SYDNEY, Aug. 11 -- When Travis Head walked off the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Day 4 of the Boxing Day Test in December 2024, bat raised and helmet off, Australia had not merely won a Test match. They had ended something. India's stranglehold on the Border-Gavaskar Trophy - two successive series victories in Australia, four consecutive series wins overall - was finished. Head's 140 at the MCG was the moment the pendulum swung, and it has not swung back.

The 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy ended 3-1 to Australia across five Tests: India won in Perth, Australia took Adelaide, Brisbane was drawn, Melbourne went to Australia, and Sydney sealed the series for the hosts. It was the most consequential bilateral Test series in years - not just fo...