Cricket captain 2016 full8/27/2023 ![]() The three Tests that should haunt them in the lead-up to the WTC final were all played overseas. But make no mistake, they are still a winning machine.Īs is India who showed they always found ways to win Test matches from the toughest situations. There was a zeal to adopt a new way under Tim Paine and many feel it has gone too far under Pat Cummins. India have as much to play for as Australia who have mended their ways after the ball-tampering scandal of 2018. With so much at stake, don't expect the temperatures to soar. If the two fiercest teams walk to each other with endearing smiles, you get the picture. This perhaps how Test cricket will be played from now on. This is perhaps how cricket will mostly be played from now on (never mind that Kohli-Gambhir spat). Measured words, smiles, warmth and a tendency to stay away from any kind of boorish behaviour. So many of these contests have given life and purpose to some of the most iconic Test matches of our times. Virat Kohli vs the Aussie paces, Steve Smith vs the India pacers, Ashwin vs Lyon. Yet, when India and Australia faceoff in the final at the Oval, a lot of old memories are bound to come rushing back. Instead, there were two nicely behaved teams who played out a hard-fought series without the usual sparks and tensions that have come to be associated with these contests. Gone was Australia's relentless need to sledge and gone was that extra aggression from India. There were heated arguments between Tim Paine and Virat Kohli in 2018 and former Australian cricketers were only too happy to write India off in 2020-21 before Ajinkya Rahane led an understrength team to its second successive series win down under.Įarlier this year as Australia came to visit India under Pat Cummins, you could see a different side to the two sides. In 2016, Kohli was super annoyed with Steve Smith for seeking dressing-room help with the DRS. Go back to 2014 and you would recollect how hostile the Australians were to Virat Kohli. By all accounts, the intense rivalry between two of the most powerful cricket countries in the world, has given way to warm, fuzzy gestures of friendship on the field. An Aussie batter appreciating a good ball from a world-class spinner became unacceptable to a hard-nosed former captain. These two teams have had a storied rivalry over the last two decades but some former Australian cricketers feel the men in the Baggy Greens have softened up a little. In their own den, the Aussies were invincible the dream run came to an end in India (where else) as the Aussies lost the fourth successive Border-Gavaskar Trophy after winning it 2-1 at home in 2014-15.Īfter much drama, India and Australia find themselves in the crossroads of bragging rights for Test supremacy. ![]() The Ashes were won at home and a historic Test series victory followed in Pakistan not long after. Tim Paine was forced to resign after an old scandal resurfaced and Pat Cummins was the perfect fit. Meanwhile, Australia took giant leaps under a new captain. ![]() At the end of 2021, India took a 1-0 lead against South Africa but ended the campaign with a 1-2 defeat and the shock announcement of Virat Kohli stepping down as Test captain. Between the fourth and the fifth Tests against England, India also lost their momentum overseas elsewhere.
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