3 Indian legends who had an ODI average of below 25 against Australia

After having clinched the Border-Gavaskar series, India now gear up to take on Australia in the three-match ODI series. India would look to carry on the momentum and continue their dream run. With just three more months to go for the World Cup, both the teams would be keen on arriving at a settled combination at the earliest.

During the 2000s, the Australians were completely invincible and were at the peak of their prowess. For almost a decade, they were at their belligerent best and caused a lot of nightmares to all the oppositions. Their dominance was powerful to such an extent that 'victory and Australia' always coincided with each other.

India have produced several great batsmen who had excelled in all conditions and scored a lot of runs. But, some of these legends could not show their true potential against Australia, particularly in the limited-overs format.

Here, we look at three such legends who had an excellent ODI career but failed to make an impact against Australia.

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1) Virender Sehwag

The swashbuckling opener can destroy the world's best bowling attacks with his audacious stroke play. Sehwag had ensured that India got off to a blazing start time and again.

But against Australia, it is a completely different story. He often succumbed to the likes of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Brett Lee. The fact of the matter that he had failed to score a single century and just two half-centuries in 29 innings, clearly highlights his vulnerability against this side.

Virender Sehwag's ODI record.

Interestingly, none of the Australian spinners had managed to take his wicket in ODIs. This clearly shows the importance of being watchful initially and later playing your natural game.

2) Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Having scored over 10000 runs in both Tests and ODIs, Rahul Dravid is certainly one among the few batsmen who will be remembered across all generations to come.

Being selective in his shot-making was a huge advantage for him in the Tests. But that was not the case in ODIs. He was unable to increase the scoring rate and often perished when he tried to accelerate.

He knew that Australian had a strong batting line-up and they are capable of posting or chasing down huge scores. He realized that against a side like Australia, he cannot afford to play more dot balls. The burden of playing out of his comfort zone had probably led to his downfall.

Rahul Dravid's ODI record.

3) Sourav Ganguly

Sourav Ganguly

Except for a solitary ODI hundred at Melbourne, there is nothing memorable to mention about Sourav Ganguly's ODI career against Australia. Known as the 'king of offside', the fans were always hopeful that he is the only opener who was capable of facing the Australian attack and scoring runs at ease.

But sadly, out of his 33 innings against Australia, he had 18 scores in single digits. He was often dismissed to deliveries outside the off stump, which on any other day, against any other opposition, he would have caressed it through covers.

He found it difficult to manage his batting as well leading the team against a top-notch Australian side.

Saurav Ganguly's ODI record

These three legends failed to make an impact against the mighty Australians as their average and strike-rate took a huge dip when they played against them.