Top 3 India Vs Australia Matches In History: The India vs Australia rivalry in cricket is one of the biggest in the history of professional cricket. While the two nations are not arch-rivals on the grandest stage, they certainly have one of the most interesting rivalries that goes back several decades.
This rivalry is more relevant than ever, given that these two are the biggest cricketing countries in the world today. Not only do they have the best teams, but their national cricket boards are the most powerful, too. Of the three active ICC trophies, these two teams hold all three. While the Aussies are the defending World Test and ODI World Champions, India is the defending T20 World Champion.
And in the course of this decades-long rivalry, there have been some absolute bangers between these two teams. These two teams have had some of the greatest matches in the history of cricket across all formats.
Today, we will look at the greatest cricket matches between Australia and India. These three matches were not only thrilling contests on the field but, due to the nature of this rivalry, had some massive impacts on the cricketing world as a whole. These are the top 3 India vs Australia matches in history.
Top 3 India Vs Australia Matches In History
3) 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy 4th Test, January 15-19, Brisbane
The fourth Test of the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy had the series on the line. The four-game series was already a classic before the start of the match, but this match made it one of the greatest series in the centuries-long history of international cricket.
After getting all out for 36 in the first match, making a comeback and winning the second, and surviving the third by a hair, India travelled to the Gabba. The Gabba was a fortress for the Australian team, which had not lost there in over 22 years. The Men in Blue also came into this match with several injuries and essentially a bowling order full of net bowlers.
Despite that, the Indian Cricket Team only allowed the Aussies a 34-run lead in the first inning. In the third inning, the home team scored 294 runs, giving the Indians a mammoth target of 328 to win in the final inning.
After a strong start to the chase, Ajinkya Rahane’s men faltered in the middle overs. But then, Rishabh Pant took charge and played the hero, taking India home at the end for a memorable three-wicket win.
Maybe it is because this win meant so much to India: announcing to the world that they are the best team in the world, having defeated the mighty Aussies at their home, way below full strength. Or maybe it was just breaching a fort like the Gabba. Whatever it was, it made this a thrilling match. It meant so much more, making it one of the greatest Test matches of all time and one of the best Australia vs India matches ever.
Check Out: Top 3 India Vs Australia Matches In History
2) ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 Final, November 19, Ahmedabad
India vs Australia matches do not need to be close to be classics. When two of the best cricket teams in the world collide, sparks fly, and classics are born. One such event took place on the night of November 19, 2023, in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium in front of about 130,000 people.
This was the second time India took on Australia in the final of an ODI World Cup. The last time it happened, the Kangaroos were undefeated in the tournament and then defeated India in the final by a massive margin. This time, playing at home, India had been undefeated throughout the tournament. So, the script would read that the home team won the final and won the World Cup. That did not happen.
Inside the biggest stadium in the world, India batted first on a different-feeling pitch and only managed to score 240 runs. In response, Australia, who weren’t even the favourites to make it to the semifinals midway through the league stage, stunned India by chasing the target down comfortably. Travis Head became a villain in the eyes of a whole nation when he scored 137 runs, batting India out of the match like Ricky Ponting did in another World Cup final 20 years ago. This is arguably the greatest Australia vs India ODI of all time.
Check Out: IND vs AUS Dream11 prediction Semi-Final 1 ICC Champions Trophy
1) 2001 Border Gavaskar Trophy 2nd Test, March 11-15, Kolkata
The famous Kolkata Test from 2001 is considered by many to be the greatest Test match in cricket history. So many stories all over the news coming into this match, combined with all the rare things that happened during the five days on the pitches of the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, make this one of the greatest sporting contests of all time and the greatest Australia vs India cricket match.
Coming into this match, Ricky Ponting’s side was on a 16-match winning streak in Test matches, which is the longest streak in the history of the format. The 16th win came in the first Test of this very series, when the Aussies thrashed India by 10 wickets. It seemed that a similar fate would befall India in the second Test as well, seeing how Australia scored 445 in the first inning and then bowled India out for 171 in the second, enforcing a follow-on on the hosts.
But then, something unbelievable happened. India did bat well and scored some good runs. But at 232-4 with Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly back in the pavilion, it looked like the match had ended for India, but Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman had other ideas.
Rahul came into this match with a viral fever and had been pushed down to bat at number six due to poor form, while Laxman had a crooked back and needed surgery. Despite all that, the two batted together for 94 overs and scored 376 runs together to take India past the 600-run mark, with Dravid scoring 180 and Laxman scoring 281. India declared 657/7 and gave the Aussies a 384-run target on the final day.
Then came the second magical performance of the match, as Harbhajan Singh cleaned Australia out, taking six wickets in 30 overs and leading the Indian bowling attack to bowl the Aussies out for 212 as India won the match by 171 runs. This was only the third-ever loss for a team after inflicting a follow-on in Test cricket history and broke Australia’s 16-match win streak.
Honourable Mentions
IND vs AUS 1st Test, Chennai, 1886 (Tied), IND vs AUS 7th ODI, 2013 (IND win), Bengaluru, 2011 Cricket World Cup, 2nd Semi-Final (IND win)
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