Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary former Indian cricketer, recently shared a lighthearted story about his playful rivalry with Allan Border, the iconic Australian captain. Known for their fierce competitiveness on the field, Gavaskar and Border now share a humorous bond off it—one that comes up every time they meet.
The prestigious Test series between India and Australia, named the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, honors these two cricket legends, a title it received in 1996 ahead of a one-off Test between the nations. With another highly anticipated India-Australia series around the corner, Gavaskar recalled how Border never misses an opportunity to remind him of a unique cricketing “achievement.”
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Allan Border once managed to dismiss Gavaskar in a Test match, and he playfully brings it up every time. “He always pulls my leg about it,” Gavaskar told 7 Cricket. “The problem is, he got me out, and I never got the chance to bowl to him. If I had, maybe I could have dismissed him too. But he spun one ball, I played down the wrong line, and next thing you know, I was out. He never lets me forget it.”
Maybe the origins of naming the Border-Gavaskar Trophy started 45 years ago.
Because of Allan Border’s three career Test wickets v India, one of those was … Sunil Gavaskar.
From 1979 to now, Sunny still can’t get over it – due to AB reminding him all the time 😂 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/BYcjtYL6oL
— 7Cricket (@7Cricket) November 14, 2024
The dismissal happened during the sixth Test in Mumbai in November 1979, marking one of Border’s rare bowling triumphs against India—he took four wickets in his career, with Gavaskar among them. Today, whenever they cross paths, Border greets Gavaskar with a cheeky, “Hello Bunny, how are you?” leaving Gavaskar at a loss for words.
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Gavaskar retired as the leading run-scorer in Test history with 10,122 runs, the first to surpass the 10,000-run milestone. Border later broke that record in 1993, amassing 11,174 runs before retiring. Now, with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy on the line again, both India and Australia are focused on securing their spot in the 2025 World Test Championship final, with the first Test set to begin on November 22 in Perth.
