Australia vs India: 3 Players who won player of the series despite losing in BGT

Australia vs India- 3 Players who won player of the series despite losing in BGT (Source – Getty Images)

Team India (IND) and Australia (AUS) battled hard during the recently-concluded five-match Test series. The Asian giants won the first Test in Perth but lost three out of the next four to relinquish the coveted Border-Gavaskar Trophy after 10 years.

Over the years, the India-Australia rivalry has captivated the cricket fraternity. Some of the finest cricketers of all time have produced some spectacular performances to make the rivalry as intense as it is at this moment. The fans have also shown their support by filling the stands. The recent Border-Gavaskar series attracted a remarkable 837,00 spectators across the five Test matches.

In this article, CricTracker lists the names of three cricketers who won the Player of the Series (POTS) award in losing causes in Border-Gavaskar Trophy history. Interestingly, these three players won the award on Australian soil. This list includes Jasprit Bumrah, who is the latest recipient.

Here are Three players who won Player of the Series in BGT series for losing cause:

3. Jasprit Bumrah

Jasprit Bumrah and Travis Head. (Photo Source: Philip Brown/Popperfoto/Popperfoto via Getty Images)

Jasprit Bumrah was at his lethal best during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. In the absence of Mohammed Shami, the onus was on the experienced right-arm seamer to spearhead the bowling attack. The likes of Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Prasidh Krishna bowled well in patches as the pressure was at an all-time high on Bumrah.

The 31-year-old bowled close to 152 overs across the five matches and picked up 32 wickets at a phenomenal average of 13.06. He also had an impressive strike rate of 28.38. Bumrah finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series by a distance. No other bowler took more than 25 wickets in the series. Bumrah could have added more wickets to his tally had he not suffered an injury while bowling in Australia’s first innings in the fifth Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

Also Check: 3 players who can replace Jasprit Bumrah in India’s squad for Champions Trophy 2025

2. Pat Cummins

Pat Cummins. (Photo Source: Visionhaus/Getty Images)

India travelled to Australia to play a four-match Test series in 2020-2021. They suffered a shambolic defeat in the first Test in Adelaide where they were shot out for 36 in their second innings. However, the Men in Blue bounced back to win two out of the next three Tests to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

While it was a massively disappointing campaign for the hosts, Pat Cummins’ performance was one of the rare silver linings. The right-arm seamer bowled with a lot of heart and kept asking tough questions to the Indian batters. He finished as the highest wicket-taker, bagging 21 scalps from four matches at an average of 20.05. Only Nathan Lyon bowled more overs (187) than Cummins (162.1) in the series. Cummins also made some useful contributions with the bat down the order and showed his all-round skills.

1. Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar. (Photo Source: X(Twitter)

The legendary Sachin Tendulkar was the first player to win the Player of the Series award in a losing cause in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He achieved this feat during India’s tour of Australia in 1999-2000. It was a forgettable tour for India as they lost all three Test matches in the series. However, Tendulkar was the lone warrior for the tourists.

He was the third-highest run-getter in the series, finishing with 278 runs from six innings at an average of 46.33. The Master Blaster registered one century and two half-centuries during the tour. His highest score of 116 came off 191 balls in the Boxing Day Test match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. This is considered as one of his finest knocks on Australian soil in the longest format of the game.

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