One of cricket’s most storied rivalries takes centrestage in Adelaide from 17 December as India and Australia don the whites and mix traditional with modern for another chapter. With 2020 going as it is, the fan can enjoy the Australian summer a little more comfortably, as a constellation of modern greats fight it out for the lead role.
Post-Independence, the Indian cricket team’s first tour was to Australia, led by Sir Don Bradman, and the rivalry has seen some dramatic contests. It took India more than 70 years to win their first Test series in Australia in 2018/19, can they repeat the act? In 1996/97, the series was officially named Border-Gavaskar Trophy after the first two batsmen to pass 10,000 runs.
Here’s a look back at some of the most memorable Tests between India and Australia
India’s First Series Win (1979-80)
After seven series’ home and away, the Indian team were finally able to beat the Australians in a series with a 153-run win in Kanpur making all the difference. Australia’s tour did not start too well – flight engine troubles and a few upset stomachs along with being well behind schedule did not help.
Kapil Dev, Dilip Doshi, Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath put in special performances with the bat and ball to help India over the line. Kapil finished with 28 wickets in four Tests.
What helped India’s cause was Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket and those involved in that breakaway competition did not tour India, which meant the visitors were a depleted and unhappy lot.
Sunil Gavaskar vs Denis Lillee (1981)
Dissent in cricket is not something that is unheard of and in Melbourne, Sunil Gavaskar was not going to go anywhere without making his point.
Given LBW by the umpire, Gavaskar refused to accept the decision which led to an altercation with Lillee, the bowler. Gavaskar stood his ground, argued the decision and finally instructed Chetan Chauhan to walk off with him. Gavaskar, who claimed to have edged the ball, slapped his pads in frustration, a rare sight, but was eventually convinced against the walk out which would have led to forfeiting the game.
33 years later Gavaskar said he regretted doing what he had done. "I regret the decision. It was a big mistake on my part. As Indian captain I was not supposed to act in that manner. In no way I can justify my act of defiance. Whether I was out or not, I should not have reacted that way," Gavaskar said during a tea-time chat show with Sanjay Manjrekar and Kapil Dev.
The Tied Test (1986)
When it comes to India vs Australia in Tests, the one in 1986 in Chennai can never be left out. It was a game that changed the late Dean Jones’ life according to his own admission. The odds were firmly in favour of India against an inexperienced Australian team, who batted first.
In the sweltering heat, Jones batted for more than 500 minutes for his 210 and was severely dehydrated. “I didn’t drink water overnight. One hour into day two I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t drink anything apart from a cup of tea or coffee. We didn’t know anything about dehydration and rehydration back then. Then I just batted from memory basically. I can’t remember much from 120 on. I know nearly every shot in every innings I played. I can’t remember a thing after 120 in that innings,” he had told ESPNCricinfo.
His mammoth effort in the first innings paved the way for a stiff fourth innings target for the hosts and India were on their way to achieving it too, before the tail collapsed like a pack of cards.
Sachin vs Warne (1998)
Once again the venue was Madras and the protagonists had just started out as arch-rivals. Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne were giving their oppositions nightmares around the world. The 1998 Test series in India was built around these two skillful cricketers
The blonde-haired spinner drew first blood, leaving Sachin in tears in the pavilion in the first innings but the ‘Little Master’ fought back and how!
Sachin had done his homework in the nets and predicted the plans perfectly – Warne was going to attack the rough around his legs. Sachin tore into Warne and smashed him to all parts of the ground during a 191-ball knock, scoring 155, producing a masterclass that will forever be etched in the memories of cricket lovers.
The Eden Gardens Miracle (2001)
Steve Waugh’s Australia were among the best outfits the sport had ever seen and they had been blowing away opponents at will between 1999 and 2001. India was the final frontier, and the foot-on-throat mentality saw them start the tour with a resounding win in Mumbai. At the time one would not have bet against the final frontier being conquered.
At Eden Gardens, Australia once again piled on the runs before a Harbhajan Singh hat-trick. Then they rolled over India in less than 60 overs. It was all working to plan for Australia before VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid dropped anchor on Day 3. For 104 overs, the pair wrested the initiative back from Australia, first slowly, then ever more confidently. They put on 376 runs together to bat Australia out of the game and stop the juggernaut at 16 Tests.
Ian Chappell later labelled the performance "the best playing of spin bowling I've seen".
Dravid, Laxman and Agarkar Turn on the Style in Adelaide (2003)
It is possibly one of the most important Test matches for Rahul Dravid. India had started winning Test matches away from home under Sourav Ganguly and had started off the Australian tour with a dogged performance in Brisbane.
Ponting was doing his thing in Adelaide before Anil Kumble brought India back into the contest on the second day. After tea, Australia’s worst fears came true as Laxman and Dravid dug in. Another 300-run plus partnership saved India some embarrassment.
Backing that up with some probing swing bowling was Ajit Agarkar, who proceeded to run through the Australian batting. India needed 230 to win and after a wobble with the out of form Tendulkar and Ganguly not getting too many runs, it was Laxman and Dravid who did the job. Dravid finished off with an elegant cover drive for four and was handed the match-ball as a memento by Steve Waugh.
Monkey Gate (2008)
A riveting series was playing out once again with Australia almost always looking to go for the kill. Things though turned very sour in Sydney where poor umpiring decisions had tempers flying.
What seemed like a very normal conversation between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds suddenly escalated with the Australian alleging that he was called a ‘monkey’.
While both Harbhajan and Sachin were adamant that no kind of racist abuse was hurled at Symonds, the Australians were furious and eventually decided to press charges against the Indian off-spinner for the alleged racist comments. In fact, the bad blood was evident on the field, too, as the Aussies refused to shake hands with Indian skipper Anil Kumble post the conclusion of the Test.
At the post-match press conference, Kumble uttered the immortal words: “Only one team was playing in the spirit of the game, that’s all I can say.”
Pacer Jeff Thomson’s views were probably the most scathing of them all. “The Aussies act like morons and bullies and they can’t cop criticism from someone like myself,” the pace ace said. “I think it was appalling that none of the Australians went over and shook Anil Kumble’s hand at the end of the Sydney Test. They just played up and carried on like idiots like they normally do.”
The BCCI threatened to pull out as Australia pressed charges but Harbhajan, after plenty of testimonies including Tendulkar’s, was acquitted.
India Conquer Down Under (2018/19)
There was no David Warner or Steve Smith for Australia as they prepared to face Virat Kohli’s India. Australian cricket was shook up at the time and was recovering from the ball-tampering incident in South Africa.
And to make matters worse for the hosts, Cheteshwar Pujara dug in and batted and batted in the series. Virat Kohli was scoring plenty of runs too and the Indian pace battery, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma, were in the form of their lives.
The series was level at 1-1 as India travelled to MCG for the Boxing Day Test. On the back of Cheteshwar Pujara’s ton, and Kohli’s 84, India posted 443/7 in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah stunned the Aussie batting line-up, picking up 6 wickets to bowl out the hosts for 151. India decided not to enforce follow-on and asked the hosts to chase 399. The pacers continued from where they had left off in the first innings as India stormed over the line and even managed to get the normally reserved, on-field at least, Pujara to break into a jig at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Scenes which no Indian cricket fan will ever forget!
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