The International Cricket Council (ICC) has crowned the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21 played between India and Australia as the 'The Ultimate Test Series.' The ICC had shortlisted 16 series and asked the fans to vote for deciding which series among some of the most riveting ones in the history of the game as the best.
“We whittled it down to a shortlist of 16 and from there we let you take over. Across 15 head-to-heads, over seven million votes were cast as the 16 series were knocked out one by one until there was only one left standing - the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” the ICC said.
In the latest edition of the Border Gavaskar Trophy held earlier this year, the Indian team defended the title in Australia beating the Tim Paine-led side 2-1 in a four-match series.
India were down and out in the first Test of the series after getting knocked out for 36 in an innings and the always growing list of unavailable players throughout the series made it a stiff challenge for the men in blue. Skipper Virat Kohli had returned home for the birth of his child and Rahane took over reigns from him to win India a series that now has found a special place in the history of the game and rivalry between India and Australia.
Rahane’s problems began to accumulate with every passing day of the series as the Indian team lost key players after they sustained respective injuries. The likes of Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul and Hanuma Vihari were ruled out of the series.
In absence of those big guns, young players such as Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur chipped in with remarkable performances that eventually helped India to win the series.