The Top 5 ODI high scores by Indian batsmen in Australia
India and Australia have developed a rivalry over the past decade. Some of India's most memorable ODI series wins came against the Australian team while touring there.
India's CB series win in 2008 is right up there. It was the first time they won an ODI series in Australia against the home team. Last year under the leadership of Virat Kohli, India again scripted history by clinching their first bilateral series win in Australia.
India's next Australia sojourn will commence on 27th November when both sides square off in the first One-Day International (ODI) at the SCG. We can expect fireworks as both teams are fierce competitors, and playing against each other brings out the best in them.
Let's revisit the past and reminisce the highest scores by Indian batsmen on Australian soil.
#5 Shikhar Dhawan - 137 vs South Africa, Melbourne (2015)
Dhawan, has a knack for raising his performance levels during ICC tournaments.
In India's second match during the 2015 ICC World Cup, he scored a magnificent 137 against South Africa and guided the team to a match-winning total of 307/7. After losing Rohit Sharma early, Dhawan joined hands with Kohli to put on a 127-run partnership.
Dhawan continued to anchor the innings even after Kohli's dismissal. At the other end, Ajinkya Rahane played an attacking knock of 79 off 60 balls. The duo stitched together a 125-run partnership for the 3rd wicket.
In the end, India won the match comfortably by 130 runs margin. Shikhar Dhawan's enterprising 146-ball knock comprised of 14 fours and two sixes.
#4 Rohit Sharma - 138 vs Australia, Melbourne (2015)
In the second match of the Carlton Mid One-Day International Tri-series, Rohit Sharma scored this magnificent century, albeit in a losing cause against the Australian team.
After MS Dhoni elected to bat first in this day-night encounter at the MCG, India lost Shikar Dhawan in the first over. Rahane and Kohli also departed quickly. By the end of 13 overs, India were in trouble as the scoreboard read 59/3.
Then the hitman joined hands with Suresh Raina to steady the ship and take the Indian innings to a decent position. Rohit blended caution with aggression and played remarkable cricket throughout this inning.
He and Raina put on a 126-run partnership before the latter departed after scoring a half-century. In 36th over, Rohit became the first Indian batsmen to score an ODI century at the MCG after 2000 (Sourav Ganguly was the first). Then he put on decent partnerships with MS Dhoni and Ashwin to take India past 260 runs.
India finished their innings with 267/8 on the scoreboard. Australia chased down the target comfortably at the end. During his 139-ball stay at the crease, Sharma hit 9 fours and 4 towering sixes.
This was the first instance when Sharma had faced more than a hundred balls in an innings outside Asia, excluding Zimbabwe. Also, only 60 off Rohit's 138 runs came through boundaries. Sharma showed brilliant game presence and adaptability to prove he wasn't a one-dimensional player who majorly depended on hitting sixes.
#3 Yuvraj Singh - 139 vs Australia, Sydney (2004)
Two-time World Cup-winning Indian batsmen Yuvraj Singh slammed a hundredin the seventh ODI match of the VB series in 2004 at the SCG. Twin centuries by him and VVS Laxman helped India put on a tough fight against an authoritative Australian team. In the end, Australia won the close encounter narrowly by two wickets through the Duckworth Lewis method.
Yuvraj came in to bat when the scoreboard read 80-3 in 15.2 overs. He and Laxman stitched a mammoth 213-run partnership against a daunting Aussie bowling line-up, to consolidate the inning. Laxman played a characteristic inning as he played the anchors' role to perfection by remaining unbeaten on 106 at the end.
Yuvraj, on the other hand, played a typical flamboyant knock to compliment Laxman's efforts. The elegant Southpaw smashed the bowlers all around the park en route to his career-high score of 139 at that time. It took him 13 long years to better that score when he slammed 150 against England in Pune.
Though India lost the match, Yuvraj Singh received the player of the match award for his magnificent performance. Yuvraj hit 16 fours and two sixes during his 122-ball stay at the crease.
#2 Sourav Ganguly - 141 vs Pakistan, Adelaide (2000)
During the 9th match of the Carlton & United Series in 2000, Ganguly played a match-winning knock of 141 against a strong Pakistan bowling line-up at the Adelaide Oval.
Batting first, Ganguly and Sachin gave India a good start by scoring 88 runs in 15 overs. After Sachin Tendulkar got out, Ganguly continued his form and put on valuable partnerships with other batsmen to take his team's score to 267/6.
The Pakistani bowling line-up comprised of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, and Saqlain Mushtaq. Yet, Ganguly maintained a healthy strike rate throughout the innings and brought up his 11th ODI century.
The Player of the match, Ganguly, hit 12 fours and one six. India won the contest comfortably in the end by a margin of 48 runs.
#1 Rohit Sharma - 171* vs Australia, Perth (2016)
Rohit Sharma holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian batsman on Australian soil. Rohit's unbeaten 171 stands just behind Jason Roy's 180 in the list of highest scores by visiting batsmen against Australian Down Under.
In the first match of the bilateral series at Perth, India batted first. India was dealt with an early blow as Shikhar Dhawan got out after scoring just nine runs off 22 balls.
The onus was now on Rohit and Kohli to build a platform for the middle-order batsmen. The duo lived up to their reputation as they put on a staggering 207-run partnership for the second wicket. After Kohli departed in 44th over, Rohit remained composed and guided India to 309/3 at the end of the first innings. Rohit's inning was studded with 13 fours and seven humongous sixes.
During the course of his 163-ball innings, Rohit became the fastest Indian player to score 1000 runs against Australia.
Despite Rohit's masterclass India ended up on the losing side as Steve Smith's 149 and George Bailey's 112 helped Australia seal a victory.