Picking an 11 of India's all-time best Test performers against Australia ft. Sunil Gavaskar, Jasprit Bumrah
Team India are gearing up for the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 Test series against Australia, which will get underway with the opening clash in Perth from November 22 onwards. India have beaten the Aussies during their previous two visits Down Under. However, on this occasion, they have come to Australia on the back of a 3-0 whitewash at home against New Zealand.
If we look at India's overall record in Tests against the Aussies, the two sides have clashed 107 times, with Australia having a 45-32 lead in the head-to-head battle. Twenty-nine Tests between the two sides have ended in a draw, while one game produced a famous tie.
In home conditions, India have a 23-14 win-loss record against Australia in Test cricket. Away from home, India have won only nine and lost 30. The teams have clashed only once at a neutral venue, with the Aussies getting the better of India by 209 runs in the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final.
As the two sides prepare to resume their Border-Gavaskar rivalry, we take up the extremely difficult task of trying to pick an 11 of India's all-time best Test performers against Australia.
Top-order: Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid/ Cheteshwar Pujara
The fire-and-ice combination of Virender Sehwag and Sunil Gavaskar would open the innings in India's all-time Test XI against Australia. While Gavaskar had the legendary ability to wear down opposition bowlers meticulously, Sehwag was exactly the opposite as an opener and would take on the bowlers from the start.
In 31 Test innings against Australia, Gavaskar scored 1,550 runs at an average of 51.66, with eight hundreds and four fifties. He played against some of the most fearsome bowlers of his era like Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson. As for Sehwag, he smashed 1,738 runs in 48 innings, averaging 41.38, with three tons and nine fifties, which included the brilliant 195 in the 2003 Boxing Day Test.
It was difficult to pick between Rahul Dravid and Cheteshwar Pujara for the No. 3 slot against Australia. Both of them have come up with some magnificent, stonewalling efforts. Either of them could make it to the playing XI in the one-down position, although it would be fair to say that Dravid faced better quality bowlers in the likes of Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie.
In 60 Test innings against the Aussies, Dravid scored 2,143 runs at an average of 39.68, with two hundreds and 13 fifties. Both his three-figure scores against Australia are iconic - 233 in Adelaide (December 2003) and 180 in Kolkata (March 2001).
On the other hand, Pujara has scored 2,074 runs from 45 innings at an average of 49.38, with tons and 11 fifties. The right-handed batter scored three hundreds in India's historic 2018-19 triumph Down Under and was named Player of the Series.
Middle-order: Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli (c), Gundappa Viswanath/ VVS Laxman, Rishabh Pant (wk)
Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli pretty much pick themselves in India's all-time Test playing against Australia. The Master Blaster loved batting against Australia and amassed 3,630 runs in 74 innings, averaging 55, with the aid of 11 hundreds and 16 fifties. He played several memorable knocks against Australia.
Kohli has also enjoyed the challenge of taking on the Aussies. In 44 Test innings, he has 2,042 runs to his name at an average of 47.48, with eight tons and five fifties. Leading the team, Kohli famously scored hundreds in each innings of the 2014 Adelaide Test even as India lost the game by 48 runs.
It was a difficult task to pick one from Gundappa Viswanath and VVS Laxman for the No. 6 position. Either of them could fit into the slot. In 31 Test innings against the Aussies, Viswanath scored 1,538 runs at an average of 53.03, with four centuries and nine fifties. The graceful batter scored 114 in India's legendary 59-run victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in 1981.
Laxman will also be known as a Very Very Special player in Indian cricket particularly for his exploits against Australia. In 54 Test innings against the Aussies, he notched up 2,434 runs at an average of 49.67, with six tons and 12 fifties. Laxman scored an iconic 281 in Kolkata in 2001 and also contributed 148 in the 2003 triumph in Adelaide.
Rishabh Pant would be the wicketkeeper-batter in India's best Test-playing XI against Australia. In 12 innings, he has already smashed 624 runs, averaging 62.40, with one hundred and two fifties. The aggressive southpaw scored 159* in Sydney in January 2019 and played a legendary knock of 89* as India breached Australia's fortress - The Gabba - in January 2021.
All-rounders/ Bowlers: Kapil Dev, Anil Kumble/ Ravichandran Ashwin, Bishan Bedi, Jasprit Bumrah
'Haryana Hurricane' Kapil Dev would lead the bowling attack, with modern-day pace bowling star Jasprit Bumrah. In 38 Test innings, Kapil claimed 79 wickets at an average of 25.35, with seven five-fers. He also contributed 687 runs in 27 innings, which included one hundred and three fifties. As for Bumrah, he has 32 wickets from only 14 innings at an excellent average of 21.25.
There was a close tussle between Anil Kumble and Ravichandran Ashwin for one of the frontline spinner slots. Kumble, a former leg-spinner, claimed 111 scalps in 38 innings against the Aussies, averaging 30.32, with 10 five-fers to his name.
On the other hand, off-spinner Ashwin has picked up 114 scalps in 42 innings, averaging 28.36, with seven five-fers. The 38-year-old has also contributed 543 runs with the willow from 34 innings, with the aid of two half-centuries.
The late left-arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi also features in Team India's all-time Test XI against the Aussies. In 23 innings, he picked up 56 wickets at an average of 24.91, with five five-fers. Of his scalps, 35 came in away Tests in which he averaged 27.51, with three five-fers to his credit.