorer of the series meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah bagged the most wickets & player of the series award with 32 wickets.