3 Australian batters with the best record in India
Australia versus India has been one of the most heated rivalries in recent times. Cricket fans have witnessed high-quality action across formats and conditions when these two cricketing superpowers have faced each other.
Australia last won a Test series in India in 2004. They won the series 2-1 under the captaincy of Adam Gilchrist, who stepped in for Ricky Ponting. Since then, they have only won two Tests in India - Pune 2017 and Indore 2023.
Here's a look at the 3 Australian batters with the best record on Indian soil in Test cricket:
#1 Steve Smith
Steve Smith has scored 805 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 50.31. He has scored 3 centuries and 1 half-century on his 3 tours to India. He is the third-highest Australian run-getter of all time in India after Matthew Hayden and Michael Clarke.
His performances in the 2017 season put him ahead of any other Aussie batter to have toured India. He scored 499 runs in 4 Tests with 3 centuries against India's world-class spin duo, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, on some extremely tricky wickets.
#2 Matthew Hayden
Australian opener Matthew Hayden is the only batter from his country with over 1000 Test runs in India. What makes his record even more commendable is the fact that he is a left-hander, and it has typically not been easy for southpaws to tackle off-spin on Indian wickets.
Hayden's best series performance was in the iconic 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He scored 549 runs in six innings at an average of 109.80, with one double-century, one century, and two half-centuries to his name. It remains one of the greatest tours for an opener in India.
#3 Allan Border
World Cup-winning captain Allan Border is one half of the inspiration behind the name of the India-Australia series, the 'Border-Gavaskar Trophy'. It is only fitting considering he has an impressive record against India. The left-hander scored 766 runs in 9 matches at an average of 51.06 with two centuries and four half-centuries in India.
Border scored both his hundreds in Chepauk - in a drawn Test in 1979 and the famous tied Test in 1986.