India return to the Gabba for their third Test against Australia in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. As is the case with most international side, India’s overall history at the venue isn’t a pretty one but all the previous defeats are quite significantly overshadowed by their extraordinary heist in 2021.
The rivalry between India and Australia has become arguably cricket’s most significant one, in the way that matches between the two sides have decided some of the biggest titles in the sport, and the Gabba is where it all began. The first international cricket match between the two teams was a Test played at the Gabba from November 28 to December 4, 1947. Australia had won that match by an innings and 226 runs, with the legendary Don Bradman scoring 185 in their only innings before being out hit wicket against India captain Lala Amarnath.
India’s record at the Gabba
That was the first of seven Test matches that India have played at the Gabba thus far. They lost their second Test by 39 runs in January 1968, the third by 16 runs in December 1977, the fourth by 10 wickets in November-December, 1991 before finally avoiding defeat for the first time at the venue in their fifth Test there in December 2003. That particular game ended in a draw with Justin Langer and Sourav Ganguly scoring centuries, Zaheer getting a five-wicket haul and Jason Gillespie and Stuart MacGill completing a four-fer.
The next match between the two sides at the venue was won by Australia in December 2014 after which a depleted Indian side ended Australia’s unbeaten run at the Gabba in January 2021.
The series was level at 1-1 before heading into the fourth and final Test in Brisbane and Australia scored 369 batting first thanks to Marnus Labuschagne’s 108 off 204 balls. An incredible 123-run stand for the seventh wicket between all-rounders Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar helped India get to a score of 336 in their first innings. Thakur followed that up by taking four wickets and Mohammed Siraj took five as Australia were all out for 294 in their second innings, leaving India with a target of 328 to chase down.
Shubman Gill first scored 91 in 146 balls while Cheteshwar Pujara absorbed 211 balls for 56 runs. Pujara anchored much of the chase, sharing a partnership of 114 with Gill and then of 61 runs for the fourth wicket with Pant. After Pujara fell, Pant had a quickfire 53-run stand off just 55 balls with Washington Sundar which took India closer to victory. He ended up scoring the winning runs, finishing unbeaten on 89 off 138 balls as India won the Test by three wickets. The historic win also thus helped them beat win a Test series in Australia for the second consecutive time.
Individual records
India’s highest run scorer remains ML Jaisimha, who scored 74 and 101 in the third Test of the 1967-68 series. The second highest run scorer had also played just one Test at the Gabba. That was Murali Vijay, who scored 144 and 27 in the second Test of the 2014/15 series, which Australia won by four wickets.
The legendary Erapalli Prasanna is India’s highest wicket-taker at the Gabba, having taken eight scalps over the course of two Tests. Shardul Thakur is second with seven wickets, all of which he took in the 2021 Test.
