From Amarnath to Dhoni: How India fared against Australia over the years!

As India gear up to take on Australia in the four-match Test series, starting December 9, Rajneesh Gupta presents a statistical look at the Test record between the two teams.

India’s rivalry with Australia dates back to 1947-48 when Lala Amarnath’s team travelled to take on the hosts, who were being captained by batting great Don Bradman.

Australia swept to a 4-0 victory in the five-match series before the two teams clashed again nearly eight years later in India, where the hosts again lost 0-2.

India’s first series victory over Australia came in 1979-80 under the captaincy of Sunil Gavaskar. It was a six-match series played in India, which the hosts won 2-0 with four matches drawn. 

Since 1996-97 the two teams play for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which India won on the first attempt in 1996-97 in a one-off Test series.

Interestingly, the last two series finished in whitewashes. Australia blanked India 4-0 in the 2011-12 four-match series at home before they also faced the same result when they travelled to India the next year.

Series results:

Season	Venue	CAPTAINS		Tests	Ind	Aus	Tied	Drawn
1947-48	Australia	L. Amarnath	D.G. Bradman	5	0	4	0	1
1956-57	India	P.R.Umrigar	I.W. Johnson	3	0	2	0	1
1959-60	India	G.S.Ramchand	R. Benaud	5	1	2	0	2
1964-65	India	Nawab Pataudi, jun.	R.B.Simpson	3	1	1	0	1
1967-68	Australia	Nawab Pataudi, jun.	R.B.Simpson	4	0	4	0	0
1969-70	India	Nawab Pataudi, jun.	W.M.Lawry	5	1	3	0	1
1977-78	Australia	B.S. Bedi	R.B.Simpson	5	2	3	0	0
1979-80	India	S.M.Gavaskar	K.J.Hughes	6	2	0	0	4
1980-81	Australia	S.M.Gavaskar	G.S.Chappell	3	1	1	0	1
1985-86	Australia	Kapil Dev	A.R. Border	3	0	0	0	3
1986-87	India	Kapil Dev	A.R. Border	3	0	0	1	2
1991-92	Australia	M. Azharuddin	A.R. Border	5	0	4	0	1
THE BORDER - GAVASKAR TROPHY
1996-97	India	S.R.Tendulkar	M.A.Taylor	1	1	0	0	0
1997-98	India	M. Azharuddin	M.A.Taylor	3	2	1	0	0
1999-00	Australia	S.R.Tendulkar	S.R.Waugh	3	0	3	0	0
2000-01	India	S.C.Ganguly	S.R.Waugh	3	2	1	0	0
2003-04	Australia	S.C.Ganguly	S.R.Waugh	4	1	1	0	2
2004-05	India	S.C.Ganguly	R.T.Ponting	4	1	2	0	1
2007-08	Australia	A.Kumble	R.T.Ponting	4	1	2	0	1
2008-09	India	A.Kumble	R.T.Ponting	4	2	0	0	2
2010-11	India	M.S.Dhoni	R.T.Ponting	2	2	0	0	0
2011-12	Australia	M.S.Dhoni	M.J.Clarke	4	0	4	0	0
2012-13	India	M.S.Dhoni	M.J.Clarke	4	4	0	0	0
Total		In India		46	19	12	1	14
Total		In Australia		40	5	26	0	9
Grand total				86	24	38	1	23

Note: R.R.Lindwall (second) in 1956-57, W.M.Lawry (third and fourth) in 1967-68, C.G. Borde (first) in 1967-68, A.C.Gilchrist (first,second and third) in 2004-05, R.Dravid (third and fourth) in 2004-05, M.S. Dhoni (second and fourth) in 2008-09, V Sehwag (fourth) in 2011-12 and SR Watson (fourth) in 2012-13 series led their respective sides in place of regular captains.

SUMMARY OF RESULTS:

India are yet to win a Test series in Australia in 10 attempts, but won seven out of 13 series played at home against their opponents from Down Under.

	Series	Ind	Aus	Drawn
in India	13	7	4	2
in Australia	10	0	7	3
TOTAL	23	7	11	5

HIGHEST TEAM TOTALS:

India’s highest team total is 705 for seven declared at Sydney in 2003-04, while Australia’s best is 674 at Adelaide in 1947-48.

INDIA:

Total	Venue	Season
705-7d	Sydney	2003-04
657-7d	Kolkata	2000-01#
633-5d	Kolkata	1997-98
613-7d	Delhi	2008-09
600-4d	Sydney	1985-86

(# following-on)

AUSTRALIA:

Total	Venue	Season
674	Adelaide	1947-48
659-4d	Sydney	2011-12
604-7d	Adelaide	2011-12
577	Delhi	2008-09
575-8d	Melbourne	1947-48

LOWEST TEAM TOTALS:

INDIA

Total	Venue	Season
58	Brisbane	1947-48
67	Melbourne	1947-48
98	Brisbane	1947-48
104	Mumbai (WS)	2004-05
110	Adelaide	1999-00
125	Melbourne	1947-48

AUSTRALIA

Total	Venue	Season
83	Melbourne	1980-81
93	Mumbai (WS)	2004-05
105#	Kanpur	1959-60
107	Sydney	1947-48
107	Delhi	1969-70
125	Kanpur	1979-80

(# batted one batsman short)

INDIVIDUAL HUNDREDS:

India	69
Australia	91

HIGHEST INDIVIDUAL INNINGS:

In terms of individual batting, India’s best showing against Australia is the magical innings of 281 by V V S Laxman in that memorable Kolkata Test match in 2000-01 which India won despite following-on.

No Indian batsmen has scored a triple century against Australia yet, but were on the receiving end of Michael Clarke’s splendid knock of 329 not out in Sydney in 2011-12.

INDIA

Runs	Batsman	Venue	Season
281	VVS Laxman	Kolkata	2000-01
241*	SR Tendulkar	Sydney	2003-04
233	R Dravid	Adelaide	2003-04
224	MS Dhoni	Chennai	2012-13
214	SR Tendulkar	Bangalore	2010-11
206	RJ Shastri	Sydney	1991-92
206	G Gambhir	Delhi	2008-09
204	CA Pujara	Hyderabad	2012-13
200*	VVS Laxman	Delhi	2008-09

AUSTRALIA

Runs	Batsman	Venue	Season
329*	MJ Clarke	Sydney	2011-12
257	RT Ponting	Melbourne	2003-04
242	RT Ponting	Adelaide	2003-04
223	JL Langer	Sydney	1999-00
221	RT Ponting	Adelaide	2011-12
213	KJ Hughes	Adelaide	1980-81
210	DM Jones	Chennai	1986-87
210	MJ Clarke	Adelaide	2011-12
204	GS Chappell	Sydney	1980-81
203	ML Hayden	Chennai	2000-01
201	DG Bradman	Adelaide	1947-48

MOST RUNS IN A SERIES

Rahul Dravid leads the run aggregate in a series by an Indian batsman against Australia with 619 runs in four matches, in the 2003-04 series, when he made 619 runs at an average of 123.

For Australia, not surprisingly, it is the great Bradman who hammered 715 runs in five matches in the 1947-48 series with four centuries and a fifty in six innings.

INDIA

Player	Season	in	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	Hs	Avg	100s	50s
R Dravid	2003-04	Aus	4	8	3	619	233	123.80	1	3
GR Viswanath	1979-80	Ind	6	8	1	518	161*	74.00	2	2
VVS Laxman	2000-01	Ind	3	6	0	503	281	83.83	1	3
VVS Laxman	2003-04	Aus	4	7	1	494	178	82.33	2	1
SR Tendulkar	2007-08	Aus	4	8	1	493	154*	70.43	2	2
GR Viswanath	1977-78	Aus	5	9	0	473	89	52.56	0	5
V Sehwag	2003-04	Aus	4	8	0	464	195	58.00	1	1
G Gambhir	2008-09	Ind	3	6	0	463	206	77.17	2	1
SM Gavaskar	1977-78	Aus	5	9	0	450	127	50.00	3	0

AUSTRALIA

Player	Season	in	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	Hs	Avg	100s	50s
DG Bradman	1947-48	Aus	5	6	2	715	201	178.75	4	1
RT Ponting	2003-04	Aus	4	8	1	706	257	100.86	2	2
MJ Clarke	2011-12	Aus	4	6	1	626	329*	125.20	2	0
KJ Hughes	1979-80	Ind	6	12	2	594	100	59.40	1	5
DC Boon	1991-92	Aus	5	9	2	556	135	79.43	3	1
ML Hayden	2000-01	Ind	3	6	1	549	203	109.80	2	2
RT Ponting	2011-12	Aus	4	6	1	544	221	108.80	2	3
RB Simpson	1977-78	Aus	5	10	0	539	176	53.90	2	2
AR Border	1979-80	Ind	6	12	0	521	162	43.42	1	3
RM Cowper	1967-68	Aus	4	7	0	485	165	69.29	2	2
ML Hayden	2003-04	Aus	4	8	1	451	136	64.43	1	3

MOST RUNS IN INDIA-AUSTRALIA TESTS:

Sachin Tendulkar played the most number of Tests by an Indian against Australia and tops the runs chart. His tally reads 3630 runs in 39 Tests with 11 centuries at an average of 55, followed by Laxman, who enjoyed playing against Australia, scoring 2434 runs in 29 Tests.

For the Aussies, former captain Ricky Ponting leads the way with 2555 runs in 29 Tests with eight centuries.

INDIA

Player	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	Hs	Avg	100s	50s
SR Tendulkar	39	74	8	3630	241*	55.00	11	16
VVS Laxman	29	54	5	2434	281	49.66	6	12
R Dravid	32	60	6	2143	233	39.69	2	13
V Sehwag	22	43	1	1738	195	41.38	3	9
SM Gavaskar	20	31	1	1550	172	51.66	8	4
GR Viswanath	18	31	2	1538	161*	53.03	4	9
SC Ganguly	24	44	4	1403	144	35.08	2	7
DB Vengsarkar	24	38	4	1304	164*	38.35	2	7

AUSTRALIA

Player	Mts	Inns	NO	Runs	Hs	Avg	100s	50s
RT Ponting	29	51	4	2555	257	54.36	8	12
MJ Clarke	21	38	2	1914	329*	53.17	6	6
ML Hayden	18	35	3	1888	203	59.00	6	8
AR Border	20	35	5	1567	163	52.23	4	9
DC Boon	11	20	3	1204	135	70.82	6	2
RB Simpson	11	21	0	1125	176	53.57	4	6
SR Waugh	18	31	5	1090	150	41.92	2	5
SM Katich	14	26	3	1088	125	47.30	2	6
MEK Hussey	14	24	2	1078	150*	49.00	3	4
JL Langer	14	26	0	1047	223	40.27	3	4

BEST BOWLING IN AN INNINGS

Jasubhai Patel holds the record for the best bowling figures by an Indian against Australia when he claimed nine for 69 in Kanpur in 1959-60. Harbhajan Singh, Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble have claimed eight wickets in an innings each.

For Australia, little-known Jason Krejza has the best bowling figures when he claimed eight for 215 at Nagpur in 2008-09 in his debut match. But Australia still ended up losing the game by 172 runs.

INDIA

Figures	Player	Venue	Season
9-69	JM Patel	Kanpur	1959-60
8-84	Harbhajan Singh	Chennai	2000-01
8-106	Kapil Dev	Adelaide	1985-86
8-141	A Kumble	Sydney	2003-04
7-48	A Kumble	Chennai	2004-05
7-49	Ghulam Ahmed	Kolkata	1956-57
7-98	BS Bedi	Kolkata	1969-70
7-103	R Ashwin	Chennai	2012-13
7-123	Harbhajan Singh	Kolkata	2000-01
7-133	Harbhajan Singh	Chennai	2000-01

AUSTRALIA

Figures	Player	Venue	Season
8-215	JJ Krejza	Nagpur	2008-09
7-27	MR Whitney	Perth	1991-92
7-38	RR Lindwall	Adelaide	1947-48
7-43	RR Lindwall	Chennai (Corp)	1956-57
7-66	GD McKenzie	Melbourne	1967-68
7-67	G Dymock	Kanpur	1979-80
7-72	R Benaud	Chennai (Corp)	1956-57
7-93	AK Davidson	Kanpur	1959-60
7-94	NM Lyon	Delhi	2012-13
7-143	JD Higgs	Chennai	1979-80

BEST BOWLING IN A MATCH

Off-spinner Harbhajan Singh holds the Indian record for the best bowling performance against Australia, with figures of 15 for 217 in Chennai in 2000-01.

INDIA

Figures	Player	Venue	Season
15-217	Harbhajan Singh	Chennai	2000-01
14-124	JM Patel	Kanpur	1959-60
13-181	A Kumble	Chennai	2004-05
13-196	Harbhajan Singh	Kolkata	2000-01
12-104	BS Chandrasekhar	Melbourne	1977-78
12-198	R Ashwin	Chennai	2012-13
12-279	A Kumble	Sydney	2003-04
11-122	RG Nadkarni	Chennai (Corp)	1964-65
11-224	Harbhajan Singh	Bangalore	2004-05
10-130	Ghulam Ahmed	Kolkata	1956-57
10-174	EAS Prasanna	Chennai	1969-70
10-194	BS Bedi	Perth	1977-78

AUSTRALIA

Figures	Player	Venue	Season
12-124	AK Davidson	Kanpur	1959-60
12-126	BA Reid	Melbourne	1991-92
12-166	G Dymock	Kanpur	1979-80
12-358	JJ Krejza	Nagpur	2008-09
11-31	ERH Toshack	Brisbane	1947-48
11-95	MR Whitney	Perth	1991-92
11-105	R Benaud	Kolkata	1956-57
10-91	GD McKenzie	Chennai (Corp)	1964-65
10-103	GD McGrath	Sydney	1999-00
10-144	AA Mallett	Chennai	1969-70
10-151	GD McKenzie	Melbourne	1967-68
10-168	CJ McDermott	Adelaide	1991-92
10-249	GRJ Matthews	Chennai	1986-87

MOST WICKETS IN A SERIES

The best performance by an Indian bowler in a Test series against Australia again belongs to Harbhajan, who took a massive 32 wickets in the three-Test series in 2000-01 including a hat-trick. Bishen Singh is second with 31 wickets in 1997-98 while Craig McDermott also took the same number of wickets in 1991-92 series in Australia.

INDIA

Player	Season	in	Mts	Wkts	Best	Avg	5WI	10WM
Harbhajan Singh	2000-01	Ind	3	32	8-84	17.03	4	2
BS Bedi	1977-78	Aus	5	31	5-55	23.87	3	1
R Ashwin	2012-13	Ind	4	29	7-103	20.10	4	1
BS Chandrasekhar	1977-78	Aus	5	28	6-52	25.14	3	1
Kapil Dev	1979-80	Ind	6	28	5-74	22.32	2	0
DR Doshi	1979-80	Ind	6	27	6-103	23.33	2	0
A Kumble	2004-05	Ind	4	27	7-48	25.37	3	1
EAS Prasanna	1969-70	Ind	5	26	6-74	25.85	3	1
EAS Prasanna	1967-68	Aus	4	25	6-104	27.44	2	0
Kapil Dev	1991-92	Aus	5	25	5-97	25.80	2	0

AUSTRALIA

Player	Season	in	Mts	Wkts	Best	Avg	5WI	10WM
CJ McDermott	1991-92	Aus	5	31	5-54	21.61	3	1
AK Davidson	1959-60	Ind	5	29	7-93	14.86	2	1
R Benaud	1959-60	Ind	5	29	5-43	19.59	2	0
AA Mallett	1969-70	Ind	5	28	6-64	19.11	3	1
WM Clark	1977-78	Aus	5	28	4-46	25.04	0	0
BW Hilfenhaus	2011-12	Aus	4	27	5-75	17.22	2	0

MOST WICKETS IN INDIA-AUSTRALIA TESTS

Anil Kumble is the top wicket-taker for India against Australia and is the only bowler to have taken 100 wickets or more with 111 scalps from 20 Tests, with Harbhajan Singh second on 95 wickets from 18 games.

For Australia, fast bowler Brett Lee tops the charts with 53 wickets in 12 Tests against India followed by Richie Benaud, who claimed 52 wickets in eight matches.

INDIA

Player	Mts	Wkts	Best	5WI	10WM	Avg	SR
A Kumble	20	111	8-141	10	2	30.32	58.70
Harbhajan Singh	18	95	8-84	7	3	29.96	61.12
Kapil Dev	20	79	8-106	7	0	25.35	60.08
Zaheer Khan	19	61	5-91	3	0	35.59	63.23
EAS Prasanna	13	57	6-74	5	1	28.72	75.98
BS Bedi	12	56	7-98	5	1	24.91	72.02
NS Yadav	13	55	5-99	1	0	28.78	72.64
BS Chandrasekhar	9	38	6-52	3	1	28.08	66.13
R Ashwin	7	38	7-103	4	1	30.21	64.63
DR Doshi	9	38	6-103	2	0	28.16	77.11
I Sharma	16	36	4-77	0	0	44.03	80.36
KD Ghavri	12	32	5-107	1	0	37.41	75.75
RG Nadkarni	11	30	6-91	3	1	24.63	73.90
AB Agarkar	9	30	6-41	1	0	39.07	63.97
J Srinath	11	30	4-130	0	0	42.33	80.93

AUSTRALIA

Player	Mts	Wkts	Best	5WI	10WM	Avg	SR
B Lee	12	53	5-47	2	0	31.98	57.13
R Benaud	8	52	7-72	5	1	18.38	56.79
GD McGrath	11	51	5-48	2	1	18.65	50.16
GD McKenzie	10	47	7-66	4	2	20.57	54.53
JN Gillespie	10	43	5-56	1	0	25.44	55.60
SK Warne	14	43	6-125	1	0	47.19	91.28
MG Johnson	10	37	5-64	1	0	35.46	66.95
RR Lindwall	10	36	7-38	2	0	20.14	57.92
PM Siddle	9	36	5-49	2	0	25.28	46.28
CJ McDermott	9	34	5-54	3	1	28.82	63.24
BW Hilfenhaus	6	33	5-75	2	0	22.00	45.45
AN Connolly	10	31	4-31	0	0	24.68	69.97
AK Davidson	6	30	7-93	2	1	15.77	53.57

CAPTAINCY RECORD

Mahendra Singh Dhoni has captained India the most number of times against Australia and holds a creditable 72 percent success rate, with eight victories in11 Tests. The Nawab of Pataudi Jr. also captained India in the same number of Tests but won only two games for a success rate of 18 percent.

Interestingly, Allan Border led Australia in 11 Tests against India, winning four but didn’t lose a single of them, while Ricky Ponting managed just two wins in the same number of games.

INDIA

Player	Mts	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	Win%
MS Dhoni	11	8	3	0	0	72.72
R Dravid	2	1	1	0	0	50.00
BS Bedi	5	2	3	0	0	40.00
SM Gavaskar	9	3	1	5	0	33.33
SC Ganguly	9	3	3	3	0	33.33
M Azharuddin	8	2	5	1	0	25.00
SR Tendulkar	4	1	3	0	0	25.00
GS Ramchand	5	1	2	2	0	20.00
Nawab Pataudi, Jr.	11	2	7	2	0	18.18
A Kumble	6	1	2	3	0	16.66
Kapil Dev	6	0	0	5	1	0.00
L Amarnath	5	0	4	1	0	0.00
PR Umrigar	3	0	2	1	0	0.00
CG Borde	1	0	1	0	0	0.00
V Sehwag	1	0	1	0	0	0.00

AUSTRALIA

Player	Mts	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied	Win%
MJ Clarke	7	4	3	0	0	57.14
IWG Johnson	2	2	0	0	0	100.00
DG Bradman	5	4	0	1	0	80.00
WM Lawry	7	5	1	1	0	71.43
AC Gilchrist	3	2	0	1	0	66.66
RB Simpson	10	6	3	1	0	60.00
SR Waugh	10	5	3	2	0	50.00
R Benaud	5	2	1	2	0	40.00
AR Border	11	4	0	6	1	36.36
GS Chappell	3	1	1	1	0	33.33
MA Taylor	4	1	3	0	0	25.00
RT Ponting	11	2	6	3	0	18.18
KJ Hughes	6	0	2	4	0	0.00
RR Lindwall	1	0	0	1	0	0.00
SR Watson	1	0	0	1	0	0.00