As we build up to the upcoming five-Test series, ESPNcricinfo, Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar are inviting you to help us identify India's best individual Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance in Australia in the 21st century. We've shortlisted 16 performances and paired them up against each other. All you have to do now is vote to send one of the following into the quarter-finals.
Cheteshwar Pujara - 123 and 71 in Adelaide, 2018
India won by 31 runs, lead series 1-0
Mitchell Starc was swinging the ball again. At 145 kph. Some of the quickest bowling ever seen in Australia in 2018 had India 127 for 6 on the first day of a long tour. But it still wasn't enough to dislodge Cheteshwar Pujara. It barely even made a dent. In an age where batting is nothing if it doesn't look sexy, one man stood up to show the world that "when you defend confidently you know you are in command, you are on top of the bowler, and he doesn't have a chance to get you out."
Pujara batted for more than six hours to contribute 123 to India's first-innings total of 250 in Adelaide. He then wore Australia down for nearly another five hours in the second innings; his 71 putting India on course to set a target of over 300. They won by 31 runs, and went on to take the series 2-1, their first ever triumph on Australian soil.
By Alagappan Muthu
Shardul Thakur - 67, 3-94 & 4-61 in Brisbane, 2021
India win by three wickets & win series 2-1
Shardul Thakur had played one Test match before Brisbane 2021, but he may as well have not played that game, with a groin strain restricting him to delivering just 10 balls against West Indies in Hyderabad in 2018. Thakur wasn't part of India's original squad in Australia, and it's hard to say exactly where he stood in their pecking order of bowlers, because when he did get his chance at the Gabba, India were without their entire first-choice attack: over the course of the tour, injury had ruled out Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Miraculously, the series was still alive at 1-1. And miraculously, an India XI that included Thakur and five players who made their debuts on this tour kept trading punches with Australia's first-choice star cast. Thakur was in the middle of it all, with ball and bat. First, he picked up three wickets with his outswing and attacking lengths to help restrict Australia to 369 in their first innings. Then he walked in with India 186 for 6, and hooked Pat Cummins for six off his third ball to score his first runs in Test cricket. The shots kept flowing in an audacious 123-run stand with Washington Sundar, as India narrowed Australia's lead to a mere 33 runs.
Then India kept finding a breakthrough every time Australia threatened to pull too far from their reach in the second innings. Thakur was in the middle of it all again, getting the ball to kick awkwardly from just short of a length to pick up four wickets. All this left India with 328 to get, 324 of them on day five. All they needed now, after four miraculous days, was one final miracle.
By Karthik Krishnaswamy
Voting closes at 8pm IST on October 24. The winner of this match-up will be decided by the total votes cast on polls conducted across ESPNcricinfo, Star Sports and Disney+ Hotstar platforms.