India’s recent dominance over Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy has intensified the rivalry between the two cricketing giants, according to senior Australian batter Usman Khawaja. India has emerged victorious in the last two Test series played in Australia, with identical 2-1 margins.
Khawaja acknowledges that the rivalry has grown in significance due to India’s recent successes. “For Indians, it’s always been the case to beat Australia. And more recently, you know, since the rise of India and IPL and everything else that happened, it’s the same way with Australia against India,” he said.
The rivalry has been further fueled by the fact that India has won all four of the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy series, including their home victories in 2016-17 and 2022-23. Khawaja believes that the rivalry has become even more intense since India’s triumphs in Australia.
“And particularly since India’s beaten Australia in Australia the last two times they’ve come out of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It just means a little bit more,” he told Star Sports.
Khawaja emphasizes the magnitude of the rivalry, stating that it is a reflection of the high regard in which both teams hold each other. “We’re world number one, world number two teams really over the last two years. We were there at the last World Test Championship together. The rivalry has always been huge,” he said.
The upcoming five-match Test series between India and Australia, beginning on November 22 in Perth, is expected to further intensify the rivalry. Khawaja believes that the series will be a great opportunity for both teams to showcase their skills and test their mettle against each other.
