India vs Australia Flashback: India's Controversial Tour Of Australia

Indian team toured Australia in 2007-08 for a four-match test series under the captaincy of Anil Kumble. India lost the series 2-1, yet, it is still considered as one of the most memorable tours by all the players involved in it. 

2007 was a mixed year for Indian cricket. The team had lost the ODI World Cup in March and won the inaugural World T20 in September. India was doing well in the Test Matches as well. They landed in Australia after beating England in English conditions 1-0. 

The Australian team was at its peak in 2007. They were coming into the series with a streak of seven test series win. Australians were the ODI World Cup winners as well. 

Aussies were looking favorites to win but Indians were no less a threat to end their seven series winning streak. It was the start of the tour that everyone would remember for a long time to come.  

First test match(Melbourne), 26-29 Dec - Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss, and Indians fielded first. Mathew Hayden and Phil Jaques gave a good start to the team. Indian bowlers, led by Zaheer Khan, came back as Aussies got bowled out for 343. Hayden scored the first century of the series. Indian batsmen, in reply, were demolished by the duo of Brett Lee and Stuart Clark as the team got out for 196. Only Sachin Tendulkar was able to go past fifty runs. 

Another good start by the Australian opening pair, in the third innings, was well supported by the middle order. Ricky Ponting scored 73 runs and declared the innings at 351/7, giving India a near-impossible target of 499. India, once again, failed to survive the Australian attack and got bowled out for 161. Aussies started the series with a big win of 337 runs. Mathew Hayden got the player of the match award.

Brief Score: Australia - 343 & 351/7D; India - 196 & 161

Player of the Match - Mathew Hayden(124, 47) 

 

Second test match(Sydney), 2-6 Jan - Captain Ricky Ponting Captain, won the toss and opted to bat. RP Singh gave India a good start as he got Phil Jaques for a duck. Australians were in a spot of bother with a middle-order collapse leaving the team at a score of 6/134. Andrew Symonds, too, edged the ball to the keeper but was given not out by umpire Steve Bucknor. Symonds went on to make 162. With the help of some lower-order contributions, Australia scored 463. Indian batsmen gave a solid reply in the second innings as VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar scored centuries. India went on to make 532, getting a lead of 69 runs.

Australians, in the third innings, declared the innings at 401/7 on the last day. Mathew Hayden and Michael Hussey scored centuries. Harbhajan Singh's hattrick was denied after yet another controversial decision in favor of Andrew Symonds. India needed 333 to win or survive 72 overs.  With some more contentious umpiring decisions, Indians struggled to stay on the pitch. India needed to survive two overs at the end of the day, with three wickets in hand. The game was looking to end on a draw until Michael Clarke took the last three wickets in five balls. It was the end of a controversial test match. The Indian team led by Anil Kumble criticized the umpiring and called for replacing one of the umpires for the next test match. Andrew Symonds got adjudged player of the match. 

Brief Score: Australia - 463 & 401/7; India - 532 & 210 

Player of the Match - Andrew Symonds(162*, 61)

 

Third test match(Perth), 16-19 Jan - After a 10-day break between the two tests, the third test started with Anil Kumble winning the toss for the first time in the series. Indians started well, which was then acclimatize by Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar. Dravid fell short of seven runs from his century. India got bowled out for 330. Indian bowlers put the Aussies on the back foot as they reduced them to 61/5. Andrew Symonds and Adam Gilchrist stabled the innings but the Australians got bowled out for 212. RP Singh took four wickets in the innings. 

India, despite the early wicket of Wasim Jaffer, started well with a good partnership between Virender Sehwag and Irfan Pathan. VVS Laxman top-scored with his 79 runs as India gave Australia a target of 413 to chase. Indian bowlers once again put the pressure on the Aussie batsmen. Ishant Sharma bowled a magnificent spell to Ricky Ponting and was ultimately rewarded with his wicket. Michael Clarke stayed at the crease, giving Australians an outside chance throughout. However, the Indian bowlers didn't let the batsmen breakthrough. The Australians got bowled out for 340. Irfan Pathan got the player of the match for his important contributions with both bat and ball. Captain Anil Kumble still considers this victory among his favorites.

Brief Score: India - 330 & 294; Australia - 212 & 340 

Player of the Match - Irfan Pathan(28, 2/63 & 46, 3/54)

 

Fourth test match(Adelaide), 24-28 Jan - Indians came into the test match with a lot of confidence. Anil Kumble once again won the toss and elected to bat. Virender Sehwag started the innings well, giving Sachin Tendulkar a good platform to score his century. VVS Laxman and Anil Kumble also provided crucial contributions along with Harbhajan Singh. India finished at 526. Australian batsmen started well with a 159 run partnership for the first wicket between Mathew Hayden and Phil Jaques. Hayden scored a ton. Ricky Ponting also followed him as he scored a century as well. Michael Clarke, once again, was among the runs and became the third centurion of the Australian innings. The team finished at 563, with a lead of 37 runs. 

Indian batsmen batted throughout the last day, and Anil Kumble declared the innings at 269/7, resulting in an early finish to the game. Virender Sehwag scored 151 runs on the day five pitch of the test match. The series was won by Australia 2-1. However, the Indian team was applauded for their performance and almost ending the winning streak of the Australian team. Wicket-keeper batsman Adam Gilchrist announced his retirement from the test format after the match. Brett Lee got awarded the player of the series. 

Brief Score: India - 526 & 269/7D; Australia - 563

Player of the Match - Sachin Tendulkar(153, 13)