India's performance in Tests at each venue in Australia
The tour of Australia is one of the most difficult tours that a team can embark upon. The touring party is tested endlessly by the relentless Aussies on the field. They are equally tested by the fans and the media off the field.Team India, with many young faces has already begun this testing tour with one practice game ending in a draw and the other called off owing to Phil Hughes’ sad demise. The test series is just a few days away. Before the action gets underway, let’s take a look at how The Men in Blue have performed at each venue in the past.P.S: The stats are only for the 4 venues where this test series is going to be played.
#1 The Gabba, Brisbane
The first test of the upcoming series is going to be played at The Gabba in Brisbane. This ground is a real Australian stronghold. The Aussies have not lost a game in Brisbane since 1988.
Team India: Overall Record
The Gabba has not really been a happy hunting ground for Team India. Out of the 5 matches played at this venue, the subcontinental giants have lost 4 and have managed to only draw 1 game played in 2003-04 Border Gavaskar trophy. In fact, India’s lowest test score against Australia, 58, came at this very venue.
Batting
India’s batting record at this venue is not too good. The innings of 58 all out mentioned above, also happens to be the lowest team total at The Gabba. Out of the 10 innings played, only 3 have been in excess of 300, one of which was in excess of 400 in the 2003-04 series. India’s batting woes at this venue are evident from the fact that there have been only 3 Indian centurions at this venue. Sourav Ganguly’s 144 in the 2003-04 Brisbane Test is the highest score by an Indian at this venue. The other two centurions for India are Sunil Gavaskar and M.L Jaisimha.
Bowling
Unlike their batting compatriots, the Indian bowlers have had a fairly decent run at this venue. There has not been a single instance when the Indian bowlers have conceded in excess of 400 runs at The Gabba. In fact, there have been 2 matches in which the Indian bowlers have scalped all 20 Aussie wickets.
There have been 4 Indian bowlers who have picked up 5 wickets in an innings at Brisbane. Erapalli Prasanna holds the record for the best bowling figures by an Indian bowler at this venue, 6/104 in the 1967-68 Brisbane Test. The other 3 Indian bowlers who have picked fifers are Zaheer Khan, Madan Lal and Bishan Singh Bedi.