Michael Atherton is regarded as the greatest English opening batter of his generation, almost a natural successor to that other wonderfully accomplished technician who also hailed from the north of the country and who will rank among the top openers of all time, Sir Geoffrey Boycott.

Earmarked for the English captaincy from very early in his career – remember the famous FEC (Future England Captain)? – the Lancastrian was a grand mixture of technical expertise and remarkable concentration. He was a pleasing stroke-maker, without a doubt, but stroke-making won’t be the first thought when one hears the name Michael Atherton.

At a time when English batting was desperate for solidity at the top of the order, Atherton loomed as the panacea, his unflappability instilling a sense of calmness and confidence within the batting groups. In a career spanning 115 Tests, the currently 53-year-old articulate and understated commentator and analyst produced numerous fantastic essays, as is to be expected. It is his highest Test score, however, that is still spoken of with awe and reverence, not just by those privileged to watch it first-hand or those who saluted his commitment on television, but even by those of succeeding generations who might not have seen him negotiate even a single ball during his long stint at the crease.

The epic unfolded at the Bullring that the New Wanderers in Johannesburg goes by. And make no mistake, it truly is an amphitheatre. Even without a single bum on the seats beyond the boundary buntings, Wanderers can be an intimidating stage. Standing in the middle, with neither bat nor ball in attendance, you can feel the stands closing in, the heat rising to your face, hands suddenly clammy and the heart beating at the rate of knots. One can only imagine what it must be like to take guard, gladiator-like, with Allan Donald and Meyrick Pringle and Brian McMillan and a very young Shaun Pollock chomping at the bit, desperate to have a go.

The first Test of the five-match series in 1995-96, in Centurion, had ended in a tame draw with not a ball bowled on the last three days. Pollock, on debut, had provided glimpses of his extraordinary talent with three for 98 from 29 overs while Atherton, the captain, ground out a five-and-a-half-hour 78 in England’s 381 for nine declared.

South Africa called the shots in Johannesburg, Pollock’s three for 44 earning them a 132-run lead which they increased to 478 at which point Hansie Cronje decided he had enough runs, and time, to force a 1-0 advantage. England had to bat out the better part of two days to secure a draw – a tilt at a record target was out of the equation – and the odds heavily favoured the hosts, but no one had told Atherton that.

He wasn’t just obdurate defence. By his own admission, for the first time in his Test career, which was into its seventh year at the time, he felt he was in ‘the zone’, that elusive and intangible state that sportspersons strive for with limited success. He played the hook and the pull – horror, horror – and one ball after being dropped on 99 by Gary Kirsten off ‘White Lightning’ Donald, it was the hook that took him to three-figures. Atherton wasn’t done; the skipper was unconquered and unbowed at the end, unbeaten on 185 — in nearly 11 hours (643 minutes) – after negotiating 492 deliveries in the first of several grand tussles with Donald to shepherd his team to an honourable draw.

This would remain the defining innings of Atherton’s career, one that catapulted him to English folklore. And yet — we say this with no disrespect — Atherton finished his career with no more than a middling average of 37.69. And 16 hundreds from 212 innings.

Perceptions vary

It’s amazing how perceptions vary depending on so many different factors, not least recency bias which might cloud a forensic audit of Ajinkya Rahane’s international career in general, and his Test record specifically. Like Atherton, Rahane – who led India six times in Tests, almost entirely by default – also finished with an average of less than 40 (38.46, superior by more than half a run per innings to Atherton) but where the Englishman is hailed and eulogised, the stylish Mumbaikar leaves behind a feeling of what-if. What if he had converted even a quarter of his (26) half-centuries into hundreds? What if he had sometimes been a little more selfish? What if he had been a little less flamboyant? What if he didn’t have to perform in the towering presence of Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli? What if…?

But like the great stylist from Hyderabad who took the steel in the Indian batting and fused it with style, Rahane will always be more than his borderline-modest numbers. No, one isn’t falling into the trap of comparing Rahane with V.V.S. Laxman. Not by a long way. For starters, Laxman had far superior numbers – an average of 45.97 – and played numerous more match-altering knocks than Rahane. But like Rahane, Laxman had to operate in the giant shadows of Rahul Dravid and the peerless Sachin Tendulkar and, from midway through his career, the effervescent genius of Virender Sehwag. That Very Very Special managed to carve a niche for himself and more than hold his own in this illustrious company is credit to his magic, of course, but also to a single-mindedness that he doesn’t get enough credit for.

In Laxman’s example was a tack for Rahane to emulate, and a contemporariness that should have been his greatest motivation. But let’s leave that for another day. In his own way, Rahane contributed to India taking not a lot of time in tiding over a tricky transition phase which saw Dravid and Laxman play their last Tests in Adelaide in January 2012 (though no one knew it at the time), Sehwag slowly fall out of favour and Tendulkar walk away into the sunset in November 2013.

Dashing picture

When the mood seized him, which wasn’t too often but not rare as hen’s teeth either, Rahane cut a dashing picture at the crease, powerful off the backfoot and felicitous off the front. Lord’s and the MCG seemed to bring the best out of him, whether because he is a strong student of history and knows the prestige attached with performing optimally there or simply because he liked the pace with which the ball came on to his bat. Strangely for an Indian batter hailed as a very good player of the turning ball, Rahane enjoyed greater success overseas – only four of his 12 tons came in India – which perhaps obliquely explains his average.

In another era, Rahane might have been a longer-term captain, but because of the overlap with first Mahendra Singh Dhoni and then Kohli, he ended up leading the Test side just six times, all in an interim capacity when Kohli was either injured, rested or was away on paternity leave. India won four and lost none of those six Tests, a terrific achievement what with four of those outings against the Aussies, and three in Australia. His captaincy debut, in Dharamshala in March 2017, was sensational; with the series tied 1-1, Rahane heeded head coach Anil Kumble’s advice and unleashed left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who rode on tips from Shane Warne to pull the rug from under the feet of the great man’s colleagues. Rahane himself counter-punched as India pursued a tricky target of 106 on a still-spicy deck against a fired-up duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood, taking his team home from 46 for two with a racy unbeaten 27-ball 38.

But his greatest hour as leader came in Australia, on the Covid-adjacent tour in 2020-21 when Kohli left for the birth of his first child after the first Test. India looked out for the count after an eight-wicket drubbing in the Adelaide day-nighter, courtesy their lowest Test tally of 36 all out in the second innings. Alongside Kohli, pace ace Mohammed Shami was also ruled out of the series, with a broken forearm.

A 4-0 whitewash was the predicted outcome at that stage but somehow, Rahane masterminded an extraordinary fightback. By the final Test in Brisbane — how India still managed to keep the scoreline at 1-1 remains a great mystery — Rahane had to make do without the services of Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Hanuma Vihari and the irreplaceable Jasprit Bumrah. But India weren’t going away, were they? Rahane’s fabulous 112 was the catalyst for an instant backlash in Melbourne and once the skipper had shown the way, how could Pujara and Rishabh Pant and Vihari and Ashwin — who defied a hamstring strain and a back injury respectively to bat out more than three hours and secure a magnificent draw in Sydney in the third Test — not follow suit?

Need of the hour

Australia in 2020-21 was Rahane’s brightest hour, a shining beacon of not just his batting chops but also his tactical awareness, his man-management skills, the uncanny ability to think on his feet and his innate calmness that was more the need of the hour than Kohli’s unquestionable fire. To see his teammates respond to the urgings of their captain was heart-warming; India had a bowling ‘attack’ of little pedigree going into the Gabba decider, but Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur and debutants T. Natarajan and Washington Sundar — this group combined had played fewer than 10 Tests at the time — delivered at the most Australian of venues to set up a spectacular coup taken to its denouement by the steadfastness of Pujara and the enterprise and incandescence of Pant. The Gabbatoir was conquered for the first time in more than three decades, with the leadership group of Rahane and head coach Ravi Shastri at the heart of one of the most extraordinary fairytales in the five-day game.

It’s a shame that Rahane led just once more in Tests, and by the time Kohli decided to call time on his career in South Africa in early 2022, his form had nosedived enough – just three 50-plus scores and no century in his preceding 28 Test innings – for Rohit Sharma to take over as all-format leader. After South Africa, Rahane played a mere three more Tests over the next 18 months before being put out to pasture – some three years before he officially called time on his stirring journey. Cruelly, perhaps, but there is little place for sentiment in competitive sport.

Rahane, though, will remain a sentimental favourite. The eternal crisis-man but not a fair-weather fill-the-boot types. Maybe that’s something he should have been better at. Thanks for the entertainment, Jinks. And the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, of course.

Arundhati Reddy during practice. Photo: X/@BCCIWOMEN.

Shubman Gill plays a shot during the third One-Day International (ODI) cricket match between India and Australia, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Oct. 25, 2025.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Shubman Gill will be looking to turn the tables with a big knock after what has been an underwhelming tour when a confident India aim to go one up against a depleted Australia in the fourth T20 International in Carrara on Thursday (November 6, 2025).

The series is locked at 1-1 after three games and the absence of Josh Hazlewood in the previous game did make a difference to Australia’s defence of a standard total of 186.

Going into the fourth game, there won’t be any Travis Head for Australia as the opener is set to play Sheffield Shield to prepare for the Ashes.

With two pillars of the rival team unavailable, this is the best chance for India to go 2-1 up before the final game at the Gabba and wrap up a series win.

In the last game, India finally did look to get their combination right within their ambit of having an all-rounder at No. 8.

However, what will slightly bother the Indian team management is skipper Shubman Gill’s form in the series as he has now played six games without a half-century.

The sequence of scores since the start of the ODI series reads 10, 9, 24, 37 not out, 5, and 15. The only time he looked in good nick was at Canberra when he stitched a nice little stand with skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

Gill has been troubled by fuller deliveries with a hint of movement and throughout the better part, he hasn’t exactly looked in the regal touch which has made him the player that he is.

At the other end, Abhishek Sharma has done his reputation no harm as the world’s No. 1 T20 batter with a fine half-century and two quick starts in the series.

However Gill, who will have to switch on to the red ball mode in a week’s time, will certainly get a lot of confidence if he gets some runs irrespective of the format he is playing.

Skipper Suryakumar Yadav has shown some glimpses of his vintage self in the first and third matches with two good starts.

But he would also like to get some runs under the belt now that there will be a month-long break before the next series against South Africa.

In between, one would expect Suryakumar to play Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy game against Puducherry.

The bowling department, with the inclusion of Arshdeep Singh, looks way more compact even as Kuldeep Yadav has been sent back to prepare for the Test series against the Proteas.

The team management’s main issue has always been that both Kuldeep and Arshdeep can’t be played together.

If Kuldeep plays in these conditions, then Harshit Rana, with better batting skills, needs to be fitted in.

When Arshdeep plays, they have to somehow get a Washington Sundar inducted and one saw the result as his 23-ball 49 decisively swung the third game in favour of India.

The Australian side will depend a lot on skipper Mitchell Marsh and Tim David for the firepower in batting. With no Head in the line-up, Marsh might have Matthew Short as his opening partner.

However, it is the bowling department where Australia need to do some rejigging as Sean Abbott certainly didn’t look the part and one among Ben Dwarshuis or Mahli Beardman might just come in his place.

Teams (from):

India: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (VC), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar

Australia: Mitchell Marsh (captain), Matthew Short, Josh Inglis (wk), Josh Phillippe (wk), Mitchell Owen, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Kuhnemann, Adam Zampa, Mahli Beardman, Benn Dwarshuis,Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Marcus Stoinis.

Match Starts at 1:45 p.m.

Published – November 06, 2025 03:13 am IST

India’s Virat Kohli walks off after being dismissed by Australia’s Mitchell Starc during the one day international cricket match between Australia and India in Perth Australia, on October 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

India’s Jemimah Rodrigues and Pratika Rawal during a practice session at the ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
| Photo Credit: K.R. DEEPAK

File picture of former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, who lavished praise on Jasprit Bumrah’s performance during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series
| Photo Credit: ANI

Former cricketer Harbhajan Singh believes that if star bowler Jasprit Bumrah had not taken part in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), India would have suffered a 5-0 series defeat instead of a 3-1 humbling by Australia.

In 45 days of riveting cricket, Bumrah led India’s fight against the WTC champions, picking crucial Australian wickets across the five matches.

He was the mastermind behind India’s record-shattering 295-run victory in the series opener in Perth. He ended the series as the leading wicket-taker and was awarded the player of the series. Despite India’s series loss, Bumrah garnered much praise and even Travis Head admitted that it was the best “individual performance” that he had seen since he started playing the format.

Harbhajan praised Bumrah and said that if the “national treasure” wasn’t a part of the team, India would have lost the BGT by 5-0 or 4-0 in favour of Australia.

“If Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t in this tour, the series would have ended 5-0. Jassi saved India in Perth. After Adelaide, he saved India in the rest of the matches. If he wasn’t in the series, India would have lost by either 5-0 or 4-0,” Harbhajan Singh said on his YouTube channel.

He ended the five-match BGT series with 32 wickets, making him India’s highest wicket-taker in a Test series against the Baggy Greens on Australian soil.

Bumah arrived at his tally at an exceptional average of 12.64, including three five-wicket hauls, with a best of 6/76. In doing so, he surpassed Bishan Singh Bedi’s record of 31 wickets from the 1977-78 tour of Australia.

Indias captain Jasprit Bumrah stretches before the start of day three of the fifth cricket test match between Australia and India at The SCG in Sydney on January 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Battling a back spasm, India’s pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah was not fit enough to bowl on day three after the visitors set Australia a 162-run target.

India were bowled out for 157 in 39.5 overs, adding only 16 runs to their overnight total with the loss of four wickets.

Bumrah, who had suffered the injury on day two, is set to end as the leading wicket taker in the series with 32 scalps.

He was away from the field for three hours and 20 minutes on Saturday.

With he not there to open the bowling on Sunday, Indian pace duo of Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna was all over the place leaking 35 runs in the first three overs.

Krishna had revealed Bumrah’s back issue after stumps on day two.

Bumrah had suffered a lower back injury that kept him out of cricket for nearly one year between 2022 and 2023. He had undergone a back surgery in March 2023.

India’s Jasprit Bumrah reacts as he is out bowled during play on the third day of the fifth cricket test between India and Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground, in Sydney, Australia, Sunday, Jan. 5, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP

India were all out for 157 in the second innings, leaving Australia a victory target of 162 in the fifth and final Test here on Sunday.

Resuming day three at 141 for six, India lost their remaining four wickets for 16 runs.

Pat Cummins and Scott Boland shared the wickets in the session. Boland took six for 45 for the home side to claim a 10-wicket match haul, while Rishabh Pant’s 61 was the high score for India.

Brief Score:

India 1st innings: 185

Australia 1st innings: 181

India 2nd innings: 157 allout in 39.5 overs (Rishabh Pant 61, Scott Boland 6/45).

Senior India batter Rohit Sharma on Saturday (January 4, 2025) firmly dismissed his retirement rumours, saying he is “not going anywhere” and offered poor form as the reason for him “standing down” from the ongoing Sydney Test against Australia.

Grappling with modest form, Rohit “opted to rest” from the Sydney Test, handing over the leadership duties to Jasprit Bumrah, sparking widespread speculations about his future.

“I have not retired. I stood down, that is what I would say. Basically the chat that I had with the coach and the selector was very simple. I am not able to score runs, there is no form, it is an important match and we need a player with form,” Rohit told Star Sports.

“As it is, in our batting, the form of the boys is not that good. So you cannot carry a lot of out of form players in the team. This simple thing was going on in my mind. I am not going anywhere,” he added.

The 37-year-old said the team management and selectors backed his decision.

“I wanted to tell the coach and the selector that this is what is going on in my mind. They backed my decision. They said that you have been playing for so many years. You know what you are doing.

“So for me, it was difficult to take this decision. But if everything is kept in front, then this decision was sensible. I will not think much further,” he added.

In Rohit’s absence, Shubman Gill was included in the India eleven for the crucial fifth match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as India is trailing 1-2.

The Mumbaikar endured a tough time in Test cricket in 2024, accumulating just 619 runs in 26 innings across 14 matches averaging 24.76.

Before standing down, he had scored just 31 runs across five innings in three Tests in this series after joining the team following the Perth Test.

Rohit’s bold call triggered speculations that he might pull the plug on his Test career after this series.

“This is not a retirement decision. I am not going to leave the game. There is no such decision. But I am out of this game because the bat is not working.

“But there is no guarantee that the bat will not work after 5 months. There is no guarantee that the bat will not work after two months or six months down the line,” Rohit said.

He hoped for a turnaround in his fortunes sooner than later.

“We have seen a lot in cricket. Every minute, every second, every day life changes. So, I have a belief that things will change.

“But, at the same time, I have to be realistic as well. So, if a person has a mic inside, or a laptop, or a pen, what he writes, what he says, it does not change our life. We have played this game for so many years.

“So, these people cannot decide when we should go or when we should not play. I am a sensible man. I am a mature man. I am the father of two children. So, I have a little brain to decide what I want in life,” he noted.

Asked if he took this decision after the Melbourne Test defeat, Rohit said: “No, I took this decision after coming to Sydney. Because after the match, we had only two days in between. And one day was New Year’s eve. So on New Year’s, I did not want to tell this to the coach and the selector.

“But it was running in my mind that I am trying and trying. But it is not happening. So I have to accept that it is not happening. And it was important for me to step aside.

“Whenever I am captaining, I don’t believe in what is going to happen after 5 months or 6 months. What do you want in the immediate future, it is important to focus on this thing.

“Our entire focus was on these 5 matches. We had to retain the trophy, we had to win. So, when we take such decisions, we do it keeping the team in front of us,” he added.

Rohit also heaped praise on Bumrah saying he has been impressed by the latter’s leadership qualities.

“The way he (Bumrah) sets standards with the ball, he is absolute class. When I saw him for the first time in 2013, his graph has gone really high ever since and has gone from strength to strength,” he said.