Top 5 T20I matches between India and Australia

The Indian cricket team will end 2018 with an eagerly awaited tour down under and fans of both sides can expect an electrifying start to the tour as it kicks off with a three-match T20I series.

The Aussies have a vastly superior record over India in ODI and Test match cricket. However, in the shortest format of the game, the men in blue have 10 wins and that’s twice the number of victories Australia has over India. During a four year period between 2013 and 2017, the Indian team won seven straight T20I matches against them.

Although the hosts will be without David Warner and Steve Smith, they still have a fantastic T20 squad. Their captain, Aaron Finch, is the 2nd ranked batsman in T20 internationals and he also holds the record for the two highest individual scores in the format. He is aided by Glenn Maxwell and D'Arcy Short, and they are placed 6th and 11th in the T20I batting ranking.

The Indian team is led by Virat Kohli who is arguably the best batsman in the world. Kohli has a quality side at his disposal with the right balance and plenty of experience. Given the quality of the two sides and the unpredictability of the shortest format of the game, we may witness a few games that could better these five memorable T20I matches between them.

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#5. 2nd Semi-Final, ICC World Twenty20 at Durban, Sep 22 2007

Yuvraj Singh scored 70 runs off 30 balls

India - 188/5

Australia - 173/7 (20)

India won by 15 runs

The second semi-final of the inaugural T20 World Cup was also the first T20I match between India and Australia. India won the toss and elected to bat first but after eight overs, both the openers were back in the pavilion and only 41 runs were on the board. At this point, Yuvraj Singh joined Robin Uthappa in the middle.

In a blistering inning, Yuvraj scored 70 runs off just 30 balls with five fours and sixes each. Yuvraj’s innings was his first after scoring six sixes in an over against England as he missed the previous game against South Africa through injury.

MS Dhoni’s 36 off 18 and Uthappa’s 34 off 28 balls took India to 188/5 at the end of 20 overs.

Adam Gilchrist got the Aussies off to a flying start in the chase by scoring 22 runs off 13 balls but Sreesanth pulled the brake by bowling a maiden over against Mathew Hayden in the powerplay overs before taking out Gilchrist's middle stump in the first ball of his third over.

Once Sreesanth was taken out of the attack, Aussies found their feet and romped to 129/2 by the end of the 14th over with Hayden and Andrew Symonds comfortably settled at the crease.

With India needing a breakthrough immediately, Dhoni opted to use Sreesanth’s final over and it proved to be a game-changing call. Sreesanth dismantled the stumps to dismiss Hayden and in his four overs, he conceded just 12 runs and picked up two crucial wickets. Once Hayden was dismissed, the momentum swung in India’s favour even though Andrew Symonds raced to 43 off just 26 balls before Irfan Pathan took out his off stump.

Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin, Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson could only muster 27 runs in 26 balls between them which left Australia 15 runs short of the target and sent India into the final against Pakistan en route to lifting the trophy.

#4. Super 10 Group 2, World T20 at Chandigarh, Mar 27 2016

India beat Australia in the final over to qualify for the semifinal of World T20

Australia - 160/6

India - 161/4 (19.1)

India won by 6 wickets with 5 balls remaining

The second match on this list is also a World T20 encounter and in this match, a place in the semifinal was at stake. For the Indians, it was also a semifinal in front of the home crowd.

New Zealand topped Group 2 with four wins in four games over India, Australia, Pakistan and Bangladesh. As a result, the final group stage between India and Australia became a virtual knockout match as both teams had four points each from their wins over Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Aussies won the toss and put up a respectable 160 runs on the board after Peter Nevill hit a four and a six off the last two balls of their innings.

In reply, the Indians lost both the openers before the end of the power play with only 37 runs scored. In the eighth over, it became 49-3 with Suresh Raina also dismissed. Yuvraj who joined Kohli at the centre was injured in only the third ball he faced and he struggled to run between the wickets which compounded India’s problems.

With no runner allowed, a bruised Yuvraj scored 21 runs in a 45 run partnership with Kohli before he was dismissed by a superb catch from Shane Watson in the final ball of the 14th over.

With six overs left, India needed 59 runs in 30 balls on a slow wicket with Kohli and Dhoni in the middle. The pair kept the scoreboard ticking and by the end of the 17th over, India required 39 runs off 18 balls.

The match turned on its head in the next over from James Faulkner when Kohli scored 14 runs off the first three balls. With two overs remaining, India needed 20 runs off 12 balls but Kohli wasn’t prepared to let the game go down to the wire as he hit four fours in the 19th over bowled by Nathan Coulter-Nile. With just four runs needed in the last over, Dhoni finished off the game with a boundary off the very first ball.

Kohli’s 82* of just 51 balls in this game is easily one of his best innings in a chase under pressure. In this game, he also reached 1500 T20I runs in the fewest number of innings (39).

#3. Only T20I, India tour of Australia at Melbourne, Feb 1 2008

The Indian team was bowled out for its lowest ever score in T20I

India - 74

Australia - 75/1 (11.2)

Australia won by 9 wickets with 52 balls remaining

Although India has a much better head to head record against Australia in T20I, India’s lowest ever T20 score was inflicted by the Aussies in their first ever win over India in the shortest format of the game.

India won the toss and elected to bat first but barring Irfan Pathan who scored 26 runs, no other Indian batsman reached double figures. India only hit three fours and Pathan didn’t hit any of them. Nathan Bracken proved particularly difficult to play against as he picked up three wickets in 2.3 overs while conceding only 11 runs.

The visitor’s score of 74 is currently the 19th lowest team total in T20I and the fourth lowest by a test playing nation.

The Aussies chased down the target in only 11.2 overs with nine wickets to spare. Although they won, it was evident that it was a difficult wicket for batsmen as Australia only scored three fours and two sixes.

This match was also the start of a three-match winning streak against India in T20 for the Aussies. After this streak, they’ve beaten India only twice in 10 games.

#2. Only T20I, Australia tour of India at Rajkot, Oct 10 2013

This was the highest scored chased against Australia in T20I

Australia - 201/7

India - 202/4 (19.2)

India won by 6 wickets with 2 balls remaining

Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh stand out in some of India’s victories over Australia in T20 and in this particular match, the latter scored his highest T20I score.

India won the toss and elected to bowl first. Australia came out with all guns blazing and raced to 56 in 4.5 overs before losing the wicket of Nic Maddinson who scored 34 off 16 balls. Although Maddinson was dismissed, his opening partner Aaron Finch continued the assault as wickets fell around him at regular intervals.

By the time Finch was dismissed after scoring 89 runs off 52 balls, Australia had 174 on the board for the loss of six wickets and 21 balls left to play. However, without Finch, they could only raise the target to 201 which itself was a huge ask for India who had lost four of their previous five T20 matches against Australia.

India got the chase off to a good start and after 8.3 overs, Yuvraj walked out to join Kohli with India needing 122 runs off 69 balls with seven wickets to spare. In the first ball of the 12th over, Kohli was dismissed with India needing 102 runs off 53 balls and Yuvraj on eight runs after playing five balls.

Yuvraj took charge and swung the momentum as he scored 69 runs off the next 30 balls he faced which included seven fours and five sixes. With Dhoni at the other end rotating the strike, India chased down the target with two balls to spare.

This memorable win was the start of India’s seven-match winning streak against the Aussies in T20I. It is also India’s second highest run chase in T20I and the highest by any team against Australia.

#1. 3rd T20I, India tour of Australia at Sydney, Jan 31 2016

India needed 17 off the last over to beat Australia

Australia - 197/5

India - 200/3 (20)

India won by 7 wickets with 0 balls remaining

This match is the most recent T20 match between the two teams in Australia, India’s third highest successful run chase and the second highest run chase against the Aussies.

Australia won the toss and chose to bat, and scored 197 in their allotted 20 overs thanks to a century from Shane Watson. He scored 124 runs off 71 balls while dispatching ten fours and six sixes.

While Watson scored the bulk of the runs for Australia, the Indian batsman shared the responsibility. Rohit Sharma scored 52 off 38 balls, Shikar Dhawan scored 26 off nine balls and Virat Kohli scored 50 off 36 balls. When the latter was dismissed, India was in a strong position needing 51 runs off 31 balls with seven wickets left. The dangerous Yuvraj Singh came to the crease to join Suresh Raina who had 13 runs from 6 balls at this point.

The equation came down to 22 runs off 12 balls with Yuvraj facing Shane Watson in the penultimate over. Yuvraj could only muster four runs in the five balls he faced and the over reminded many fans of his innings in the World T20 final in 2014.

To make matters worse, Yuvraj, who only scored 5 runs in 9 balls, had the strike for the final over while Raina, who scored 41 runs off 22 balls, was stranded at the non-striker’s end.

However, Yuvraj made some amends in the final over bowled by Andrew Tye by scoring a four and a six off the first two balls before giving the strike to Raina in the third ball. Raina scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth ball to take the game to the final ball with India needing two runs to win and one run to tie the game. In the final ball, he secured a win as cool as a cucumber with a four past point. A relieved Yuvraj celebrated by picking up Raina over his shoulders.

Interestingly, Cameron Bancroft missed a chance to stump Raina when he was yet to get off the mark.

Although Shane Watson ended up on the losing side, he was named the man of the match. His score of 124 is the highest by any player in a T20I between the two teams and also the only century.