Ind vs Aus 2020: Top 5 impressive ODI records by Team India players to know about
Team India will kick-off their long tour of Australia with a three-match ODI series starting with the first game at Sydney on November 27. The second ODI will also be played at the same venue on November 29, while the final One-Dayer will be held at the Manuka Oval, Canberra on December 2.
In the head-to-head record, Australia have a significant edge over Team India. Out of 140 matches played between the two teams, Australia have been victorious in 78 matches, while India have won only 52. Ten matches did not produce a result.
In Australia as well, the hosts have been dominant. Out of 51 matches between the two nations, the Aussies have won 36 and Team India only 13, with two games not producing a result.
However, the last time Team India visited Australia in 2018-19, they clinched the three-match ODI series 2-1. So, they will be confident as they face the latest challenge from the hosts.
Despite the poor overall stats, a number of excellent individual records are held by Indians in India-Australia ODIs. Here’s a glance.
Amazing records held by Team India players against Australia in one-dayers
#1. Most Runs: Sachin Tendukar (3077)
There really is no surprise here. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar loved playing against the Aussies, which explains why he has scored most runs in India-Australia ODIs.
In 71 games for Team India from 1991 to 2012, Tendulkar amassed 3077 runs against Australia at an average of 44.59 with nine hundreds and 15 fifties at a strike rate of 84.71. His highest score against Australia was 175, which came in a losing cause at Hyderabad in November 2009.
Rohit Sharma has climbed up to number two on the list with 2208 runs in 40 games for Team India at an average of 61.33 and a strike rate of 93.87. For Australia, the prolific Ricky Ponting scored most runs for his team against India -- 2164 runs in 59 games at an average of 40.07 and a strike rate of 81.41.
#2. Highest individual score: Rohit Sharma (209)
Team India’s ODI legend Rohit Sharma is the only cricketer to have notched up a double century in India-Australia ODIs. He smashed a magnificent 209 from 158 balls at Bengaluru on November 2, 2013, during the 7th One-Dayer of the seven-match series.
Rohit blasted an unbelievable 16 sixes and 12 fours during his innings. The knock came at a strike rate of 132.27. Thanks to Rohit’s brilliance, Team India posted a mammoth 383/6 on the board and won the match by 57 runs. James Faulkner starred for Australia with 116 from 73.
For Australia, former skipper George Bailey’s 156 is the highest individual score versus Team India. He played the innings at Nagpur during the 6th ODI on October 30, 2013. Bailey hit 13 fours and six sixes in his 114-ball knock. His innings went in vain though as Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 115 from 66 balls saw Team India chase down 351 with ease.
#3. Most Hundreds: Sachin Tendulkar (9)
Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for having smashed the most centuries for Team India against Australia in ODIs. He has nine hundreds to his name in 71 games.
Tendulkar’s maiden ODI hundred, in fact, came against the Aussies. He made 110 at Colombo on September 9, 1994. His other famous hundreds include the twin centuries at Sharjah in 1998, 141 in the ICC Champions Trophy the same year, and 117 not out during the first CB Series Final at Sydney on March 2, 2008.
Rohit and Virat Kohli are joint second on the list for Team India with eight tons from 40 matches each. As for Australia, Ponting notched up six hundreds in 59 games.
#4. Most sixes: Rohit Sharma (76)
That Rohit loves hitting sixes is no secret. However, his six-hitting connection with the Australian bowlers is at an altogether different level. In 40 matches, the Team India opener has smashed as many as 76 sixes which nearly equates to two maximums per match. Cricket fans will miss the Indian vice-captain’s big-hitting spree in the ODIs in Australia as he has been rested for the limited-overs leg due to injury.
Tendulkar is a distant second on the list with 35 sixes from 71 matches. For Australia, the unpredictable Glenn Maxwell has hit the most sixes against India in One-Dayers -- 33 in 25 matches.
#5. Best bowling figures: Murali Kartik (6 for 27)
Former Team India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik was unlucky to have been playing in the same era as Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble. Hence, he never really got a rope long enough to prove his mettle. In the few matches that he played for India though, he did make a decent impression.
Kartik’s best spell in ODIs came against Australia, when he picked up 6 for 27 in the seventh match of a one-day series at Mumbai on October 7, 2007. On a Wankhede pitch that offered plenty of assistance, Kartik ran through the Aussie batting line-up.
Some of his prominent victims in the match were Andrew Symonds, Brad Hodge, Brad Haddin and James Hopes. Australia crumbled to 193 all out. India too faltered in the chase. However, Kartik (21 not out) supported Zaheer Khan (31 not out) as India scampered home by two wickets.
For Australia, medium pacer Ken MacLeay holds the record for best bowling figures against India in ODIs. He picked up 6 for 39 in the 1983 World Cup clash at Nottingham, which the Aussies won by a massive margin of 162 runs.