After a summer for the ages, will it be Australia or India who will lift the Border-Gavaskar Trophy following a mouth-watering final day in Brisbane?
Fifty years after the Gabba’s iconic tied Test ignited world cricket, a series which could do even more for the game is set for a finish for the ages.
Millions of Indians, including the parents of discovery Washington Sundar who have been setting their alarm for 4.15am, will rise before dawn to see the final day of a series which has revitalised the Test match game.
Great cricket series are never forgotten.
The Tied Test between Australia and the West Indies in 1960-61, which appropriately celebrated its 50th birthday this season, is still talked about with reverence and if India draw this Test and keep the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, they would truly live up to their new nickname, The Irrepressibles.
The Tied Test was credited as a major force behind the revival of the Test match game after a grim decade featuring slow moving Tests.
This series will be even more significant because it will ensure Test match cricket survives and thrives against the cannibalising force of T20 cricket.
Given a full day of sunshine – which is unlikely – Australia should win it, but we’ve been saying that since the teams left Adelaide after the first Test and nothing’s happened.
Australia’s bowling attack are tired after a rugged month but do have a cherished ability to rise for the big occasion.
Late thunderstorms are forecast. Imagine it … India eight down, dark clouds closing in, Australia’s vultures circling around the bat, Nathan Lyon probing for his 400th wicket.
The possibilities are mouth-watering.
It seems incredible a series of such unrelenting drama may save its most unforgettable moments for the last day.
With a draw India’s best shot, Australia’s unbeaten streak in Brisbane will surely stretch to an extraordinary 33 Tests but there is no sense India have been overwhelmed by the ghouls of the Gabbatoir.
Having a bowling attack who had played a collective four Tests was almost a bonus for India for it was as if they arrived here not caring whether it was Brisbane or Bangalore.
For all the talk of India wanting to avoid Brisbane, they played the ball and not the venue. Bounce occasionally exposed them, but never unnerved them.
As has been the case all summer, they just played the game without ego or fear.
They may be beaten today but there is no sense they are fading.
Mohammed Siraj, whose father died while he was on tour, finished his bowling series with a five wicket haul on Monday looking very much like a man who wished there was a fifth, sixth and seventh Test.
Goodness knows what India will do with him when they play England next month. Unofficially he is India’s No. 6 fast bowler.
India have wriggled, scratched, clawed and scrambled their way out of countless tight corners but if they do it again today it would be remarkable.
The tourists have played with admirable abandon in this match. Those close to the camp say the key is the players’ sense they cannot lose.
No-one expected them to win so everything is a bonus.
They are living the dream because even if they lose today they will gain something that means as much as any trophy in the game … respect.
