Indian team under the leadership of Virat Kohli will take on Australia in a high-octane four-Test series of Border-Gavaskar Trophy starting in Pune from February 23. Its going to be a tough battle for the visitors as they have not won any series in India in last 48 years. India remained undefeated in the last 19 Tests.
Let’s look back at India’s five memorable Test wins against Australia:
1. Melbourne Test, 1981: India won by 59 runs
Chasing down a modest victory target of 143, the home side was bowled out for just 83 against some quality Indian bowling led by Kapil Dev.
Brief Score
India (1st Innings) - 237/10 (Viswanath - 114, Kirmani - 25, Lillee - 4/65, Pascoe - 3/29)
Australia (1st Innings) - 419/10 (Border - 124, Walters - 78, Greg Chappel - 76, Doshi - 3/109, Sandeep Patil - 2/28)
India (2nd Innings) - 324/10 (Chetan Chauhan - 85, Gavaskar - 70, Vengsarkar - 41, Lillee - 4/104, Yardley - 2/65)
Australia (2nd Innings) - 83/10 (Walters - 18*, Hughes - 16, Kapil Dev - 5/28, Ghavri - 2/10), Doshi - 2/33)
Man of the Match - GR Viswanath (India)
Also Check Top Five Bollywood Movies on Cricket
2. Kolkata Test, 2001: India won by 171 runs
One of the finest test comebacks by any team, the match is rremembered for some historic 376-run partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid that brought India back into the game. The test is also know for Saurav Ganguly's aggressive brand of captaincy who decided to go for the improbable victory and not just a draw.
Brief Score
Australia (1st Innings) - 445/10 ( Steve Waugh - 110, Hayden - 97, Langer - 58, Harbhajan Singh - 7/123, Zaheer Khan - 2/89)
India (1st Innings) - 171/10 (Laxman - 59, Dravid - 25, McGrath - 4/18, Kasprowicz - 2/39, Gillespie - 2/47, Warne - 2/65)
India (2nd Innings) - 657/7 dec. (Laxman - 281, Dravid - 180, McGrath - 3/103, Gillespie - 2/115)
Australia (2nd Innings) - 212/10 (Hayden - 67, Slater - 43, Harbhajan Singh - 6/73, Tendulkar - 3/31)
Man of the Match - VVS Laxman (India)
3. Adelaide Test, 2003: India won by 4 wickets
Two back to back innings from one of the finest test cricket batsman, Rahul Dravid ensured a victory for the team. Dravid along with Laxman laid the foundation of the victory which later cemented by Ajit Agarkar's magical spell.
Brief Score
Australia (1st Innings) - 556/10 (Ponting - 242, Katich - 75, Langer - 58, Kumble - 5/154, Agarkar - 2/119)
India (1st Innings) - 523/10 (Dravid - 233, Laxman - 148, Bichel - 4/118, Katich - 2/59)
Australia (2nd Innings) - 196/10 (Gilchrist - 43, Steve Waugh - 42, Agarkar - 6/41, Tendulkar - 2/36)
India (2nd Innings) - 233/6 (Dravid* - 72, Sehwag - 47, Katich - 2/22, MacGill - 2/101)
Man of the Match - Rahul Dravid (India)
4. Perth Test, 2008: India won by 72 runs
Under the leadership of Anil Kumble, Team India registered this famous victory against Australia at one of the fastest pitches in the world - PERTH. Indian batting and bowling both shines as the home side lost the test in under four days.
India (1st Innings) - 330/10 (Dravid - 93, Tendulkar - 71, Johnson - 4/86, Lee - 3/71)
Australia (1st Innings) - 212/10 (Symonds - 66, Gilchrist - 55, RP Singh - 4/68, Ishant Sharma - 2/34)
India (2nd Innings) - 294/10 (Laxman - 79, Irfan Pathan - 46, Dhoni - 38, Clark - 4/61, Lee - 3/54)
Australia (2nd Innings) - 340/10 (Clarke - 81, Johnson - 50*, Irfan Pathan - 3/54, Sehwag - 2/24)
Man of the Match - Irfan Pathan (India)
5. Mohali Test, 2010: India won by 1 Wicket
The very very special Laxman once again proved that why he was the master of batting with tail-enders. Laxman’s 73 not out led India to a magnificent one-wicket victory in this close encounter.
Australia (1st Innings) - 428/10 (Watson - 126, Paine - 92, Ponting - 71, Zaheer Khan - 5/94, Harbhajan Singh -3/114
India (1st Innings) - 405/10 (Tendulkar - 98, Raina - 86, Dravid - 77, Sehwag - 59, Johnson - 5/64, Bollinger - 2/49)
Australia (2nd Innings) - 192/10 (Watson - 56, Katich - 37, Zaheer Khan - 3/43, Ishant Sharma - 3/34)
India (2nd Innings) - 216/9 (Laxman* - 73, Tendulkar - 38, Ishant Sharma - 31, Hilfenhaus - 4/57, Bollinger - 3/32)
Man of the Match - Zaheer Khan (India)
Sahir