Sydney: Legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar said he was left perplexed over his omission from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series ceremony after the fifth Test concluded at the Sydney Cricket Ground in a six-wicket win for Australia.
Gavaskar stood at the edge of the boundary rope when Allan Border handed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to skipper Pat Cummins, as Australia won the series 3-1. It has come to the light that the plan by Cricket Australia was that Border would present the trophy if Australia won and Gavaskar would if India retained it or they drew the Sydney Test.
“I was told just before the series started that it was going to be this situation. If India didn’t win or draw the series, I wouldn’t be required. I am not feeling sad, I am just a little perplexed. It’s the Border-Gavaskar Trophy; both of us should have been there,” Gavaskar was quoted as saying by ABC Sport.
Australia wrapped up the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground inside three days to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time after 2014/15 series, where they won 2-0 at home. It’s also the third-shortest result Test – the shortest since 1888 – in Sydney, with only 1141 balls played between the two teams.
India began their trophy defence with a 295-run win at Perth but Australia fought back in Adelaide, winning the pink-ball Test by ten wickets to level the series 1-1. At Brisbane, the match ended in draw due to rain.
Australia then stepped up to win the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne by 184 runs to go 2-1 up and confirmed its series win in Sydney’s Pink Test by six wickets. The result in Sydney also allowed Australia to enter its second straight World Test Championship final, where they will face South Africa at Lord’s in June.
(IANS)
