The 11 compelling storylines which defined one of the best Border-Gavaskar series of all time

Australia’s 3-1 series win over India doesn’t just bring the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back to these shores for the first time since 2014/15, it also sends Pat Cummins’ team to the World Test Championship Final.

From 1-0 down, the Aussies rallied in the face of adversity and ultimately conquered a touring team with brittle batting lacking depth in the bowling department.

Australia played the better cricket across the four Tests since Perth. India had their moments, but the hosts were largely on top throughout December and into early January.

These are the most significant 11 storylines from a rollicking summer of cricket.

LEGACY IN TACT

Pat Cummins had never defeated India in a Test series before this summer. Had Australia lost, it would have been four years until he got the chance again on home soil.

It was critical for the loosely described ‘’generational players’ to rectify their records against India. Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon were all in their mid-20s when they last tasted success against Kohli and co.

What this series means for them, from a reputational perspective, is considerable. It goes some way to remedying two home defeats of the past, though Smith was absent for one of them.

THE BRILLIANCE OF BUMRAH

It was such a shame the premier spearhead of the summer was injured on the last day of the series. The unanswerable question is ‘what if?’ What if he had been fit to bowl at the SCG on day three? We will never know.

On pure stats, 32 wickets at a ridiculous average of 13 tell an incredible tale. But what the stats don’t show is how many times Bumrah changed the course of a session or a day. He anchored the attack time after time, day after day.

The Australians literally changed their opening combination as a circuit breaker, aware after Brisbane that if Bumrah was going to get wickets, he may as well go for some runs too.

The longer the series went, the more India relied on Bumrah. When he was bowling, the game was fundamentally different. It was like Shane Warne in the 2005 Ashes. And given the close proximity of the Melbourne and Sydney Tests, it comes as no surprise that he finally broke down.

Like Sir Richard Hadlee in the mid-1980s, we saw a premier fast bowler at the height of his powers this summer. It was a privilege.

…AND THE BRILLIANCE OF BOLAND

As good as Bumrah was, he only just pipped Scott Boland for the best bowling average.

Boland took his 21 wickets at 13.19, including a career-first 10-wicket match at the MCG. Like Bumrah, every time Boland was toiling away things seemed to happen.

He only played three Tests, but you could mount an argument that he was Australia’s player of the series.

His average, strike-rate and economy was better than Cummins’ , and he didn’t have dips in impact like Smith or Travis Head. It's no surprise three Tests Australia won, Boland played in.

The big question is whether Boland can fit into Australia’s XI for the World Test Championship Final at Lord’s, which may sound absurd given his summer from heaven. But the big three are well travelled and have proven success in the UK. That’s a discussion for June/July.

SHIELD CRICKET ALIVE AND WELL

There is something glorious about the success of Boland and Beau Webster at the SCG. Both in their 30s, both journeymen, and both would have believed their Test dreams were over at the age of 30.

Webster is a lesson for the Australian selectors: That form should trump potential, especially in the longest form of the game. And that while 31 may be old in the football codes, it’s prime time to elevate cricketers to the top level.

Webster caught well in the slips, bowled economically, took the crucial wicket of Shubman Gill on day two, and top scored in the first innings when batting was challenging.

Three days ago Webster looked like a stopgap option. A filler as Cam Green recovers from surgery. But now Webster could be crucial in Sri Lanka with bat, ball and in the field. And maybe, just maybe, there will be room for the Slug in the same XI as Green, just as there was with Mitch Marsh. His Test average of 96.

SUGAR HIT KONSTAS

And what a sugar hit!

Konstas changed the course of the series with his day one heroics against India. He took Bumrah on in a way only a teenager batting without consequence ever could.

His style is thrilling, brash and high risk. It won’t last in its current form, but it served its purpose in Melbourne. It helped Australia win the series.

Konstas isn’t a prodigy in the same way Ricky Ponting or Michael Clarke were, but he has a future at the top level across all formats if he can find balance in his game and approach. He will get there - and there will be more speed bumps - but in the short term he did his job.

Without Konstas pulling off an array of T20 shots on Boxing Day, the Test and the series would have played out entirely differently.

NATHAN WHO?

Nathan Lyon had the most subdued summer of his Test career. Through a combination of conditions, game scenarios and Indian batting, the tweaker was barely required outside of the MCG.

Lyon has never bowled as few overs in a series where he’s played more than three Tests, finishing with just 122.4. He managed just nine wickets.

But the offie’s moment came at the MCG, and he delivered, claiming the crucial scalp of Nitish Reddy for 1 and then Mohhamad Siraj to win the Test.

There is nothing to suggest Lyon is past his best - given how comfortably Indians have played him in the past - and his role will increase substantially in Sri Lanka in a few weeks.

SMITH’S RENAISSANCE, WITH A CATCH

Steve Smith’s hundred at the MCG was his most free-flowing for nine years (in terms of balls faced). It was a sign there is life in the old dog yet, even if his 2019 Ashes form is now a distant memory.

The batter finished the series with two tons, but only averaged 39, which tells us that although he converted better this summer, he is more vulnerable than ever early.

Five single-figure scores is his most ever for an Australia v India series.

Smith also dropped seven catches for the summer. It was his worst summer of catching since the 2017/18 Ashes, even though he took some blinders. His overall catching percentage was 68 per cent, 10 percent short of the global average for slippers.

The best of him remains world class, and we’d be best served to enjoy that for however long he has left, accepting that he will never be what he once was.

KING KOHLI HUMBLED

Kohli’s mind was willing but his talents have faded sharply. It wasn’t just that he averaged 23 with the stick, or that he made 90 runs in eight knocks outside of his ton in Perth, it was that he couldn’t shake the same weakness for the duration of the series.

Kohli was caught behind the wicket every time he was dismissed. The Australians hung the bait out and he bit, without fail, every time.

It brings an end to Kohli’s illustrious career on these shores. Where once he punched through the covers, he no longer had the same control.

When he strode to the crease, Cummins opened up the entire region between gully and mid-off regularly to tempt and tease the icon.

The tactic worked, meaning Kohli leaves Australia a shell of a player he once was. Seven tons at an average of 46 nevertheless makes him one of the great touring batters. It's a matter for debate whether Australian crowds loved or loathed him in the end.

INDIA UNREST

India has serious questions which must be answered ahead of their blockbuster five-Test series against England in the Australian winter.

Before any team changes discussion, they must sort out their leadership processes. It’s clear the Indian camp has been fragmented for much of the summer. Is this a coach issue? A player issue? A captaincy problem? Or a dollop of each?

The cold truth is they’ve won just one of their last seven Tests and missed out on a spot in the World Test Championship Final. For a country of such wealth and resources, this is nothing other than a monumental failure.

Does KL Rahul have a spot long-term in the Indian team? His average of 30 this series was a disappointing return for someone who looked so assured. Gill was below his best, Rohit Sharma was poor from go to woe, and R Ashwin quit mid-tour amid confusion around selection.

Even Rishabh Pant only made one 50, averaging 28. He teased us a couple of times, but was well below his best.

Indian cricket is in transition. If it's in decline, it won't last for long.

BE REDDY FOR JAISWAL

The two Indians who can hold their head high with the bat are Jaiswal and Reddy. They are still raw, but both have games which should hold up in England beyond.

Jaiswal’s ton in Perth was arguably the best of the series across both sides, while Reddy’s century in Melbourne was an exhibition of cover drives and attacking strokeplay from a player so inexperienced.

They are the future of the Indian team.

The LIFE AND TIMES OF MARNUS

Last but not least, what do we make of Marnus Labuschagne? His three half centuries this summer were hard-fought and critical, but an average of 26 at a strike-rate of 41 paints a bleak picture.

He didn’t do enough to lose his place, but he also didn’t perform to categorically lock himself into number three for the next two years.

Of the top 11 run-scorers this summer, Labuschagne had the slowest scoring rate. At number three, Australia needs more from the Queenslander.