Australia vs India 2018-19: Top 4 Indian Innings on Australian Soil in Tests

The important tour of Australia is going to start on 21st of November with T20 series followed by red ball cricket. With a strong bowling line-up and a decent batting order, the Indian team looks to put up a decent show down-under.

We are yet to win a test series there but there have been instances where we have dominated the hosts especially after the 2000s. The 2003-04 was a very close fought series ending with one win apiece.

That famous win in Adelaide will always be one of the finest overseas victories thanks to Dravid’s 233 and Laxman’s 148.

The 2007-08 series was full of controversies and adversities, but the victory at Perth after the Sydney Gate was important proving the capability of the team that time even after so many decisions going against us in the previous Tests.

After that we have gone to Australia twice, once in 2011-12 where we suffered a humiliation at their hands with a 4-0 loss.

The last time we played them in their home soil was in 2014-15 where the matches were closer than the scoreline (3-0 to hosts).

Even though we lost the series, which was when we got to find the rejuvenated Kohli who scored four tons in the series after a forgettable series. Similarly, our Indian batsmen have had some great outing in the past.

Let’s look at some of the top innings against the Kangaroos in their own backyard:

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#1 'The Wall' comes to the party in Adelaide

Every cricket fan in India cannot forget 16th of Dec 2003 because of that famous win in Adelaide.

Rahul Dravid had scored 305 runs in that match. It was an innings of pure class and patience that brought India the victory after 22 years in Australia. At 85 for 4,India were heading towards another collapse.

The Dravid-Laxman combo got together and tailored a 303 run solid stand taking India to 523 with a trail of 33 runs.

As Harsha Bhogle once said,” Ask him(Dravid) to walk on water and he’ll ask, how many kilometers?” meaning he would fight until the last second to get his team out of trouble.

He had batted for more than 500 minutes and his innings consisted of 23 fours and a six off Gillespie to get to his century.

We were able to restrict them to 196 in the second innings leading to a stiff target of 230 which was chased comfortably with Dravid scoring the winning runs remaining unbeaten on 72 runs.

#2 Sachin’s 241* at the SCG

This inning was more to do with his character and persistence to do well for the team

Coming into Sydney for the fourth Test, Sachin had scores of 0, 1,37,0 and 44 in five innings on the tour.

He was desperate to come out of this poor form. Even though the team had done so well, he didn’t have a half-century under his belt.

India batted first and when the second wicket fell, came the ‘Little Master’ to silence his critics. What he did after that was something unbelievable. He refused to drive on the off side for the whole innings but he had 33 boundaries to his name.

He looked tentative playing the drive on the up and was dismissed cheaply in the previous innings.

He made his statement batting for more than 600 minutes and taking the team to a mammoth 705. He was a monk on the field not giving a fig to the balls bowled outside off but if it was on the stumps, he would straight drive it past the bowler or dispatch anything that was on his pads through the mid-wicket.

Never ever had anyone seen Sachin score so many runs between square leg and long on. This inning was more to do with his character and persistence to do well for the team. He ended unbeaten on 241* but the whole SCG stood up to salute the Master.

#3 King Kohli’s heroics at the Adelaide

Kohli played as if he was ‘possessed’ which gave the team a ton of confidence that they could chase this down

It was the first test in Adelaide and India had to chase 350+ in the fourth innings. We had a new captain who had scored a magnificent 115 in the first innings and had a task in hand.

Dhawan fell for 9 while Pujara got back to the pavilion scoring just 21. Kohli walked in at 57 for 2 and this was the time for him to prove his mettle. He got along with Vijay and built a 185 run stand for the third wicket.

Kohli played as if he was ‘possessed’ which gave the team a ton of confidence that they could chase this down.

At 242 for 2, everyone had picked India but Lyon turned the game for the hosts while Virat stood at the other end.

It was a brave effort by the captain who scored all around the park with 16 fours and a maximum before sweeping it straight to the square leg fielder. After a dismal performance in England, this innings set the platform for Kohli to lead from the front.

#4 Sehwag’s 195 in the Boxing day Test

Sehwag left no stone unturned by launching a surgical strike on the bowlers

The Aussies were boxed out on the first day of the boxing day test at the MCG. The man behind this was none other than our dashing opener, Virender Sehwag.

Even though the pitch looked a little damp, Sehwag left no stone unturned by launching a surgical strike on the bowlers and the World Champion team were made to look like second division players.

He wasn’t going to back off even when the best bowling line-up fired at him. His 195 came in 233 balls with 25 fours and five sixes and the Kangaroos were owned that day. He reached his 50 and 100 with a boundary and his 150 came up with a six over long-off.

At 189, he hit Simon Katich’s full toss over the cow corner for a monstrous six. He tried that again, but to his fortune was caught in the deep at 195.

He missed a much deserved double century nevertheless this innings made it to the list of 15 best tons in Australia since 2000.