IND V AUS 2020: How Many One-Day Series Have Team India Won in Australia?
Team India are gearing up for a lengthy tour of Australia, which gets underway on November 27 with the first ODI (One Day International) at Sydney.
India will play three ODIs against the Aussies, followed by as many T20Is. The four-match Test series will begin with the Day-Night encounter at Adelaide on December 17.
Rohit Sharma will miss the limited-overs leg and join the team for the Test matches. And skipper Virat Kohli will fly back to India after the first Test to be with his wife and expected first child.
Speaking of ODIs, India have played 51 matches in Australia, winning only 13. As for the number of one-day series, India have featured in 13 Down Under, including two World Cups. But, how many have they won?
Well, the answer is interesting. Team India have won three ODI series in Australia, and each of them have been unique. We’ll spill the beans as we profile each triumph.
Looking at Team India’s three ODI series victories Down Under
#1. Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket (1984-85)
The Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket featured seven teams. India topped Group A with comprehensive wins over Pakistan (6 wickets), England (68 runs), and Australia (8 wickets).
India faced New Zealand in the first semi-final at Sydney. Asked to bat first, the Kiwis only managed to post 206 on the board despite John Reid’s half-century. For India, Madan Lal claimed four wickets, and Ravi Shastri three.
India easily won the clash with opener Ravi Shastri contributing 53 and Dilip Vengsarkar and Kapil Dev remaining unbeaten on 63 and 54 respectively.
In the final, India trumped arch-rivals Pakistan by eight wickets to lift the trophy. Batting first, Pakistan only managed to post 176 for 9. Miandad himself contributed 48 while Imran Khan made 35. For India, Kapil and young leggie Laxman Sivaramakrishnan picked up three scalps each.
The chase was a cakewalk for India as Ravi Shastri made an unbeaten 63 and Kris Srikkanth 67. India lifted the World Championship of Cricket Trophy with a comprehensive eight-wicket triumph at Melbourne.
All-rounder Shastri was the player of the tournament for scoring 182 runs and picking up eight wickets. Srikkanth was the leading run-scorer in the tournament with 238 runs and Sivaramakrishnan the highest wicket-taker with 10 victims.
What was unique about India’s win? This was the only instance of the World Championship of Cricket being held.
#2. Commonwealth Bank Series (2007-08)
The Commonwealth Bank (CB) Series of 2007-08 featuring India, Australia and Sri Lanka saw the hosts top the league stage with five wins in eight games. Team India progressed to the final with three wins from eight matches. The final was a best-of-three contest.
India upped their game in the first final at Sydney. Young pacer Praveen Kumar dismissed Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting cheaply. And, despite Matthew Hayden’s 82, India restricted the Aussies to 239. Harbhajan Singh also chipped in with two wickets.
Sachin Tendulkar led India’s chase with a mature 117 not out while Rohit Sharma displayed glimpses of his bright future with an impressive 66. India romped home by six wickets to take a 1-0 lead.
The second final was held at Brisbane. This time India batted first. Tendulkar again starred with the bat. He missed out on a second consecutive hundred, falling for 91. Robin Uthappa, Yuvraj Singh, and skipper MS Dhoni contributed 30s, but Australia were able to restrict India to 258. Nathan Bracken and Michael Clarke claimed three wickets each.
In response, Praveen Kumar had Gilchrist caught behind for 2 in what turned out to be the latter's last ODI. Kumar also dismissed Ponting and Clarke cheaply to leave Aussies reeling at 32 for 3.
Despite gritty half-centuries from Hayden (55) and James Hopes (63) as well as 40s from Andrew Symonds and Mike Hussey, Australia fell short by nine runs. Praveen Kumar was the man of the match for his 4 for 46.
What was unique about India’s win? It was India’s first and only tri-series win in Australia.
#3. India vs Australia ODI series (2018-19)
India’s third and final one-day series triumph to date came during their previous visit Down Under. Having crumbled to defeat in the first match at Sydney despite Rohit Sharma's 133, Team India fought back to win the next two ODIs, and with it the series.
In the second one-dayer at Adelaide, Virat Kohli’s 104 trumped Shaun Marsh’s 131 as Team India chased down 299 with ease. Kohli’s sedate knock came off 112 balls. After his dismissal, Dhoni guided India home with an unbeaten 55 from 54 balls.
Earlier, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami combined to claim seven scalps as Team India restricted the hosts to under 300.
In the decider at Melbourne, Yuzvendra Chahal separated the two teams with sensational figures of 6 for 42. He dismissed Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, and Marcus Stoinis as the Aussies were cleaned up for 230.
Team India clinched the match and the series in rampant fashion as Dhoni made an unbeaten 87 while Kedar Jadhav blasted 61 not out from 57. India got home with seven wickets to spare.
What was unique about India’s win? This was Team India’s maiden bilateral series triumph over Australia.