5 cricketing events that hadn't happened when England last won a Test in Australia before Ashes 2025-26

England finally broke the jinx by defeating Australia in the fourth Test of the Ashes 2025-26 on Day 2 (Saturday, December 27) at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Put into bat, the hosts struggled in their first innings, being bowled out for just 152 in 45.2 overs, with Josh Tongue starring for England with figures of 5/45 from 11.2 overs.

In response, England managed only 110 in 29.5 overs, with Michael Neser shining for Australia by taking four wickets. Australia’s second innings was equally forgettable, as they were dismissed for 132, setting England a target of 175.

In the fourth innings, Jacob Bethell top-scored for the visitors with 40, and England eventually chased down the target to win by four wickets. This was their first Test win on Australian soil in nearly 15 years, with the previous victory coming in January 2011 when they defeated Australia by an innings and 83 runs in Sydney.

As England celebrated a historic triumph, here are five cricketing milestones that had not occurred when they last won a Test in Australia prior to the 2025-26 Ashes.

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#1 The Indian player to hit the fastest hundred in the IPL wasn’t even born

14-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi holds the record for the fastest hundred in the IPL by an Indian, reaching the milestone in just 35 balls while representing Rajasthan Royals (RR) against Gujarat Titans (GT) in Jaipur during the 2025 season.

Remarkably, when England last won a Test in Australia before 2025, back in January 2011, Suryavanshi had not even been born. The Bihar-born prodigy was born later that year, on March 27, 2011.

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#2 Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had not played a World Cup together for India

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have emerged as two of the greatest cricketers to ever play the game and continue to represent India in ODIs, having retired from Tests and T20Is. The duo has been part of several World Cup campaigns, with their first appearance together coming during the 2012 T20 World Cup.

In 2024, the duo claimed their first World Cup together as Men in Blue lifted the T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, defeating South Africa in the final.

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#3 Smriti Mandhana was yet to make her international debut

India’s current vice-captain, Smriti Mandhana, made her T20I debut against Bangladesh on April 5, 2013. Since then, she has played 156 matches in the format, scoring 4,022 runs at an average of 29.57 with a strike rate of 123.60, including 31 fifties and one century.

In ODIs, Mandhana has featured in 117 games, amassing 5,322 runs at an average of 48.38 and a strike rate of 90.52, with 34 fifties and 14 hundreds. She has also represented India in seven Tests, scoring 629 runs at an impressive average of 57.18, including three fifties and two centuries.

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#4 MS Dhoni was India’s all-format captain

In 2011, when England last won a Test in Australia before their triumph in the fourth Test of the ongoing Ashes, MS Dhoni was India’s all-format captain. The former World Cup-winning skipper stepped down from Test captaincy upon retiring from red-ball cricket in December 2014.

He later relinquished the white-ball captaincy in January 2017 and eventually retired from all international cricket on August 15, 2020.

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#5 Mumbai Indians were yet to lift an IPL trophy

The Indian Premier League (IPL) began in 2008, and Mumbai Indians (MI) has emerged as one of the biggest franchises, alongside Chennai Super Kings (CSK), with both teams winning five titles each.

However, MI did not secure a title in the first three seasons, coming closest in 2010 when they lost to CSK in the final. They won their first championship in 2013 under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, and all of their subsequent titles have also been achieved under his leadership.

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Edited by Dev Sharma