While the Ashes remains theforemost trophy for the Australians, the BorderGavaskar Trophy isemerging as a major series to look forward to even though it lacksthe political drama associated as in the case of any India v Pakistanmatch. But there's a different charm to cricket when India and Australiaare up against each other. For a long time, India was the 'FinalFrontier' for the men from Down Under. On the other hand, the Indianswere invariably struggling on the 'fast paced bouncy' tracks in Australia.
Tigers at home, lambs abroad was the popular phrase used todescribe the Indians on their previous overseas tours. Australia, whohad not long ago been the reigning champions in Test Cricket now, areplaced at Number Two with South Africa having taken the top spot.
India with 96 points to their name and languishing at the sixthplace will be wishing to make the best of this long tour ofAustralia, a series that consists of four Tests, a triangular seriesand ends with the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup. The likes of Virat Kohli andCheteshwar Pujara will have their techniques tested to the limit,once again by the Australian pace battery. They were left badlybruised in England and can't afford yet another disaster inAustralia.
Over the years, the two teams have been involved in some closecontests; there have been heart-stopping moments, tense finishes andsome drab draws. It's a herculean task to pick out the best of those,but here's what we feel have been the ten outstanding Tests betweenthe two teams.
Australia in India, December 1959, Kanpur
Alan Davidson took 12 wickets in the game but it was Jasubhai Patel�s 14 wicket match-haul that gave India a historic win. (Hulton Archive) ©kareem
India's first ever Test win against Australia!
It took India 10 Tests to achieve their first ever victory againstAustralia. Having been crushed in the first Test by an innings, Indiabounced back in superb fashion in Kanpur. It wasn't asstraightforward as it looked. Batting first, India were bowled out forjust 152, with Alan Davidson finishing with superb figures of 5/31.Jasubhai Patel, however, brought India back into the match. His figures of9/69, the best by an Indian at that time helped limit Australia'slead to 67 runs.
Nari Contractor made a fine 74 in India's second innings whileRamnath Kenny (51) and Bapu Nadkarni (46) made useful contributionsto help India finish on 291, a lead of 224 runs. Alan Davidson wasonce again too hot to handle. He finished with 7/93, a match haul of12/124.
The target of 225 was always going to be tough for the Australians.The two off-break bowlers, Jasubhai Patel and Polly Umrigar, torethrough the Australian batting and the visitors were bowled out for105, losing by 119 runs. India had broken the Australian jinx.
Australia in India, October 1964, Mumbai
Nawab of Pataudi Jr was the star for India. © kareem
Norm O' Neill went down with stomach pain after the start of thematch and couldn't take any further part leaving the visitors aplayer short. The 10-man Australian team led by Bobby Simpson thoughnearly pulled out a surprise win over the Indians.
In a high scoring encounter, India gained a 21-run lead afterbowling Australia out for 320 in their first innings. Undeterred bythe Indian spinners, Australia rattled up 274 in their secondinnings, setting India a fourth innings target of 254. BSChandrashekhar added 4 more wickets to his similar effort in thefirst innings.
At 122/6, the chase seemed to be all but over for the hosts. Nawabof Pataudi Jr, who had top-scored with 86 in India's first innings,rose to the occasion with yet another half-century. He was wellsupported by Vijay Manjrekar, batting lower down the order at 8 andChandu Borde, batting at 9. India eventually got home with twowickets to spare.
India in Australia, December 1977, Brisbane
Sunil Gavaskar's brilliant ton in the second innings went in vain ©
As many as six Australians made their Test debut in thisencounter. One of those, Peter Toohey top scored with 82 as Indiabundled out the hosts on a damp pitch for a partly 166. Bishen SinghBedi was the wrecker-in-chief, finishing with 5/55. The Indianbatsmen threw away the advantage, getting bowled out for 153. BarringDilip Vengsarkar (48) and GR Vishwanath (45), none of the otherbatsmen made any sort of impression.
Australia's second innings effort was largely built on skipper,Bob Simpson (89) and the battling efforts of the tail-enders. Theyrecovered from various stages, from a wobbly 7/3 and from a less thancomfortable 246/8 to eventually finish on 327 all-out. Needing 341for victory, India were always on the back-foot. Sunil Gavaskar madea magnificent 113 and Syed Kirmani scored 55, there were some otheruseful contributions, but India were dismissed for 324, just 16 runsshy of what would have been a superb victory.
If the Test at Brisbane was a nail-biter, the next match at theWACA, Perth, turned out to be another humdinger. In the end,Australia just about edged the Test by 2 wickets, after chasing down342 in the fourth innings of the match.
Australia in India, September 1986, Chennai
Dean Jones played a near unforgettable knock in near unforgiving condition. © kareem
A spectacular Test match ended in a thrilling tie with scoreslevel when the final Indian wicket fell. Dean Jones endured terriblephysical conditions to make a splendid 210. David Boon and AllanBorder made centuries as well and Australia ended up with an imposingscore of 574/7 dec. With India unable to make much of a head through,the match seemed to be heading towards an easy Australian victorywith the score line reading 245/7. Kapil Dev led the riposte, makingan aggressive 119 and shepherded the tail superbly, taking India to arespectable 397 all-out, still trailing by 177 runs.
With time at a premium, Australia declared their second inningsclosed at 170/5, setting India a target of 348 runs from 87 overs.Sunil Gavaskar led the chase with a fine 90 and the rest of thebatsmen chipped in usefully as India threatened to chase down thetarget. At one stage, India needed 18 runs from the final five overswith 3 wickets in hand. When Chetan Sharma and Kiran More weredismissed off consecutive deliveries, it seemed that an Australianwin was imminent.
Ravi Shastri had other plans though as he single-handedly tookIndia closer and tied the scores with three deliveries remaining.However, Greg Matthews trapped Maninder Singh in front, and the matchhad finished in a tie, only for the second time in 1052 Tests.
India in Australia, January 1992, Adelaide
Azhar played one of the best innings by an Indian in Australia. © kareem
Another thrilling chase, and once again India finished secondbest. Trailing 2-0 and having seen their chances of a victory atSydney halted by bad light. India needed to win at Adelaide Oval.They started off promisingly, restricting Australia to 145. However,the hosts hit back and reduced the visitors to 70/6. Even though thelower order took charge and helped India post 225, a lead of 80 runs,the momentum was more or less lost.
In the Second Innings, Mark Taylor (100) and David Boon (135)added 221 runs for the second wicket and Australia were furtherboosted by an unbeaten 91 by skipper, Allan Border, as they finishedon 451, gaining an overall lead of 371 runs. Mohammad Azharuddin thenplayed one of the finest ever Test innings in Australia, his cuts anddrives were a treat to watch. Together with Manoj Prabhakar, he tookIndia to 89 shy of victory before being dismissed for a spectacular106. That ended India's hopes of a victory and they were eventuallydismissed for 333, just 38 runs short.
Australia in India, October 1996, Delhi
Sachin Tendulkar with the ideal gift in his first Test as India's captain. © kareem
With India v Australia turning out to be a cracker of a contest,the two boards got together to rename the Test series as theBorder-Gavaskar Trophy. a one-off Test would be played at theFerozeshah Kotla in Delhi to mark its beginning. As a contest, the first ever BG trophymatch never rose to great heights.
India took complete control from the moment Australia opted tobat. They were bundled out for just 182 with Anil Kumble grabbingfour wickets. Nayan Mongia made a patient 152, his only Test ton, asIndia gained a 179-run advantage after the first innings. Kumbleadded five more wickets in Australia's second innings. The tourists'were bowled out for just 234 with only Steve Waugh showing somefight.
India rattled off the target of 56 and gave skipper, SachinTendulkar, the ideal gift in his first Test as India's captain.
Australia in India, March 1998, Chennai
Sachin's master plan against Shane Warne was a complete hit. ©
For the record, India beat Australia by a whopping margin of 179runs. But the match will be forever remembered for the epic duelbetween Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne at the Chepauk dust bowl.The Indian master prepared for the series by asking LaxmanSivaramakrishnan to help him out by bowling in the rough outside theleg-stump to a right-handed batsman. He then went on to score adouble hundred in Australia's practice match against Ranji champions,Mumbai.
Tendulkar failed in the first innings, getting out whileattempting an ambitious lofted drive off Warne, for 4. In the secondinnings, he came out prepared and launched a spectacular onslaughtagainst the blonde leg-spinner. He repeatedly drove him through coverand point region, and when Warne switched into a negative line ofattack, took him apart with some towering sixes over mid-wicket.Tendulkar had set the mark early in the series and Warne never lookedthe same bowler again, at least against the Indians.
Australia in India, March 2001, Kolkata
2001, Kolkata - The match that saw it all. ©
Perhaps, one of the best ever series in the history of Testcricket, the 'final frontier' remained unconquered for Steve Waughand his men. Mid-way through the second Test in Kolkata, it lookedlike Australia was all set to continue with their dominance. Havingthrashed India inside three days in Mumbai, they looked all set torepeat the dose in Kolkata, having forced Sourav Ganguly's mento follow-on.
VVS Laxman, who had made a fine 59 in the first innings, waspromoted to number three in the batting order, ahead of thestruggling Rahul Dravid. This move seemed to have spurred the fiercecompetitive nature in both batsmen. Joining forces with India at232/4, still trailing by 42 runs, the two batsmen batted out daythree, batted through the entire length on day 4, and when finallyLaxman was dismissed for a personal best score of 281, thepartnership had yielded 376 runs, a record stand for India. Dravidsoon went for 180 and India declared with a lead of 383 runs. Thebatsmen had set the match up and Harbhajan Singh took the onus todeliver the victory. The off-spinner had earlier taken 7/123 in thefirst innings (including a hat-trick) and added another six wicketsin the second innings. He finished with a match haul of 13/196 andIndia had snapped the 16-match winning streak of Steve Waugh &Co.
If Kolkata was a dream to be cherished, the next Test at Chennaigot India the famous series triumph. In a match where the fortunesswung from one extreme to the other, India held on to complete atwo-wicket victory. Harbhajan Singh finished with sensational figures15/217 and it was only fitting that he hit the winning runs.
India in Australia, December 2003, Adelaide
Rahul Dravid en route to conquering Adelaide © kareem
The confidence gained during the 2001 series in India spilled overwhen India visited Australia for a four-Test series in 2003-04. Afterdominating in a rain hit Brisbane Test, India scripted a memorablevictory at Adelaide Oval. Batting first Australia was indebted toRicky Ponting's superb 242 as they piled up a massive 556 on theboard.
India's chase was rocked early and at 85/4, follow-on loomedlarge. The two heroes of Kolkata joined forces once again and wereinvolved in a 303-run stand for the fifth wicket. The roles werereversed this time. Dravid was the enforcer while Laxman playedsecond fiddle. When Dravid was the last man dismissed, for a fluent,233, India had reached 523, trailing by just 33 runs. Ajit Agarkarthen pulled out a magnificent spell, his 6/41 instrumental inrestricting Australia to 196 all-out.
Dravid once again took control of the chase and remained unbeatenon 70 when India went past the target to gain a 1-0 series lead. Thenew era, which had begun during the home series in 2001, was nowfirmly set in saddle.
India in Australia, January 2008, Perth
India bowlers were in top form to help their side storm to victory. © kareem
Going into the Test, India were in danger of losing the plotcompletely. The Sydney shenanigans notwithstanding, India had nobusiness to lose three wickets to the gentle spin of Michael Clarke.With their pride hurt and needing to win at Perth to keep the seriesalive, Anil Kumble's men put in a champagne performance.
Rahul Dravid made 93, Sachin Tendulkar chipped in with 71 butIndia were still restricted to just 330. The bowlers came tothe fore, with each of the four specialist bowlers, taking at least 2wickets. Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist added 102 runs for thesixth wicket but Australia were bundled out for just 212, conceding afirst innings lead of 118 runs.
Laxman led India's fight in the second innings. His gritty 79helped the visitors put up 294 in their second innings. Chasing 413for an improbable victory, Michael Clarke made 81 and MitchellJohnson chipped in with 50, but the hosts were bundled out for 340 to give India a famous win.
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