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India, the World’s No 1 team in ICC Test rankings, are yet to win a Test series in Australia and South Africa.
After 70 years and 11 tours of Australia, India are yet to get off the mark Down Under. In fact, in the 44 Test matches that India have played so far in Australia, they have managed to win only 5. In the last 37 years since 1981, India have won only 2 Test matches in Australia. India’s first 2 Test wins, achieved in the 1977-78 series, were against the depleted Australian side led by Bob Simpson.
In this article, let us enjoy 3 of India’s famous Test wins against Australia in Australia.
1. Melbourne 1981
This was a three-Test series. In the first Test at Sydney, the Australian captain Greg Chappell, playing his first Test match against India, scored a double hundred and the Indian batsmen found Dennis Lillee, Len Pascoe and Rodney Hogg too hot to handle. India lost the first Test by an innings and 4 runs.
India barely managed to save the second Test at Adelaide when Syed Kirmani, Karsan Ghavri and Shivlal Yadav managed to play out 145 balls to hold on to a draw. After surviving 28 balls, Shivlal Yadav had scored the most valuable duck of his career.
India reached Melbourne for the third Test with the series still alive. The Australian captain Greg Chappell won the toss and surprisingly elected to bowl. India started disastrously, losing 3 wickets for 43 runs. But G.R. Viswanath came to India’s rescue and scored a fine century.
The good omen for India was that Viswanath scored a total of 14 Test hundreds in his career and India never lost a Test match in which Viswanath had scored a hundred. India were all out for 237 in the first innings.
In reply, Australia, helped by a century from Allan Border, put up an amazing 419. The first innings lead for Australia was 182. In the 1980s, the Indian team used to bat better in the second innings of a Test match. This prompted one former Prime Minister of the nation to pass a comment that “India should play their second innings first”.
In Melbourne too, India started the second innings on a bright note. Captain Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan put on 165 runs for the first wicket. Their partnership was broken in controversial circumstances. Gavaskar, who was batting so well for the first time in the series, was done in by umpire Rex Whitehead when he failed to detect the inside edge and was adjudged Gavaskar LBW off Dennis Lillee.
Upset over the dubious decision, Gavaskar threatened to walk out along with his opening partner Chetan Chauhan. But the team manager intervened and better sense prevailed.
After that ugly incident, the Indian batsmen lost concentration and from 242 for 2, India slipped to 324 all out. That left Australia to score 143 in the fourth innings to win the match and with that, the series. India’s problems compounded further when both Kapil Dev and off-spinner Shivilal Yadav could not take the field due to injuries. India had only two fit bowlers in Karsan Ghavri and Dilip Doshi at the start of the Australian chase.
India opened the bowling with Karsan Ghavri and Sandeep Patil. Ghavri struck immediately for India when he removed John Dyson for 3. Off the very next delivery, Ghavri cleaned up Australian captain Greg Chappell. At the other end, Dilip Doshi removed the other opener Graham Wood. At the close of play on Day 4, Australia were struggling at 24 for 3 and needed another 119 runs for a win.
The lion-hearted Kapil Dev made his appearance on the bowling crease on the fifth morning after being subjected to a lot of painkillers. He started the bowling proceedings for India along with Dilip Doshi.
Doshi, after conceding a boundary to vice-captain Kim Hughes, bowled him around the legs. It was Kapil Dev’s show thereafter as he bowled unchanged for 17 overs and took the last 5 of the 6 wickets. The sixth wicket, Len Pascoe was run out.
Doug Walters was a threat to India and was holding one end up for the Aussies but couldn’t get enough support at the other end. In the end, Australia were all out for 83 and India achieved their famous Test win in Australia by 59 runs. India managed to level the Test series one-all, which in itself was a moral victory for India.
2. Adelaide 2003
This four-Test series was the farewell series for Steve Waugh. Australia were without their two main bowlers, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
India managed to draw the first Test at Brisbane on the back of a fabulous 144 runs from captain Sourav Ganguly. The second Test was played at Adelaide. The Australian captain Steve Waugh won an important toss for his team and elected to bat. Ricky Ponting justified his captain’s decision by scoring a double hundred.
At the end of the first day’s play, Australia reached a mammoth score of 400 for 5. India were almost batted out of the Test match. At the end of the first day, only two results were expected -- either an Australian win or a draw. An Indian win at that stage was improbable.
On the second day, India slowly ploughed their way back into the game with Anil Kumble claiming 5 for 154. But the Australians had already reached a formidable score of 556 from where they could visualize to enforce the follow-on.
In reply, India were 82 for 4 with Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Sachin and Ganguly back in the pavilion. That was when the heroes of the famous Kolkata Test match, Rahul Dravid and Laxman joined together. This time around, however, they exchanged their batting position. Dravid was batting at No 3 and Laxman at No 6. Both Dravid and Laxman slowly and steadily took the team score past 100 and then onto 200.
Dravid and Laxman put on 303 runs for the 5th wicket. Both crossed their individual hundreds and when it looked like India would take the first innings lead, Laxman was caught behind off Bichel for 148 runs with 18 fours.
Dravid added 59 runs with Parthiv Patel for the 6th wicket. Starting the 3rd day on 180 for 4, India finished the day at 477 for 7, scoring close to 300 runs in the day. Dravid was on 199 not out.
Dravid duly completed his double century on the fourth morning and took the Indian score to 523. He was the last man out for 233. Despite his best efforts, India conceded a slender first-innings lead of 33 runs. Now the first innings of the match were negated and everything boiled down to the second innings.
In the second innings, India found an unexpected hero in Ajit Agarkar who removed Justin Langer for 17 and the first innings double centurion, Ponting for a duck. Ashish Nehra got the dangerous Mathew Hayden and Australia were reeling at 44 for 3 with an overall lead of 77.
Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh steadied the innings with a partnership of 65 runs for the fourth wicket. The Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, in an inspiring move, brought on Sachin, who played no part in the match so far. Sachin struck gold by claiming the wickets of both Damien Martyn and Steve Waugh.
The fortunes of the match once again fluctuated towards Australia when Simon Katich and Adam Gilchrist put on 71 runs for the 6th wicket. At 183 for 5 and with an overall lead of 220, Australia found themselves reaching a position of safety. But Anil Kumble got the important breakthrough for India with the wicket of the dangerous Adam Gilchrist.
Ajit Agarkar polished off the tail in his second spell and finished with remarkable figures of 6 for 41. Australia were all out for 196. India needed 230 to win the Test and to go one up in the series.
India finished the 4th day’s play with 37 for no loss, needing another 193 for a win. Akash Chopra departed early on the fifth day but Sehwag stayed back to score 47 crucial runs. Australia had run into The Wall in the second innings too. India were comfortably placed at 108 for 2 at lunch with Dravid and Sachin firmly set.
Dravid and Tendulkar added 70 runs for the third wicket before Sachin perished to Jason Gillespie. Ganguly did not last long and it was once again left to Dravid and Laxman to take India home. One more wicket at that stage would have exposed the Indian tail. But the pair put on 51 runs for the 5th wicket amidst a lot of pressure.
Dravid completed his 50 off 130 balls. Laxman, fearing an Australian comeback, started to hit out and scored quickly. Dravid and Laxman took the Indian score to within 10 runs of the target when Laxman got out for 32 off 34 balls with 6 fours, a cameo under the circumstances. India lost Parthiv Patel before reaching the target.
But Dravid was there till the end and deservingly scored the winning runs as the Indian dressing room erupted. Dravid remained not out on 72, taking his aggregate of runs in this Test match to 305. Dravid deservingly got the Player of the Match award.
This was India’s first Test win in Australia in 22 years and was made possible mainly due to the efforts of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Ajit Agarkar. After this Test match, several former Australian players opined that the over-aggressive batting of the Australians had backfired and had given sufficient time for India to come back into the game. In spite of the severe criticism, the mighty Australians, led by the indomitable Steve Waugh, continued to score 4 runs per over in the following Test matches.
India failed to capitalize on the good start they got at Adelaide and surrendered the lead in the third Test at Melbourne. India had the perfect start in the third Test at Melbourne when they were 278 for 1 in the first innings before they somehow contrived to lose that Test match by 9 wickets.
The last Test match at Sydney was Steve Waugh’s farewell Test which ended in a tame draw. The series was shared one-all. In the absence of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne, India missed a wonderful opportunity to win a series in Australia for the first time.
3. Perth 2008
The Perth Test match happened immediately after the 'monkeygate' episode at Sydney. Australia won the first Test at Melbourne by 337 runs. India were fighting hard to save the second Test at Sydney when on-field umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson decided to take things in their own hands. The TV umpire Bruce Oxenford too joined the party later.
The crucial mistake was made by Steve Bucknor when he reprieved Andrew Symonds on 31 when he was clearly caught behind. Symonds went on to make 162 runs. In the Sydney Test, there were as many as 7 decisions which went against India. At the end of the match, the Indian captain Anil Kumble borrowed the famous 'Body-line' series quote and commented, “Only one team played in the true spirit of the game.”
Against this hostile background, India met Australia in the third Test at Perth. India had to win this Test to prove to the world that they lost the second Test at Sydney only due to umpiring howlers. Kumble won the toss and decided to bat first. India reached a decent first innings score of 330 through contributions from Dravid (93) and Sachin (71). For Australia, Mitchell Johnson took 4 wickets and Brett Lee 3.
In reply, Irfan Pathan, bowling with the new ball, took the wickets of both the Australian openers. Ishant Sharma took the wicket of Ricky Ponting. R.P. Singh ran through the Australian middle-order with 4 wickets. Australia were all out for 212 and conceded a massive first-innings lead of 118. India finished the second day on 52 for 1 with Sehwag on 29 and night watchman Irfan Pathan on 2.
On the third morning, India lost Sehwag for 43 and Dravid for 3. But Irfan Pathan made 46 with 6 fours while wickets were falling at the other end. India lost Pathan, Sachin (13) and Ganguly (0) in quick succession. They were at one stage on 125 for 5 with an overall lead of 243.
Luckily India had their second innings specialist VVS Laxman at the crease. The beauty about Laxman was that he always scored runs when the other batsmen failed to do so. Laxman and Dhoni (38) put on 75 runs for the 7th wicket which took India’s lead past 350.
After Dhoni and Kumble’s dismissal, R.P. Singh gave company to Laxman and scored 30. Laxman was the last man out for 79. The target for Australia was 413.
As in the first innings, Irfan Pathan took care of both the Australian openers and Australia were hopelessly placed at 65 for 2 at the close of play on Day 3. On the fourth morning, Ponting and Mike Hussey took the Australian score to 117 before Ponting once again lost his wicket to Ishant Sharma.
Australia lost Hussey and Andrew Symonds in quick succession before Gilchrist and Michael Clarke put on a half-century partnership. In a desperate attempt to break the partnership, the Indian captain brought on a part-time off-spinner to bowl to left-hander Gilchrist.
That move by Kumble proved to be a masterstroke as Sehwag ended up claiming the wickets of Gilchrist and Brett Lee off successive overs. With Clarke gone for a well-made 81, India were almost there. But Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Clark delayed the inevitable and in the end, Australia were all out for 340. India won the match by 72 runs. Irfan Pathan was the Player of the Match for his all-around efforts.
The fourth Test match of the series at Adelaide ended in a draw. In the end, Australia won the series 2-1.
Looking back, all the above 3 wins were of different categories. The Adelaide win was against all odds when Australia finished at 400 for 5 at the end of the first day. India came back to win that Test miraculously. But that win was without Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne.
The Perth win was incredible after the ‘monkeygate' episode. But India were in total control of the match right from the beginning. Hence the Melbourne win, achieved by Sunil Gavaskar’s team, was the best of the lot. This win was achieved against the strongest Australian team of the 80s against all odds. At that point in time, Gavaskar’s team was the only team which managed to draw a series against Australia in Australia. Hence that victory was that much sweeter.
Looking ahead, history is against Virat Kohli and Co. But they can take heart from the fact that Australia are without David Warner and Steve Smith. But, in the past, India always allowed lesser-known players like a Sam Curran to come good against them. Besides, with the presence of Mitchell Starc, Jose Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lynn, Australia are at its full strength in bowling.
Kohli’s men can create history if the batsmen in the team stand up to the challenge. An absorbing Test series is on the cards.
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