If there is one team in world cricket which can get under the skin of its opponents and test them like no one else, it is Australia. Known to dominate their opponents with their aggressive game and verbal volleys, there is never a dull moment when you’re playing cricket against the Aussies. India share a bitter-sweet cricketing history with the Kangaroos and have had quite a few epic ODI clashes in the past!.
In the run-up to the much awaited World Cup semi-final clash between India and Australia on 26th March, here are 10 India vs Australia encounters from the past to get you in the groove.
1. Poor Australian bowling helps India win by 118 runs at Chelmsford, 1983
India’s 1983 World Cup was filled with lots of spectacular moments which defined the future of Indian cricket. One of those moments was beating Australia, for the second time in the tournament, to reach the semi-finals. The hapless Australian bowlers gave away 37 extras which helped India reach 247. To make matters worse, Roger Binny spun the wits out of the Australian batsmen and ended up with a 4-wicket haul to bundle the mighty Aussies for a paltry 129 in 40 overs.
2. Kapil Dev’s sportsmanship overshadows Australia’s 1-run victory in Chennai, 1987
Defending world champions India met Australia in Chennai and put them to bat first which resulted in 270 runs. Not bogged down by a Geoff Marsh century, India were cruising at 229/3. But a ferocious spell of fast bowling by Craig McDermott gave Australia a 1-run win. However, the game is majorly remembered for Kapil Dev’s display of sportsmanship when he insisted that a Dean Jones boundary was actually a six!
3. Australia overcome last over jitters to register a 1-run victory at Brisbane, 1992
This game was a thriller but Australia managed to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat! The rain marred game saw Australia getting restricted to 237 against some disciplined Indian bowling. However, rain interrupted play when India began their chase, reducing the innings to 47 overs. Though Mohammad Azharuddin and Sanjay Manjrekar played well, it came down to the last over with India requiring 13 runs. The last over saw Australia bowling out Kiran More and pulling off two fantastic run-outs to win the game by just one run.
4. Tendulkar’s ton helps India to a 6-wicket victory in Sharjah, 1998
There are only a few games when Sachin Tendulkar fires and India do not win! This was one match where India had reached the finals riding on Tendulkar’s brilliant 143 in the previous match and needed him to show his masterclass once again, against the mighty Australians. Tendulkar not only ripped apart the Australian bowlers such as Damien Fleming, Michael Kasprowicz and Shane Warne but also scored a match winning ton for the second time in three days.
5. Indian top-order collapse saw Australia winning by 77 runs at The Oval, 1999
This World Cup match is remembered for India’s hapless start and Ajay Jadeja and Robin Singh’s resilience. Chasing Australia’s mighty total of 282, India was reduced to a paltry 17/4 in the 6th over itself. However, the best memories of the game remain the determined 141-run partnership between Jadeja and Robin Singh, which somehow brought the margin of India’s defeat to under 100 runs!
6. Ponting’s ton powers Australia to a 125-run victory at Johannesburg, 2003
India was off to a dream run in the World Cup 2003, but like all good things, the Indian dream also ended in the final where defending champions Australia awaited them. As expected, Aussies pummelled the Indian bowlers with Ricky Ponting hammering 140 off 121 balls, taking Australia’s score to a daunting 359/2. However, Indian hopes got punctured when Tendulkar was dismissed quite early by Glenn McGrath. Virender Sehwag (82) tried to wage a lone war in the brief company of Rahul Dravid (47), but the task was always out of India’s hand.
7. Yuvraj and Tendulkar lead India to a 5-wicket victory at Ahmedabad, 2011
India had found form like never before in the 2011 World Cup and had reached the quarter-finals. However, their sternest challenge awaited them in the form of defending champions Australia. Steering his side to a decent score of 260, Ricky Ponting hit his first ton in 13 months. However, it was the Indian batting show from there on as Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar made breezy fifties and India won the game with more than two overs to spare to saunter into the World Cup semi-final!
8. Gambhir carries India to a 4-wicket win at Adelaide, 2012
This was the time when India had established their position as good ‘chasers’ and once again, India showed why! After Australia made 268/9, India began their chase with a solid 50-run stand between the opening pair of Gautam Gambhir (92) and Virender Sehwag (20). However, once Sehwag perished, Rohit Sharma stepped in and made a well-paced 33 to pave India’s way for a four-wicket triumph.
9. Indian top order blast Australia in a 9-wicket victory at Jaipur, 2013
2013 saw a new India team with a lot of fresh faces. The likes of Rohit Sharma (141*), Shikhar Dhawan (95) and Virat Kohli (100*) toyed with a bowling attack consisting of players like Mitchell Johnson, James Faulkner and Clint McKay and pulled off an amazing chase! India chased down the Australian target of 360 runs with the loss of just one wicket and reiterated India’s reputation of world class chasers.
10. Dhawan and Kohli chase huge total in India’s 6-wicket victory at Nagpur, 2013
Batting first, George Bailey (156) and Shane Watson (102) feasted on the hapless Indian bowling attack and rendered the fielders redundant as boundaries flew over them! With their line and length going totally astray, India had an arduous task of chasing down 351 runs. However Dhawan and Kohli scored handsome centuries and gunned down the total with 3 balls to spare.
