These are the five highest Test innings by Indian batsmen against Australia in their own backyard.
India has always found Australia a difficult place to bat in, because of the extra bounce and pace generated by the Australian bowlers from the hard pitch. Vijay Hazare was the first Indian to score twin centuries in a Test in Australia, but the Don Bradman led side thrashed India even then.
The first Indian batsman to score a century in Australia against the Australians was Vinoo Mankad, the brilliant all-rounder, who made 116 in the third Test at Melbourne during the 1947-48 series, the first time India toured Australia.
From then on, it has been a struggle for the Indian batsmen to put up big scores with only 11 scores of 150 plus being put up by Indian batsmen in Australia since 1948. However, many of those scores have come in the past 20 years or so.
Most of these scores have helped India draw or at times win the Test matches in down under and keeping the same theme in mind, Team COC presents to you the five highest individual scores by Indian batsmen against Australia in Australia.
Check out the Top 5 highest Test scores by Indian batsmen in Australia
178- VVS LAXMAN, Sydney, 2004
India batted first after winning the toss and put on a massive 705/7d, their highest ever score against Australia down under. Sehwag contributed 72 and added 123 runs with Aakash Chopra, who made 45. Even Parthiv Patel made 62 and helped Sachin Tendulkar reach a magnificent double hundred.
However, amidst the hullabaloo about the Tendulkar double century, another magnificent inning got a bit forgotten and it came from the bat of Very Very Special Laxman. Laxman aided Tendulkar during his marathon innings and added a massive 353 runs for the fourth wicket with the master.
Laxman scored 178, his highest score in Australia, against Australia in 298 balls with 30 fours and a strike rate of 59.73. He was sublime against the pace of Lee and Gillespie and attacked the guiles of Bracken and MacGill. As Tendulkar ground down the opposition bowlers with his precision batting; Laxman was on his attacking best and the duo took advantage of the tiring Australian bowlers.
195- VIRENDER SEHWAG, Melbourne, 2003
Whenever a list of the greatest openers in Test match history will be made, many will be surprised to find the name of Virender Sehwag near the top. Given that he started his Test career in the middle order and scored a century on debut against South Africa in 2001, Sehwag was a revelation in ODIs as an opener and when India toured Australia in 2003-04, Sehwag was opening in Tests as well.
India had drawn the first Test at Brisbane in the series and won the second Test at Adelaide and came into the third Test in Melbourne with a lead of 1-0. It was a golden chance for India to win the series down under, something that hasn’t been achieved yet.
India received a perfect start with Virender Sehwag going hammer and tongs at the Australian bowling attack comprised of Brett Lee, Brad Williams, Nathan Bracken, and Stuart MacGill. Sehwag added 141 with Aakash Chopra for the first wicket, with Chopra contributing 48 runs. He then added 137 runs with Rahul Dravid, out of which Dravid made 49 runs.
Sehwag, however, didn’t let the pressure off the gas pedal, as he reached 195 off 232 balls with 25 fours and 5 sixes at an astonishing strike rate of 83.69. He was in sight of a day one double hundred at the MCG, but in his cavalier attitude, went for a six to complete his double hundred and was caught by Bracken in the cow corner off Simon Katich.
The impact of his innings can be felt in the final total, as India was bowled out for 366 and went on to lose the Test match by 9 wickets.
206 – RAVI SHASTRI, Sydney, 1992
India lost the five-match series 4-0 against Australia and managed to draw just one Test, which was played in Sydney. A 19-year-old Sachin Tendulkar played a big role in that draw, but the innings that made it all possible came from stalwart Ravi Shastri.
Australia had batted first in the Test and made 313 with David Boon making 129*. India lost Navjot Sindhu for a duck and Vengsarkar made 54. However, India was not out of trouble and that’s where Shastri’s dour style of play came to rescue.
He scored a marvelous 206 in 477 balls in 572 minutes at the crease. Along with a young Sachin, who made 148*, Shastri bored the Australian bowlers to death and the even picked 4/45 in the second innings of Australia to wrap up a well-earned draw for his team.
A fair tidbit, he became the first Test victim of a little known leg-spinner Shane Warne.
233 – RAHUL DRAVID, Adelaide, 2003
Whenever a team has scored over 550 runs in the first innings of a Test match, playing on their home ground, seldom have they lost the Test match. However, Australia experienced the largely unique thing, when they lost the second Test to India at Adelaide Oval.
Australia put up 556 runs on the back of 242 by Ricky Ponting. India replied in kind with 523 with VVS Laxman making 148 and Rahul Dravid coming up with a one of a kind innings of 233. The duo added 303 runs and gave Australian bowlers a repeat of the 2001 Kolkata Test nightmare.
Dravid was unremovable from the start and with Tendulkar and Ganguly falling for single-digit scores, he took on the responsibility of scoring runs on himself. Dravid’s innings lasted for 446 balls and 594 minutes and he hit one six and 23 fours in his marathon knock.
His innings set up a brilliant win for India, who chased down 230 runs with Dravid remaining not out for 72 and also hit the winning runs, as India took a lead in the Test series.
241* - SACHIN TENDULKAR, Sydney, 2004
The 2003-04 tour was a watershed moment for India as they managed to draw the Test series after the 3-0 drubbing, they got on their last tour to Australia on the 1999 tour. The captain of the Indian team in that series was Sachin Tendulkar, who had a lot to give back to the Aussies on this tour.
Sachin had a fairly lean series with the bat, not even scoring a fifty before the final Test in Sydney. Tendulkar had been getting out while having a go outside the off stump and in the final Test of the series, with a chance of winning the Test match, decided to cut out the strokes outside off stump completely from his repertoire.
This led to Sachin Tendulkar scoring his first double century in down under and scored 241*in 436 balls with 33 fours. He completely cut out the cover drive and off drive shots out of his arsenal and left everything outside off stump in a show of immense mental intensity and concentration. He was well aided by VVS Laxman, who made 178 and Parthiv Patel, who made 62 and helped Sachin cross his double century.
His double hundred took India to their highest Test score in Australia at 705/7d.