The Battle of attrition - India vs Australia

Come 22nd of February, and a lot will be at stake when India and Australia start the battle for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The rivalry between these two teams has taken epic proportions, especially in the last decade due to both on and off-field events. In the run up to this much awaited series, we look into some of the famous and infamous events and key battles between these two sides.

The Epic Eden Gardens encounter in 2001

This series is etched in the memories of Indian cricket supporters like it just happened a few years back. The Indian tour was termed as the ‘final frontier’ for the all conquering Steve Waugh’s side after they had won 16 Tests on the trot. The series was made memorable especially due to 2nd Test played at Eden Gardens. Being already 0-1 down in the series, Indian team was drawn to the mat in the first innings when in reply to Austrailia’s 445, India was bundled out for a paltry 171. Steve Waugh enforced follow-on and Laxman-Dravid scripted a tale which will never be forgotten by any cricket fan.

Austrailia’s memorable win in India in 2004-2005

After the failed attempt to conquer Indian soil in 2001, Australia came with firm resolve to beat India in their own backyard. In the absence of regular skipper Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist led Aussies brilliantly in first 3 Tests and won the series 2-1 on the back of some brilliant performances from Damien Martyn, Gillespie and Clarke. The present Australian captain Michael Clarke made a memorable debut in that series with a master-class innings of 151 in Bangalore and announced himself in Test arena.

Austrailia’s tour to India 2008-2009

This series is remembered for because of many reasons. Sachin Tendulkar became the first person to make 12,000 runs in Test cricket, breaking Brian Lara’s record of 11,953 runs in this series. This was also the last series played by two Indian greats Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble. India regained the Border Gavaskar trophy, winning the series 2-0.

The Monkey-Gate controversy

This infamous incident which occurred during 2007-08 series in Sydney, threatened to blow out of proportion and even had the potential to affect relations between the two countries. Harbhajan was accused of making racial comments on Symonds and was subsequently banned for three Test matches, however the ban was later lifted after the Indian team protested. The match was also marred by the several umpiring mistakes which had a major impact on the result of the match and series which India lost. The match created bitterness on both sides and even an announcement was made by the Indian team that they would abandon their tour. Thankfully, the matter cooled down due to the intervention of ICC and the tour went on.

The Very Very Special Laxman

Well this article will be incomplete without this ‘Very Very Special player’ who throughout his career remained a thorn in their flesh. His epic 281 at Eden Gardens while following on is termed as one of the best innings by many cricket experts. Not only that innings, but his 148 in the Adelaide Test when India was 4 wickets down with score under 100. And who can forget that all-important innings of 73 in the 2nd innings where he snatched victory from the mouth of defeat, playing with the tailenders. He always came up with something special against the Aussies and is therefore much respected among the Australians. It will be difficult to replicate what he has done all these years and Australians will breathe a sigh of relief that this time he won’t be there to haunt them.