India vs Australia, in England, in World Test Championship final, it could not get any bigger. The India-Australia rivalry is among the most fierce rivalries in cricket. The matches between the 2 teams have given us a lot of unforgettable moments as both teams leave no stone unturned to defeat their opponents. In this article, let’s go back the memory lane and discuss the most memorable India Vs Australia matches.
11.) India Vs Australia, Sydney, 2021: A Draw For The Ages
Match summary: Australia: 338 & 312/6d, India: 244 & 334/5
Result: Match Drawn
This test match was part of the legendary Border Gavaskar Trophy played in 2020/21 which saw India win the test series down under after making an amazing comeback. This third test match of the series is iconic in itself as it saw one of the best draw matches in recent cricket history.
Australia bats first and puts on a good total of 338 in their first innings with a century from their best batsman Steve Smith who played a knock of 131. India, in reply however could only score 244 runs with only Pujara’s 50 being the only good batting performance for India. India is already behind in the game as the Australian pace attack of Pat Cummins – Josh Hazlewood – Mitchell Starc take 8 wickets between them and looked almost unplayable. With heads high with confidence Australia batted again and scored 312/6 after which they declare the innings.
India now had to chase down a mammoth total of 402 runs within 4 sessions. India however, wanted a win and it was visible with the way both the openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill came out to bat. Their efforts helped India close out Day 4 at 98/2 which looked pretty good. This meant India now needed to score around 300 runs on the last day. India loses their stand-in captain Rahane’s wicket very early in the day. However, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant put on a good partnership. They add 150 runs for the 4th wicket and India was now at 250/3. Pujara batted for 285 minutes while Pant made an attacking 97. However, they both get out and India is now at 272/5.
Still 130 runs away and with Vihari and Ashiwn on the pitch, it looked like India would soon lose the match. Next to bat was an injured Jadeja and then India’s tail, Australia just needed one more wicket and victory was theirs. That one wicket however Australia never get, as Ashwin and Vihari played through the remaining 40 overs without giving their wickets. Vihari had pulled his hamstring early and couldn’t even run properly between the wickets, while Ashwin was playing with injuries and bruises as well. However, in the end, Ashwin and Vihari made sure India doesn’t lose another wicket and drew the test match for India.
10.) India vs Australia, Melbourne, 2021: Rising From The Ashes
Match summary: Australia: 195 & 200, India: 326 & 70/2
Result: India win by 8 wickets
After India’s 36 all-out in the first match in the series, an India series win looked out of sight. Added to this was the unavailability of India’s test captain and their best batsman Virat Kohli. Then what happened in the rest of the series is nothing less of legendary. Amidst injuries off regular players, COVID protocols, and controversies, India scripted their best-ever away test series win.
The first step towards resurrection was the 2nd test at Melbourne. Not just Kohli, but India’s regular opener Rohit Sharma was also unavailable, and Mohammad Shami too got injured in the last test match and wasn’t available. Thus both Mohammad Siraj and Shubman Gill made their debut in this match.
The match was beautifully set up by the pacers, especially Jaspirit Bumrah who took 4 wickets and didn’t allow Australia to go past 195. Then, the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane led from the front and scored a match-winning century. His partnership with Ravindra Jadeja allowed India to get ahead in the game.
In the end, India is able to win the match quite comfortably and in doing so erase most of the haunting memories of the 36 all out.
On this day in 2020, @ajinkyarahane88 played one of his best Test knocks in Melbourne💯pic.twitter.com/1kfYnABKLc
— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) December 27, 2021
9.) India Vs Australia, Adelaide, 2014: A Miracle Is Not Enough
Match Summary: Australia: 517/7d & 290/5d, India: 444 & 315
Result: Australia win by 48 runs
This test-match was the start of the Kohli era. Virat Kohli who is arguably the best batsman of this generation was playing his first match as a captain of the Indian team, and thus this match was special for him. This match was also special for the Australian team as they were playing in memory of Phil Hughes who unfortunately died while playing cricket for Australia.
Australia batted first and on the back of centuries from David Warner, captain Michael Clarke, and Steve Smith, put on a total of 517/7 and declared the innings. In reply, Virat scores a century and powers his team to a score of 444. India didn’t look like it will win the match, and any hopes of victory were thwarted after Australia batted in their second innings and declared on 290/5. David Warner scored another century, and Mitch Marsh played a T20-like knock of 40 runs off just 26 balls. India had to chase 364 runs, and with the pitch doing all sorts of tricks with it getting rough, this target seemed impossible to even come close to.
Not for the captain Virat Kohli. He was determined to win it for India, he brought his A-game that day, and with opener Murali Vijay stitched a partnership of 187 runs for the 3rd wicket. Kohli showed how one can counter-attack while also playing risk-free cricket. He beautifully bisected the field to find gaps and hit boundaries. He was at his aggressive best and was in the ‘zone’.
Both Murali Vijay and Kohli played brilliantly when Nathan Lyon was spinning the ball beautifully, and took India from 57/2 to 242/2. With just 122 runs left and 8 wickets in hand, victory didn’t seem that far now for India. Murali Vijay, however, gets out at 99 just missing out on his century. Australia got the breakthrough they needed, and with the pitch being difficult to bat on, it was difficult for new batsmen to settle. Thus wickets kept tumbling on the other end as Rahane, and Rohit Sharma got out. Wriddhiman Saha was now the last recognized batsman left and he got out playing an aggressive shot.
Kohli however still tried his best but got out to Lyon. He ended on 141 runs off just 175 balls. This was truly a miracle innings but still wasn’t enough for a victory as India lost the match by 48 runs. Nathan Lyon who was amazing with the ball was the man of the match.
(1/2) Throwback to this very special and important test in our journey as the test team that we are today. Adelaide 2014 was a game filled with emotion on both sides and an amazing one for people to watch too. Although we didn’t cross the line being so close, it taught us that.. pic.twitter.com/BrgHL3ffyR
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 30, 2020
(2/2)..anything is possible if we put our mind to it because we committed to doing something which seemed very difficult to begin with but almost pulled it off. All of us committed to it. This will always remain a very important milestone in our journey as a test side. 🇮🇳💙
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 30, 2020
8.) India vs Australia, Sydney, 2007: Sydneygate/Monkeygate
Match Summary: Australia: 463 & 401/7d, India: 532 & 210
Result: Australia won by 122 runs
Australia was coming into this test match on an unbeaten run of 15 test wins, defeating India in the last match. India managed to put Australia under pressure when they put Australia at 134/6. However, on the back of some very dubious and controversial decisions by the umpires Mark Benson and Steve Buckner, Andrew Symonds remained not out and scored 162 runs allowing Australia to end at 463 runs in the first innings. India bats well in their innings and with both Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman scoring centuries put on a lead of 69 runs for India.
However, on the backs of some more weird and awful umpiring decisions Australia was able to score 401/7. India had to somehow draw the match by playing 70-odd overs on the last day. A huge umpiring blunder happened when Ponting appealed for a catch taken by Clarke which was clearly touching the ground, however, it was given out by the umpire. India eventually lost the match when they lost 3 wickets in one over by Clarke.
However, while the match was going on there was a huge controversy brewing. When Harbhajan was batting with Dachin on Day 3. Symonds and Singh have a confrontation, and after that, Symonds accused Harbhajan of racially abusing him by calling him ‘monkey’. Harbhajan Singh and the whole team were shocked at such a serious accusation. Harbhajan Singh and the whole team argued that he had said the words ‘Maa Ki’ which is an Indian abuse and not ‘monkey’.
A hearing took place after the match wherein the match referee Mike Proctor took Symond’s side and announced a 3-test match ban for Harbhajan Singh. India couldn’t take this and all the senior players of the team refused to play the next match and BCCI decided to call off the rest of the tour. That is when ICC organized a commission and a hearing took place after which Harbhajan Singh was acquitted of all the charges.
#ThisDayThatYear
One of the best press conference,i have heard.
Leader leads his troops.One of the most controversial & dramatic Test match 2007-08 BGT Sydney.#DownTheMemoryLane #CricketTwitter@anilkumble1074 @harbhajan_singh pic.twitter.com/P3nRKr3nYI
— alekhaNikun (@nikun28) January 6, 2023
7.) India Vs Australia, Perth, 2008: Indians Draw Kangaroo Blood
Match Summary: India: 330 & 294, Australia: 212 & 340
Result: India won by 72 runs
After being 2-0 in the 2007/08 series, India had nothing but fire in their belly. They wanted to remove the stain that was put on their character in the previous test match and wanted to win this match. And that’s exactly what happened on the bouncy wicket of WACA in Perth. The wicket at Perth was the best hunting ground for Australia as they were unbeaten there for 10 years, thus a loss there would be the last thing they would have thought of.
When India came out to bat they showed grit, especially their 2 best batsmen Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar, they batted well against the threatening pace attack of Australia which had Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Tait, and Stuart Clarke. India put on a competitive total of 330, which Australia falls short off by a huge margin. They can only get to only 212 runs. In the second innings, India scored 294 runs thanks to late middle-order batting, especially by VVS Laxman who scored 79 runs. Australia now needed to chase a target of 413. However, Australia gets all out at 340 runs thanks to the player of the match Irfan Pathan who took 3 wickets, and Ishant who bowled a brilliant spell to get Ponting out.
Australia was on a 16-match winning streak which finally came to an end thanks to India, which is reminiscent of how their streak came to an end against India in the Kolkata test match in 2001
6.) India Vs Australia, Chennai, 2001: World Champion Aussies Bite the Dust
Match Summary: Australia: 391 & 264, India: 501 & 155/8
Result: India won by 2 wickets
Harbhajan Singh was the player of the match along with Matthew Hayden and also was awarded the player of the series as he took 32 wickets!
With that win, Steve Waugh’s “Final Fortress” remain unconquered and World Champions finally felt the heat of an Indian Summer. This was a thrilling finish to a memorable series that saw everything.
5.) India Vs Australia, Sydney, 2004: A Tendulkar Masterpiece & Waugh’s Final Flourish
Match Summary: India: 705/7d & 211/2d, Australia: 474 & 357/6
Result: Match Drawn
Even though India did not win this series in 2003/04 it was special as it was very rare for a touring side to dominate a test Series in Australia the way India did. India’s test series in Australia in 2003/04 was tied at 1-1 going into the fourth and final test match at the SCG. Thus both teams looked for a victory to win the hard-fought series.
Tendulkar was not in good form in this series and was getting out cheaply. He was getting out to the balls pitched outside off-stuff. Thus in this match, he decided he won’t play that ball and won’t get out no matter what. And with that utmost restraint and patience, he produced a solid knock of 241* without driving the ball once! Tendulkar plays a marathon innings of 241* with VVS Laxman supporting him from the other end with his 178, to help put India in a commanding position after the first innings with a mammoth total of 705/7d.
Anil Kumble bowled brilliantly in the next innings and ends with figures of 8/141, restricting Australia to just 474 runs. In the last innings, Australia had to chase a massive 442 runs to win the match, and that too in one day. Thus they played for a draw, and Steve Waugh in his last match did what he does best – resistance lower down the order, and denied India victory.
🇮🇳 On this day in 2004, Sachin Tendulkar registered a marathon unbeaten 241 against Australia at the SCG.
And he did it without playing a single cover drive 👊 pic.twitter.com/MHI0KV6wzs
— ICC (@ICC) January 4, 2022
4.) India Vs Australia, Mohali, 2010: Laxman’s Special With The Tail
Match Summary: Australia: 428 & 192, India: 405 & 216/9
Result: India win by 1 wicket
This was just another instance of the Australians assuming themselves to be the World Champions until they come across a batsman very very special – VVS Laxman.
India was at 124/8 and required 92 runs in the last inning to win the match. At this point a win was not even a question for Australia as all they had to do now was take 2 wickets, and on the crease were VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma. However, both of them were determined to win for India from this position. One of the best abilities VVS Laxman possessed was his ability to play long innings with the tail, and he did just that in this match. He was playing with a sore back in this match and built a match-winning partnership with Ishant Sharma.
Ishant Sharma however, gets out, and in comes Pragyan Ojha, and with just the last wicket left India still needed 11 runs to win. In fact, the pressure was so much that even a calm and composed batsman like Laxman lost his cool during the match and shouts angrily at Ojha as they almost got run out in the final moments. However, Laxman’s knock of 73 runs off 79 balls made sure in the end that India win the match.
Australia’s biggest nemesis has the last laugh in a tough battle once again!
#ThisDay in 2010 – On a dramatic final day of Mohali Test between India and Australia, the stylish batsman @VVSLaxman281 managed to see India home with a thrilling one-wicket win.
How many of you remember this moment? pic.twitter.com/DyEvvM0bPk
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 5, 2018
3.) India Vs Australia, Adelaide, 2003: Dravid’s Act of Genius
Match Summary: Australia: 556 & 196, India: 523 & 233/6
Result: India won by 4 wickets
However, the Indian innings didn’t start well with Sachin, Sehwag, and Ganguly all getting out early with the team’s score at 85-4.
Dravid and Laxman rose to the occasion building a partnership of 303 runs for the 5th wicket with Laxman contributing 148, which was quite reminiscent of the historic 2001 Kolkata test match. Rahul Dravid continued batting with the tail-enders and was the last man to get out as India scored a total of 523 in the first innings. The Australian bowlers bowled fast, bowled hard, and bowled spin but the Wall stood tall all throughout the innings.
Agarkar followed Dravid’s heroics by bowling his best-ever Test cricket spell and taking 6 wickets and demolishing Australia’s chase. Sachin too contributed with the ball and took 2 wickets.
In the second innings, Rahu Dravid scored 72* as India chased down the target and won the Adelaide test by 4 wickets. It was India’s first Test win Down Under after 22 years while also giving India a crucial 1-0 lead in the series against the Australians in their own home.
So much class! Enjoy this epic knock from batting maestro Rahul Dravid at the Adelaide Oval in 2003.
Read his Legends Month profile HERE: https://t.co/oIdQ3TZaZQ pic.twitter.com/YkHx4Oluxe
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) May 18, 2018
2.) India Vs Australia, Brisbane, 2021: Fortress GABBA Breached
Match Summary: Australia: 369 & 294, India: 336 & 329/7
Result: India won by 3 wickets
This final test match of the Border – Gavaskar Trophy 2020/21 provided a fitting conclusion to the extremely thrilling series. After India’s worst performance of 36 all out, India made a comeback in the series and now the series stood at 1-1, with the last match drawn, thanks to Ashwin and Vihari’s heroics. India was playing with youngsters and debutants, while Australia were playing at their fortress, they hadn’t lost there since 1988! If anything in Cricket stands for the new, energetic, fearless, and young India – it’s this test victory. The team that once played for draws goes for the kill this time and goes hard with no fear. India’s young bowling attack had among them a total of just 13 wickets in contrast to Australia’s 1033 wickets among them!
The match was first saved by youngsters Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur, who took India from 186/6 to 309/6, thus not letting Australia dominate the match. Then in Australia’s second innings, Mohammad Siraj, who made his debut in this series, took a 5-fer to restrict them to just 294 runs.
India had to chase 300+ on the last day, and the chase was set up beautifully by Shubman Gill’s 91. Then, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant stitched a match-winning partnership to bring India close to the total, while Pujara took huge blows on his body. ut what happened in the last session made history. Pant with support from Washington Sundar, Rahane, and the lower order plays a T20 kind of innings, and India ends up breaching the FOrtress of Gaba in Style.
19 Dec 2020: India all out for 36
19 Jan 2021: India breach The Gabba fortress#AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/P0sh5zsmtJ— ICC (@ICC) January 19, 2021
The winning moment 🙌#AUSvIND | #WTC21 pic.twitter.com/skaJTXB055
— ICC (@ICC) January 19, 2021
1.) India Vs Australia, Kolkata Test, 2001: A Script Written In Heaven
A Test Cricket fan will remember this Test match till their last breath. Nothing is closer to God himself batting on a cricket match than what we witnessed on the 4th Day of the Test.
Laxman and Dravid, one suffering from a bad back and the other from fever put on a match-winning partnership of 376 runs for the 5th wicket after India was asked to follow on. Dravid and Laxman batted, batted, and batted till the record-breaking & World Champion team that was hunting its 17th consecutive Test victory had nothing left with them. It was only a run-out at the end that broke this partnership. Their historic partnership allowed India to win the match and this would be only the 3rd time a team won after being asked to follow on.
Apart from Laxman’s 281 in the second innings and Dravid’s 180, the match was laced with brilliant performances. In the first innings, while the rest of the team struggled to bat, Laxman showed resilience on the other end and scored 59 runs and brought India to a respectable total. Harbhajan Singh was absolutely amazing in this match as he became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in a test match, and also took 6 wickets in the last innings and sealed the win for India.
The Greatest Comeback
Today in 2001, India won a test match after following on v Australia in Kolkata
India ended Australia’s streak of 16 straight wins, bounced back from a humiliating defeat in 1st Test in Mumbai to script an incredible 171-run victorypic.twitter.com/yCPodYT3gl
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) March 15, 2023
India and Australia is a rivalry that keeps on giving as both teams bring their A-game when they face each other. Soon, both teams will lock horns again to win the coveted title of the World Test Championship. India lost last time to a clinical New Zealand side, and they are hungry for the trophy. With that, we now come to the end of the article, hope you enjoyed reading about the most memorable India vs Australia matches of recent times.