India's 5 highest run-scorers against Australia in ODIs ft. Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni
Australia just always brings out the best of some Indian cricketers, both men and women. Some of India's greatest wins in Tests have come against Australia because of inspired individual performances against the odds.
It won't be diabolical to say that some of the battles have been more exciting than the ones seen in the politically-burdened rivalry between India and Pakistan.
It's perhaps the history. Australia were the greatest ever team since the beginning across formats. Even now as India are producing superstars by the day, Australia are just doing enough to be considered as favorites for the 2023 World Cup title. There's that itch among the Indians to take that spot from them, once and for all.
So, it's no surprise that ahead of the upcoming three-match series, which is crucial for momentum and 'making a statement', four of India's top-five highest run-scorers against Australia are all-time ODI greats. The fifth is a special player too.
Let's have a look:
#5 Shikhar Dhawan
The only left-handed batter on this list, Shikhar Dhawan scored 1265 runs against Australia in 29 innings at an average of 45.17. His average is better than most of the top scorers and a strike rate of 97.68 is the best for all players who have scored at least 550 runs against the Kangaroos.
Australia were probably his favorite team since he started his Test career against them with a record-breaking century. He started his ODI career against them too, in 2010. Dhawan scored a two-ball duck and he didn't play them again till 2013. But eventually, he ended up notching four centuries and seven fifties.
Although his top-scoring knock against Australia came in Mohali (where he made his Test debut too), his best-quality innings was the 109-ball 117 at the 2019 World Cup.
It took India to a 36-run win and earned him the Player of the Match award.
#4 MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni, the only Indian captain to win a bilateral ODI series in Australia (twice in 2008 and 2016), also turned on beast mode against Australia while batting.
He scored 1660 runs in 55 ODIs at an average of 44.86 and a strike rate of 86.74 against Australia, including two centuries and 11 fifties (the joint second-best). He's the only Indian wicketkeeper to score a century against Australia in ODIs.
Before the 2019 World Cup, when questions were being raised about his potency, he became the oldest Player of the Series at 37 by scoring three consecutive half-centuries against Australia. His 51, 55 not out, and 87 not out in Sydney, Adelaide, and Melbourne helped India seal their first-ever bilateral ODI series in Australia.
Australia brought the best out of 'finisher' Dhoni too. He scored the winning runs six times against them, including four times in the last over.
#3 Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli had many a sledging battle with the Australians and his attitude of giving fire for fire against them played a big role in his popularity as a captain. But he has almost always backed it up with his bat. He had so many beautiful moments against them that it was often called a match made in heaven.
ODIs perhaps had the least memorable moments for him compared to Test and T20Is. Still, he has hit eight centuries and 11 fifties against them to be India's third-highest run-scorer with 2172 in 46 ODIS at 52.97, with a strike rate of 95.34.
Two knocks stand out though. Just months before the 2011 World Cup, he was going through a run of bad form and was being criticized for throwing away his starts. Australians scored a formidable 289/3 in Vizag and the hosts lost the openers early.
But he built partnerships with Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, braved cramps, and notched a 121-ball 118 to win his team the match. He later admitted that he was “under pressure” to score runs. It was labeled as the birth of the 'chase-master'.
Three years later, he took chasing to another level against the same opponents. He helped the Men in Blue shoot down a 360-run target with six overs to spare with his 52-ball unbeaten 100 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The knock comprising eight fours and seven sixes remains the fastest ODI hundred by an Indian.
#2 Rohit Sharma
That 2013 series not only unlocked another level in Kohli's ODI career but also brought forward Rohit Sharma's destructive avatar in full light.
The current captain is India's second-highest run-scorer against the Aussies with 2251 runs at 59.23 at a strike rate of 94.42, including eight centuries and as many fifties. Rohit has hit 78 sixes against the Aussies - more than any other opponent and more than the combined figure of Kohli, Dhoni, and Dhawan.
His 209 runs off 158 balls in Bangalore in 2013 can't be forgotten, either by statisticians (still the only double hundred against Australia) or those who watched it live.
But the 171* off 163 balls he scored at Perth, hitting pull shots on the front foot on the fastest pitch in the world against Josh Hazlewood and James Faulkner was something else. He followed it up with another ton in the next match too.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar
Of course, the Master Blaster is on the list. Sachin Tendulkar is the only batter in the world with over 3000 runs against Australia. He's the highest run-scorer (3077) and the second-best, Desmond Haynes (2262), is not even close.
Tendulkar scored nine centuries (the most) and 15 half-centuries (the most for his country) against the Aussies in 71 matches with an overall average of 44.59.
Most of his best, technical master-classes, and superbly athletic knocks have come against Australia. These include the 'dessert storm' 143 at Sharjah in 1998; the cover-drive filled 134 in the next match; the one-man show of 175 (141) in Hyderabad in 2009 where India fell just three runs short of the chase due to a lack of support; and the 117 in Sydney against Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson.