Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT): The Definitive Guide (Updated 2023), Complete History, Most Runs, Most Wickets, and BGT 2023 Schedule

by Nitesh Mathur | Jan 29, 2023 | Complete History and Guide

This comprehensive guide provides an in-depth look at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), one of the most celebrated Test series in the cricket world today.

We will discuss the history of BGT, look at some of the prominent players who have played a major role in making this tournament what it is today, including the most runs and wickets. The upcoming BGT 2023 schedule and how they can follow the tournament as it unfolds in India is also displayed.

Key Takeaways

• The Border Gavaskar trophy has been held 15 times since 1996, 8 of which were hosted by India and 7 by Australia.
• India has won the Border–Gavaskar Trophy 9 times (96-97, 97-98, 2000-01, 04-05, 08-09, 2010-11, 12-13, 16-1)
• Australia has won the Border Gavaskar Trophy 5 times (1999-2000, 04-05,07-08,11-12, 14-15).
• Sachin Tendulkar (3262), Ricky Ponting (2555), and VVS Laxman (2434) are the highest run scorers in Border Gavaskar Trophy history.
• Anil Kumble (111), Harbhajan Singh (95), and Nathan Lyon (94) are the highest wicket-takers in the Border -Gavaskar Trophy.
• India has won in Australia twice (2018-19, 2020-21). Australia has won in India 4 times, but only once since 1996 (1947-48, 1956-57, 1959-60, 2004-05).

What is the Border-Gavaskar Trophy?

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is a Test series held between India and Australia named after Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. Although India and Australia have been playing Test series since 1947, this series officially began in 1996 when Australia toured India for one Test match. Since then, it has been held every 2-3 years in either India or Australia.

History of India vs Australia Test Series at a Glance

Since 1947, both Australia and India have hosted the Test series on 13 occasions each (26 series total). Both teams have won 11 times each, and the series has been drawn five times. The entire table of India-Australia Test series is summarized below.

*Note that the Border-Gavaskar Trophy officially begins in 1996.

History of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Now we will present each Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series in detail, in reverse chronological order.

BGT 2020-21 (India 2-1)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane (GABBA)

Virat Kohli’s 50, Tim Paine’s rearguard effort, 36 ALL OUT, Ajinkya Rahane’s Melbourne 100 & captaincy, Shubman Gill’s emergence, Smith and Labuschagne’s successful partnership, and Pat Cummins doing it all. Siraj suffers but delivers, Thakur & Sundar lead India’s next generation, Ashwin-Paine spice up the tournament, Vihari takes body blows, and the yin and yang of Pujara-Pant gives India series victory and breaches the Gabba fortress.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2020-21: Pat Cummins
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2020-21: Marnus Labuschagne (426)
  • Steven Smith (426)
  • Rishabh Pant (274), Cheteshwar Pujara (271), Ajinkya Rahane (268)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2020-21: Pat Cummins (21)
  • Josh Hazlewood (17), Mitchell Starc (11)
  • Mohammad Siraj (13), Ravichandran Ashwin (12), Jasprit Bumrah (11)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 8 wickets *Tim Paine
2. India won by 8 wickets *Ajinkya Rahane
3. Match Drawn *Steven Smith
4. India won by 3 wickets *Rishabh Pant

*Denotes Player of the Match Award

Also Read: India Vs Australia Series Review 2020-21: The Greatest Story of Them All? Better Than Ashes 2005?-, Top 10 Life Lessons From India Vs Australia 2020: Courage, Character, Resilience – Which One Is Your Favorite?

Note: Bharat Sundaresan is going to release his book on the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy during the 2023 BGT in India. He was in the thick of things traveling to each city and discussing the events of each day with Melinda Farrell.

BGT 2018-19 (India 2-1)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Adelaide, Perth (Perth Stadium), Melbourne, Sydney

If you saw the first season of The Test, you will realize what a thorn Pujara was in Australia’s plans. He defended, defended, and defended some more. In the process, he scored tons of runs. Rishabh Pant & Tim Paine provided several cute moments, Nathan Lyon vs Pujara & Pant was mesmerizing. Bumrah’s slower delivery to dismiss Shaun Marsh will forever be etched in memory. To sum it up though, it was Kohli’s captaincy and the fast-bowling revolution was key to India’s success. Australia was without the services of Warner & Smith as they tried to recover from the ball tampering scandal, but this does not take anything away from India.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2018-19: Cheteshwar Pujara
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2018-19: Cheteshwar Pujara (521)
  • Rishabh Pant (350), Virat Kohli (282)
  • Marcus Harris (258), Travis Head (237)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2018-19: Jasprit Bumrah, Nathan Lyon
  • Mohammad Shami (16)
  • Pat Cummins (14), Josh Hazlewood (13), Mitchell Starc (13)

Scorecards

1. India won by 31 runs *Cheteshwar Pujara
2. Australia won by 146 runs *Nathan Lyon
3. India won by 137 runs *Jasprit Bumrah
4. Match Drawn *Cheteshwar Pujara

BGT 2016-17 (India 2-1)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Pune, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Dharamsala

Australia started with a massive win and hope to win a series in India. Pujara scored another double century and a couple of fifties. Beginning to be a pattern, isn’t it? Steve Smith with scores of 109, 178, 111 was at his absolute best, but the Ravis (Ashwin & Jadeja) were just too hot to handle. Other players played decent roles as well. Nathan Lyon took an eight-for and Steve O’Keefe delivered that first win with 6-fers. KL Rahul with twin fifties, Matt Renshaw, Shaun Marsh, Rahane, Wade all contributing as well in what was a competitive series.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2016-17: Ravindra Jadeja
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2016-17: Steven Smith (499)
  • Cheteshwar Pujara (405), KL Rahul (393), Ajinkya Rahane (198)
  • Matt Renshaw (232), Pete Handscomb (198)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2016-17: Ravindra Jadeja (25)
  • Ravichandran Ashwin (21), Umesh Yadav (17)
  • Steve O’Keefe (19), Nathan Lyon (19)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 333 runs *Steve O’Keefe
2. India won by 75 runs *KL Rahul
3. Match drawn *Cheteshwar Pujara
4. India won by 8 wickets *Ravindra Jadeja

BGT 2014-15 (Australia 2-0)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney

Although India did not exorcise the ghosts of 2011, Team India provided that glimmer of hope. It was Mitchell Johnson’s year and even though he was Australia’s highest wicket-taker, the partnership between Virat Kohli & Ajinkya Rahane will be remembered forever. Just check this clip out. Virat Kohli’s twin tons in Adelaide made for a classic Test and set his career up. But Steve Smith. 769 Runs. Genius. Nathan Lyon. 23 Wickets. Australian legends coming into their own in this series. MS Dhoni surprises with his retirement after the 3rd Test, and Ryan Harris retires after yet another memorable performance.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2014-15: Steven Smith
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2014-15: Steven Smith (769)
  • Virat Kohli (692), Murali Vijay (482), Ajinkya Rahane (399)
  • David Warner (427), Chris Rogers (417)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2014-15: Nathan Lyon (23)
  • Mohammad Shami (15), Ravichandran Ashwin (12)
  • Mitchell Johnson (13), Josh Hazlewood (12)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 48 runs *Nathan Lyon
2. Australia won by 4 wickets *Steven Smith
3. Match Drawn *Ryan Harris
4. Match Drawn *Steven Smith

BGT 2012-13 (India 4-0)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Chennai, Hyderabad, Mohali, Delhi

Michael Clarke’s unforgettable year, MS Dhoni’s double, and the greatness that Ravichandran Ashwin is. Pujara scored a double as well, and Vijay continued in the prime of his life with 167. But this series will be remembered for Shikhar Dhawan’s glorious 187 on debut, Starc’s 99 at #8, and Steven Smith starting to make runs on Asian soil.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2012-13: Ravichandran Ashwin
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2012-13: Murali Vijay (430)
  • Cheteshwar Pujara (410), MS Dhoni (326), Virat Kohli (284)
  • Michael Clarke (286), Ed Cowan (265), David Warner (192)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2012-13: Ravichandran Ashwin (29)
  • Ravindra Jadeja (24), Pragyan Ojha (7), Ishant Sharma (7)
  • Nathan Lyon (15), James Pattinson (9), Peter Siddle (9), Glenn Maxwell (7)

Scorecards

1. India won by 8 wickets *MS Dhoni
2. India won by an innings and 135 runs *Cheteshwar Pujara
3. India won by 6 wickets *Shikhar Dhawan
4. India won by 6 wickets *Ravindra Jadeja

Source: Border Gavaskar Trophy 2012-13

BGT 2011-12 (Australia 4-0)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide

Australia crushes India. Shall I say anymore? A drubbing. A disaster. Michael Clarke smashes 329* and 210, Ricky Ponting averages 108.8 and also scores a double. Hilfenhaus & Siddle take 50 wickets among themselves. James Pattinson announces himself (briefly) on the international stage. Rahul Dravid gets bowled 7 times. An end of an era. Kohli’s 116 in the 4th Test India’s only positive. This tour will always be remembered for the infamous 0-8.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2011-12: Michael Clarke
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2011-12: Michael Clarke (626)
  • Ricky Ponting (544), Mike Hussey (293), David Warner (266)
  • Virat Kohli (300), Sachin Tendulkar (287)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2011-12: Ben Hilfenhaus (27)
  • Peter Siddle (23), James Pattinson (11)
  • Zaheer Khan (15), Umesh Yadav (14)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 122 runs *James Pattinson
2. Australia won by an innings and 68 runs *Michael Clarke
3. Australia won by an innings and 37 runs *David Warner
4. Australia won by 298 runs *Peter Siddle

Source: BGT 2011-12

BGT 2010-11 (India 2-0)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 2
• Venues: Mohali, Bengaluru

Short but sweet series. The Mohali Test is an all-time classic. VVS Laxman, back spasms, and a successful chase with the lower order. In the second Test, Tendulkar continued his dream resurgent year with 214 & 53*. In the second innings, Rahul Dravid was yet again going to be demoted from his #3 position for someone else. That someone else turned out to be Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored a counterattacking 72. Cheteshwar Pujara—counterattacking Australians since 2010.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2010-11: Sachin Tendulkar
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2010-11: Sachin Tendulkar (403)
  • Murali Vijay (176), Suresh Raina (118)
  • Shane Watson (271), Ricky Ponting (224), Tim Paine (183), Marcus North (141)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2010-11: Zaheer Khan (12)
  • Harbhajan Singh (11), Pragyan Ojha (9)
  • Mitchell Johnson (8), Ben Hilfenhaus (8), Nathan Hauritz (6)

Scorecards

1. India won by 1 wicket *Zaheer Khan
2. India won by 7 wickets *Sachin Tendulkar

Sources: BGT 2010-11

BGT 2008-09 (India 2-0)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Bengaluru, Mohali, Delhi, Nagpur

Anil Kumble retires at the Feroz Shah Kotla. Ishant Sharma continues his growth with a player of the series performance. Although Hussey, Katich, Johnson, Krezja, and Watson played key roles for Australia, it was clear that Australia was in a transition era.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2008-09: Ishant Sharma
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2008-09: Gautam Gambhir (463)
  • Sachin Tendulkar (396), VVS Laxman (381), Virender Sehwag (351)
  • Mike Hussey (394), Simon Katich (349)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2008-09: Ishant Sharma (15)
  • Harbhajan Singh (15), Amit Mishra (14), Zaheer Khan (11)
  • Mitchell Johnson (13), Jason Krezja (12), Shane Watson (10)

Scorecards

1. Match Drawn *Zaheer Khan
2. India won by 320 runs *MS Dhoni
3. Match Drawn *VVS Laxman
4. India won by 172 runs *Jason Krejza

Sources: BGT 2008-09

BGT 2007-08 (Australia 2-1)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide

The series turned out to have both off-field and on-field drama. What began as a great era of Test series from 2000-01 ended with 2007-08 with some questionable decisions and the Monkeygate crisis. Tendulkar still scored runs, Anil Kumble still took wickets, but Brett Lee was the pick of the players in the series.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2007-08: Brett Lee
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2007-08: Sachin Tendulkar (493)
  • VVS Laxman (366), Virender Sehwag (286)
  • Matthew Hayden (410), Andrew Symonds (410), Michael Clarke (316), Michael Hussey (292), Ricky Ponting (268)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2007-08: Brett Lee (24)
  • Mitchell Johnson (16), Stuart Clark (14)
  • Anil Kumble (20), RP Singh (13)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 337 runs *Matthew Hayden
2. Australia won by 122 runs *Andrew Symonds
3. India won by 72 runs *Irfan Pathan
4. Match Drawn *Sachin Tendulkar

Sources BGT 2004-05

BGT 2004-05 (Australia 2-1)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Bengaluru, Chennai, Nagpur, Mumbai (Wankhede)

Australia finally breaches the India fortress feat Damien Martyn. A young Michael Clarke, game-changing Gilchrist, and Gillespie all contributed to their effort. India’s spin trios—Kumble, Harbhajan, and Murali Kartik took 60 wickets among themselves but fell short.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2004-05: Damien Martyn
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2004-05: Damien Martyn (444)
  • Michael Clarke (400), Simon Katich (276), Matthew Hayden (244), Justin Langer (228), Adam Gilchrist (218)
  • Virender Sehwag (299), Rahul Dravid (167), Parthiv Patel (156), Mohammad Kaif (153)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2004-05: Anil Kumble (27)
  • Harbhajan Singh (21), Murali Kartik (12), Zaheer Khan (10)
  • Jason Gillespie (20), Glenn McGrath (14), Shane Warne (14)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 217 runs *Michael Clarke
2. Match Drawn *Anil Kumble
3. Australia won by 342 runs *Damien Martyn
4. India won by 13 runs *Murali Kartik

Sources: BGT 2004-05

BGT 2003-04 (Drawn 1-1)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 4
• Venues: Brisbane, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney

A series for the ages. Ricky Ponting & Rahul Dravid at the top of their games scoring 706 & 619 runs respectively. Dravid’s 233 & 72* with VVS Laxman torturing Australia once again. Sachin Tendulkar resists his cover drive temptation to score 241*, Kumble India’s top performer with the ball yet again, Ganguly scores a ton. Sehwag, Hayden, Martyn, Steve Waugh all among the runs. Gillespie, Agarkar, MacGill, and Lee among the wickets. Something for everybody. Many great players of this era in peak form. Deserved 1-1 drawn series.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2003-04: Rahul Dravid
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2003-04: Ricky Ponting (706)
  • Matthew Hayden (51), Justin Langer (369), Simon Katich (353)
  • Rahul Dravid (619), VVS Laxman (494), Virender Sehwag (464), Sachin Tendulkar (383)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2003-04: Anil Kumble (24)
  • Ajit Agarkar (16)
  • Stuart MacGill (14), Jason Gillespie (10), Brett Lee (8)

Scorecards

1. Match Drawn *Sourav Ganguly
2. India won by 4 wickets *Rahul Dravid
3. Australia won by 9 wickets *Ricky Ponting
4. Match Drawn *Sachin Tendulkar

Sources: BGT 2003-04

BGT 2000-01 (India 2-1)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 3
• Venues: Mumbai (Wankhede), Kolkata, Chennai

The series that began the rivalry. Steve Waugh’s final frontier was so close, yet so far. VVS Laxman’s greatest innings of the century, the 281, and the partnership turned narrative around for this series and Indian cricket in general. Shane Warne’s expression that day said it all. Sourav Ganguly, the charasmatic captain leading India after the match-fixing era, Sachin Tendulkar doing what he does best (along with his googlies), and Harbhajan Singh being a class apart. India’s top three bowlers in the charts read: Harbhajan (32), Tendulkar (3), Zaheer Khan (3). From Australia’s end, Hayden, McGrath, Gilchrist, Waugh, Warne, and Gillespie all played a role in the series.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 2000-01: Harbhajan Singh
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 2000-01: Matthew Hayden (549)
  • Steve Waugh (243), Michael Slater (166)
  • VVS Laxman (503), Rahul Dravid (338), Sachin Tendulkar (304), SS Das (173)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 2000-01: Harbhajan Singh (32)
  • Sachin Tendulkar (3), Zaheer Khan (3)
  • Glenn McGrath (17), Jason Gillespie (13), Shane Warne (10), CR Miller (6), Mark Waugh (3)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 10 wickets *Adam Gilchrist
2. India won by 171 runs *VVS Laxman
3. India won by 2 wickets *Matthew Hayden

Sources: BGT 2000-01

BGT 1999-2000 (Australia 3-0)

• Hosts: Australia
• Number of Tests: 3
• Venues: Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney

With the exception of individual performances by India, Australia completely blew the visitors away. Ricky Ponting was the top run-scorer and Glenn McGrath was the highest wicket taker of ther series, two names that would come up time and again over the next decade. Tendulkar was the player of the series, but VVS Laxman’s 167 gave Australia a taste of what they were about to face in the future.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 1999-2000: Sachin Tendulkar
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 1999-2000: Ricky Ponting (375)
  • Justin Langer (289), Steve Waugh (276), Adam Gilcrist (221)
  • Sachin Tendulkar (278), VVS Laxman (221), Sourav Ganguly (177)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 1999-2000: Glenn McGrath (18)
  • Brett Lee (13), Damien Fleming (12), Shane Warne (8)
  • Ajit Agarkar (11), Javagal Srinath (10), Venkatesh Prasad (7)

Scorecards

1. Australia won by 285 runs *Steve Waugh
2. Australia won by 180 runs *Sachin Tendulkar
3. Australia won by an innings and 141 runs *Glenn McGrath

Sources: BGT 1999-2000

BGT 1997-98 (India 2-1)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 3
• Venues: Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru

1998—The year of Sachin Tendulkar. He continued his Sharjah exploits in Test cricket. Here is a clip of the battle between Shane Warne vs Sachin Tendulkar in India for the first time. Although Australia got a consolation win, India defeated Australia by healthy margins in the first two Tests.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 1997-98: Sachin Tendulkar
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 1997-98: Sachin Tendulkar (446)
  • Navjot Singh Sidhu (341), Mohammad Azharuddin (311)
  • Mark Waugh (280), Mark Taylor (189), Ian Healy (165)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 1997-98: Anil Kumble (23)
  • Javagal Srinath (8), Venkatapathy Raju (7)
  • Gavin Robertson (12), Shane Warne (10), Michael Kasprowicz (8)

Scorecards

1. India won by 179 runs *Sachin Tendulkar
2. India won by an innings and 219 runs *Javagal Srinath
3. Australia won by 8 wickets *Michael Kasprowicz

Sources: BGT 1997-98

BGT 1996-97 (India 1-0)

• Hosts: India
• Number of Tests: 1
• Venues: Delhi

Nayan Mongia starred in India’s first Border-Gavaskar Trophy win over Australia. Another key contributor, Anil Kumble, would stand up again and again in the India-Australia Tests for years to come.

Stats

• Player of the Series in BGT 1996-97: Nayan Mongia
• Highest Runs Scorer in BGT 1996-97: Nayan Mongia (152)
• Highest Wicket-Taker in BGT 1996-97: Anil Kumble (9)

Scorecards

1. India won by 7 wickets *Nayan Mongia

Sources: BGT 1996-97

2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) Schedule

The schedule for the 2023 BGT 2023 is shown below:

• 1st Test, Nagpur, 9-13 February, 2023
• 2nd Test, Delhi, 17-21 February, 2023
• 3rd Test, Dharamsala, 1-5 March, 2023
• 4th Test, Ahmedabad, 9-13 March, 2023

The ODI series is scheduled as follows:

• 1st ODI (D/N), Mumbai (Wankhede), 17 March, 2023
• 2nd ODI (D/N), Visakhapatnam, 19 March, 2023
• 3rd ODI (D/N), Chennai, 22 March 2023

Who were Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border?

Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border were two of the greatest cricketers in history.

Gavaskar was an iconic Indian batsman who played 125 Tests for India, scoring a then-record 34 centuries. He held several batting records and is widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen ever to have graced the game. On the other hand, Border was an Australian all-rounder who captained Australia to their first World Cup win in 1987. He played 156 Tests for Australia and is widely considered to be one of the greatest captains of all time. Together, these two legends were instrumental in establishing the Border-Gavaskar Trophy which has become one of the most eagerly anticipated cricket series.

Also Read: 151 Greatest Cricketers of All Time (Men’s)

Final Thoughts

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy was established in 1996 as a tribute to two of cricket’s finest players, Sunil Gavaskar and Allan Border. The series has since become one of the most anticipated events in international cricket, with some of the greatest matches being played between India and Australia over the past two decades. The trophy is contested every two years, alternating between India and Australia, with the last edition being hosted Down Under in 2020-21. The series has seen some of the greatest contests in cricket history, providing for a thrilling and intense experience for all fans.

We will just wait and watch what BGT 2023 has to offer. With all the recent past, I’m sure it will be nothing short of delightful.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) – Frequently Asked Questions

Resources

Sources: Australia v India Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com, Border-Gavaskar Trophy Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com, Border-Gavaskar Trophy Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com

Image Courtesy: Steve Smith 109 at Pune (AFP)

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, LLC, 2023. Originally published on 01/29/2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).