5 milestones Australian bowlers can achieve in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25

The highly anticipated and much-awaited Border Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) 2024-25 is all set to kick-start on Friday, November 22, with the first Australia-India Test in Perth. The last two times India toured Australia for the Border Gavaskar Trophy, the visitors won the series both times. Pat Cummins and company will be itching to avoid a hat-trick of Test series defeats against India at home and reclaim the BGT.

Star Indian batters such as Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli have struggled in the format of late. Meanwhile, the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Abhimanyu Easwaran do not have enough international Test experience.

Australia's bowlers will look to exploit the Indian batting line-up, which currently looks fragile and vulnerable. The visitors will face a tough task against Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc, and Nathan Lyon.

With Australia's bowlers certain to go hard on the Indian batters, it is expected to be a thoroughly exciting battle. The Australian bowlers will also be on a milestone hunt in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.

That said, here are five milestones some of their bowlers can achieve in this upcoming series.

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#5 Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood on track for 500 International wickets

Australian captain Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood are among the key bowlers in their line-up. Both pacers are closing in on 500 international wickets and this series is the perfect platform for them to achieve the milestone.

Cummins currently has 478 international wickets across formats. He has 269 Test, 143 ODI, and 66 T20I wickets, and is only 22 scalps away from the 500-wicket mark.

Hazlewood also has 478 international wickets to his name. He has 273 Test, 138 ODI, and 67 T20I wickets. Like Cummins, Hazelwood also needs only 22 wickets to get to 500 international scalps.

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#4 Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood nearing 300 Test wickets

Both Australian pacers can achieve another milestone in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25. As mentioned above, Cummins has 269 Test wickets to his name. The Australian skipper is just 31 wickets away from the 300-wicket mark in the traditional format.

Hazlewood, on the other hand, has taken 273 wickets in Tests and needs only 27 more wickets to reach the 300 mark.

Given the vulnerability of this Indian batting unit, both pacers have a high chance of reaching these milestones.

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#3 Pat Cummins can be the first pacer to 200 WTC wickets

The milestone list does not end for Pat Cummins. The Australian skipper has a lot to achieve on a personal note in this series. In the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) so far, Cummins has bagged 175 wickets in 42 matches at an average of 22.81.

He is just 25 wickets away from reaching 200 wickets in WTC history. Should Cummins manage to get to the 200-wicket mark, he will become the first pacer to do so.

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#2 Nathan Lyon could become the first bowler to 200 WTC wickets

Australian spinner Nathan Lyon also has the opportunity to get to 200 wickets in the World Test Championship. Lyon currently has 187 wickets from 43 WTC games. He is just 13 wickets away from reaching the 200-wicket mark.

However, India's Ravichandran Ashwin has 194 wickets in the WTC. Should Lyon bag 13 wickets before Ashwin gets six more, the Aussie could become the first bowler in WTC history to pick up 200 wickets.

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#1 700 International wickets for Mitchell Starc

Left-arm Australian pacer Mitchell Starc could enter an elite club of bowlers from his nation. The 34-year-old pacer has 681 international wickets at present (358 Test, 244 ODI, and 79 T20Is).

Starc is only 19 wickets away from completing 700 international wickets. Only three other Australian bowlers have crossed this mark, those being Shane Warne (1001 wickets, Glenn McGrath (949 wickets), and Brett Lee (718 wickets).

Therefore, Starc could enter this elite list of Australian pacers if he can pick up at least 19 wickets in the five-match series.