Stats and Trivia
Gulu Ezekiel |Some quotes on India/Australia cricket
1: The series was one of my pleasantest. There was a wonderful sense of camaraderie among the players on both sides.
Sir Don Bradman on India’s first series against Australia in 1947/48
2: I’ll be having nightmares of Sachin just running down the wicket and belting me back over the head for six.
Shane Warne after Tendulkar’s twin centuries in Sharjah in 1998
3: Only one team was playing with the spirit of the game.
Anil Kumble after the stormy Sydney Test in January 2008
4. I felt shattered when the umpire lifted his finger. But then the umpire’s decision is final.
Maninder Singh on being given out lbw with the scores tied at Madras in 1986.
5. The final frontier
Australian captain Steve Waugh on the eve of the 2001 series in India.
6. This boy is from heaven. He will do anything.
Australian journalist Tim Laine after Sachin Tendulkar’s century at Perth at the age of 19 in 1992.
7. It’s truly a special feeling to walk in to such a reception, when I don?t know if I’m batting on zero or on 100.
Sachin Tendulkar on his reception in the fourth and final Test at Adelaide in 2008.
8. An innings played with one leg and one eye.
Jack Fingleton after watching Tiger Pataudi’s innings of 75 at Melbourne in 1967/68, played with a pulled hamstring.
9. Something inside me just snapped.
Sunil Gavaskar after nearly conceding the Melbourne Test in 1981 after being given out lbw.
10. Very Very Special Laxman.
Ian Chappell on VVS Laxman’s 281 against Australia at Kolkata in 2001.
Some Statistics
Test matches
Played (From 1947): 78; India won: 20; Australia won: 34; drawn: 23; tied: 1
ODIs
Played (From 1980): 105; India won: 36; Australia won: 61; tied: 0; NR: 8
Highest totals (Test matches)
India: 705 for 7 declared; Sydney, 2003-04
Australia: 674; Adelaide, 1947-48
ODIs
India: 354 for 7; Nagpur, 28/10/09
Australia: 359 for 2; Johannesburg, 23/3/03
Australia: 359 for 5; Sydney, 87/2/04
Lowest totals (Test matches)
India: 58; Brisbane, 1947-48
Australia: 83; Melbourne, 1980-81
ODIs
India: 64; Sydney, 8/1/81
Australia: 101; Perth, 8/12/91
Largest victories (Test matches)
India: Innings and 228 runs; Kolkata, 1997-98
Australia: Innings and 226 runs; Brisbane, 1947-48
By runs
Australia: 342 runs, Nagpur, 2004-05
India: 320 runs, Mohali, 2008-9
By wickets
10 wickets: Australia: Calcutta, 1969-70
Australia: Brisbane, 1991-92
Australia: Mumbai, 2000-01
India: 7 wickets; Delhi, 1969-70
7 wickets: Delhi, 1996-97
7 wickets: Bangalore, 2010-11
Batting (Most runs)
Test matches
India
Sachin Tendulkar: M: 31; I: 59; NO: 7; Runs: 3151; HS: 241 n.o; Av: 60.59
Australia
Ricky Ponting: M: 25; I: 45; NO: 3; Runs: 2011: HS: 257; Av: 47.88
ODIs
India
Sachin Tendulkar: M: 68; I: 67; NO: 1; Runs: 3058; HS: 175; Av: 46.33
Australia
Ricky Ponting: M: 56; I: 56; NO: 5; Runs: 2149; HS: 140 n.o; Av: 82.46
Highest score (Test matches)
India
VVS Laxman: 281; Kolkata, 2000-01
Australia
Ricky Ponting: 257; Melbourne, 2003-04
ODIs
India
Sachin Tendulkar: 175, Hyderabad; 5/11/09
Australia
Ricky Ponting: 140 n.o., Johannesburg; 23/3/03
Most hundreds (Test matches)
India
Sachin Tendulkar: 11
Australia
Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, David Boon: Six each
ODIs
India
Sachin Tendulkar: 9
Australia
Ricky Ponting: 6
Most runs in a series (Test matches)
India
Rahul Dravid (2003-04): M: 4; I: 8; NO: 3; R: 619;HS: 233; Av: 123.80
Australia
Don Bradman (1947-48): M: 5; I: 6; NO: 2; R: 715; HS: 201; Av: 178.75
Most wickets (Test matches)
India
Anil Kumble: 111 in 20 Test matches
Australia
Brett Lee: 53 in 12 Test matches
ODIs
India
Kapil Dev: 41 wickets in 45 ODIs
Australia
Brett Lee: 51 wickets in 30 ODIs
Best bowling in innings (Test matches)
India
Jasu Patel: 9 for 69, Kanpur, 1959-60
Australia
Jason Krejza: 8 for 215, Nagpur, 2008-09
Best bowling in a match
India
Harbhajan Singh: 15 for 217, Chennai, 2000-01
Australia
Allan Davidson: 12 for 124, Kanpur, 1959-60
Best bowling (ODIs)
India
Murali Kartik: 6 for 27, Mumbai, 17/10/07
Australia
Ken MacLeay: 6 for 39, Nottingham, 13/6/83
Most wickets in a series (Test matches)
India
Harbhajan Singh: 32 (3 Tests) in India, 2000-01
Australia
Craig McDermott: 31 (5 Tests) in Australia, 1991-92
Some Great Test matches
1. At Kanpur, Dec. 1959
India achieved their first victory over Australia under the captaincy of GS Ramchand in the 10th Test between the two countries. It was off spinner Jasu Patel who did the damage with nine wickets in the first innings and 14 in the match.
Scores: India 152 and 291; beat Australia 219 and 105 by 119 runs.
2. At Bombay, Oct. 1964
India reached the victory target with just two wickets and 30 minutes to spare. Captain Nawab of Pataudi was the batting hero with twin 50s while BS Chandrasekhar claimed eight wickets in the match. There were 11 half-centuries in the match but no centuries.
Scores: Australia 320 and 270; lost to India 341 and 256 for 8 by 2 wickets.
3. At Melbourne, Feb. 1981
With this shock victory, India for the first time won a Test and drew a series Down Under. While GR Viswanath and Allan Border both scored centuries, it was the brave bowling display by the injured Dilip Doshi and Kapil Dev in the second innings that turned the tide with Australia requiring just 143 for victory.
Scores: India 237 and 324; beat Australia 419 and 83 by 59 runs.
4. At Madras, Sept. 1986
Only the second tied Test in history with Australia being involved in both. Dean Jones battling severe illness to score a double century in the first innings was the batting highlight. India appeared to be coasting on the final day after being set a target of 348. But a clatter of wickets towards the end saw last man Maninder Singh fall lbw to off spinner Greg Matthews with one ball left in the match.
Scores: Australia 574 for 7 declared and 170 for 5 declared; tied with India 397 and 347.
5. At Calcutta, March 2001
For just the third time in Test history – each time Australia being on the receiving end – a team forced to follow on came back to win the Test. The tide was turned in the second innings thanks to VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) with Harbhajan Singh being the outstanding bowler with 13 wickets in the match including India’s first Test match hat-trick.
Scores: Australia 445 and 212; lost to India 171 and (following on) 657 for 7 declared by 171 runs.
6. At Chennai, March 2001
The thrilling third and final test capped what became known as the ‘Greatest series ever’ as the Indians stormed back to take the series 2-1 after being trounced in the first Test at Mumbai. Tendulkar was India’s top scorer with 126 while Matthew Hayden slammed 203. But once again it was the bowling of Harbhajan Singh that made the difference as he returned record figures of 15 for 217 for 32 wickets in the series.
Scores: Australia 391 and 264; lost to India 501 and 155 for 8 by 2 wickets.
7. At Adelaide, Dec. 2004
Australia’s first innings of 556 and Ricky Ponting’s 242 were not enough to avert defeat. It was matched by 233 and 72 not out by Rahul Dravid while Ajit Agarkar’s six wickets in Australia’s second innings was the standout bowling performance.
Scores: Australia 556 and 196; lost to India 523 and 233 for 6 by 4 wickets.
8. At Sydney, Jan. 2008
This stormy Test match had it all. Full of controversy and drama it ended with Michael Clarke taking three wickets in five balls and India crashing to defeat with only six minutes left before the end. That appeared highly unlikely in the first innings as India piled up 532 for a lead of 69 runs. The repercussions from this bitter battle were to go way beyond the cricket pitch.
Scores: Australia 463 and 401 for 7 declared; beat India 532 and 210 by 122 runs.
9. At Perth, Jan. 2008
Days after the Sydney defeat, the Indians bounced back to become the first team from Asia to win a Test on the fiery WACA track. Pace bowlers dominated on both sides with no batsman scoring a century. Irfan Pathan was Man of the Match with five wickets and useful batting in both innings.
Scores: India 330 and 294; beat Australia 212 and 340 by 72 runs.
10. At Mohali, Oct. 2010
This remains India’s only victory by one wicket in Test cricket. It was all down to the last day heroics by Australia’s nemesis VVS Laxman who battled a bad back to shepherd the tail home with a brilliant 73 not out. Shane Watson was Australia’s batting standout with 126 and 56.
Scores: Australia 428 and 192; lost to India 405 and 216 for 9 by 1 wicket.
Some Great One-day Internationals
1: At Melbourne, 6/12/80
The first match between the two countries produced an unexpected victory for the inexperienced Indians, their first win over a major side. Sandeep Patil on his ODI debut was Man of the Match with 64 and the wicket of Australia’s top scorer Kim Hughes.
Scores: India 208 for 9 in 49 overs beat Australia 142 all out in 42.2 overs by 66 runs.
2: At Chelmsford, 20/6/83
This was a high pressure shootout with the winner going through to the semi-finals of the third Prudential World Cup. Just a week earlier the Aussies had crushed India at Trent Bridge. But the tables were turned this time as brilliant swing bowling from Madan Lal and Roger Binny saw Australia lose six wickets for 32 runs to the eventual world champions.
Scores: India 247 all out in 55.5 overs beat Australia 129 all out in 38.2 overs by 118 runs.
3. At Madras, 9/10/87
Just a year earlier at the same venue, the two countries had played out a historic tied Test match. Now in India’s opening match of the Reliance World Cup, it was another thriller with last man Maninder Singh once again the final wicket to fall, this time with India just one run short. This was to prove the first step on the road to Australia’s eventual title triumph.
Scores: Australia 270 for 6 in 50 overs beat India 269 all out in 49.5 overs by 1 run.
4. At Brisbane, 1/3/92
The Benson and Hedges World Cup was marred by the controversial rain rule which thwarted India’s run chase. And just like four years before at Madras, it was Australia once again winners by a solitary run. India lost three wickets in the final over in their frantic bid for victory.
Scores: Australia 237 for 9 in 50 overs beat India 234 all out in 47 overs by 1 run (revised target: 236 in 47 overs due to rain).
5. At Mumbai, 27/2/96
High class batting by Mark Waugh (126) and Sachin Tendulkar (90) made Mumbai’s first floodlit match one to remember in the Wills World Cup. But once Waugh had Tendulkar stumped off a wide, the Indian innings subsided and Australia went onto reach the final.
Scores: Australia 258 all out in 50 overs bat India 242 all out in 48 overs by 16 runs.
6. At Sharjah, 22/4/98
The famous ‘desert storm’ match where even a dust-storm could not deter Sachin Tendulkar from scoring a memorable century and taking India into the final of the tri-nation Coca Cola Cup on better run-rate over New Zealand despite losing this match.
Scores: Australia 284 for 7 in 50 overs beat India 250 for 5 in 46 overs by 26 runs (revised target: 276 in 46 overs due to storm).
7. At Sharjah, 24/4/98
Another glorious century by Sachin Tendulkar just two days later in the final of the tournament and a victory, on his 25th birthday to boot. It was one of the great ODI batting displays of all time with Shane Warne suffering at the hands of the Indian maestro.
Scores: Australia 272 for 9 in 50 overs lost to India 275 for 4 in 48.3 overs by 6 wickets
8. At Johannesburg, 23/3/03
The stage was the biggest of them all, the World Cup final and Australian captain Ricky Ponting’s 140 not out was the highest in a final. The Indian bowlers were pulverized and even Virender Sehwag’s barnstorming 82 was not enough to prevent them from a rout.
Scores: Australia 359 for 2 in 50 overs beat India 234 all out in 39.2 overs by 125 runs.
9. At Brisbane, 4/3/08
The victory sealed India’s first title triumph in the tri-series Down Under on their sixth attempt, coming two days after winning the opening match of the finals in Sydney. After his match winning century at Sydney, it was Sachin Tendulkar all the way at Brisbane too with the top score of 91.
Scores: India 258 for 9 in 50 overs beat Australia 249 all out in 49.4 overs by 9 runs.
10. At Hyderabad, 5/11/09
Sachin Tendulkar’s record 175 was not enough as India fell just short of Australia’s massive total, losing their last four wickets for 15 runs. Shaun Marsh scored his maiden ODI century for Australia.
Scores: Australia 350 for 4 in 50 overs beat India 347 all out in 49.4 overs, by 3 runs.
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