AUS vs IND, 2020-21: 4th Test Match – Statistical Preview

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy is set for an exciting conclusion as Australia takes on India at their fortress Brisbane in the series decider starting on Friday. The Indian team, affected by a long list of injuries, would be happy with even a draw as it is enough for them to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and also earn crucial points in the World Test Championship. Australia needs to win at the Gabba to regain the Trophy and also the No.1 team ranking in Test cricket.

Here are all the key stats and numbers ahead of the series decider between Australia and India at the Gabba:

2 – The Test match starting on Friday will only be the 2nd instance of Brisbane hosting a Test which was as late as 4th match of a series. The other such instance was during England’s tour of Australia in 1932-33 season which was also the 4th game of the Test series.

9 – Marcus Harris is set to be the 9th player to open the batting in this 4-match Test series (Will Pucovski is ruled out from the final Test due to a shoulder injury). The last Test series with nine or more players opening the batting was the 5-match Test series between South Africa and West Indies in 1998-99.

31 – Australia has played 31 Test matches in succession without a defeat at the Brisbane’s Gabba Stadium since losing to West Indies in 1988. In those 31 Test matches, the Aussies won as many as 24 games while seven of them ended in a draw. Aussies are currently on a 7-match winning streak in Tests at the Gabba which began after the draw against South Africa in 2012.

36.4 – Pat Cummins has a bowling strike rate of 36.4 in Test cricket at the Gabba. Cummins bagged 19 wickets at an average of 15.73 across three Test matches he played at this venue with help of a 5-wicket haul and a 10-wicket match haul.

68.08 – David Warner has a batting average of 68.08 in Test cricket at the Gabba as he scored 817 runs from eight Test matches with help of four hundreds and a fifty. Only Greg Chappell (5) and Michael Clarke (5) have scored more Test hundreds in Brisbane than Warner thus far.

396 – Nathan Lyon needs four more wickets to become just the 3rd Australian and only 3rd right-arm off-spinner to complete 400 wickets in Test cricket. The Brisbane Test match will be the 100th appearance for Lyon in Test cricket for the Aussies.

1954-55 – If India wins the final Test, it will be the first instance of a visiting team winning a Test series on Australian soil after losing the series opener since the 1954-55 season. England bounced back from 0-1 to win the 5-match Ashes series during the 1954-55 season with a 3-1 victory.

In fact, in the last 38 years, Australia failed to win a home Test series after winning the series opener – vs New Zealand in 2011 (1-1 in the 2-match series). Till date, India won only one away Test series after losing the series opener – vs Sri Lanka in 2015 (2-1 in the 3-match series).