One of the oldest stadiums in the world, the Adelaide Oval has witnessed some of the smallest and largest victories shared between India and Australia
We are standing one day away from the second Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) test game scheduled to be played at the Adelaide Oval. It is the stadium where India once registered its most excellent low in Test format, i.e., getting bundled for 36 runs in the second innings of a Border-Gavaskar Trophy game in 2020.
Back then, that game was India’s first day-night pink ball Test on foreign soil, whereas the upcoming one would be India’s second day-night pink ball Test on foreign soil. Therefore, to some extent, Indian cricket fans are anxious, hoping history doesn’t get repeated. However, at the same time, India won big in the first game, and momentum is with the men in blue.
Speaking about Adelaide, the stadium has not only seen the 36 all-out but has also witnessed the two lowest and two largest victory margins by runs shared between Australia and India in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Ahead of the Friday game, check out the smallest and largest victories at Adelaide Oval in BGT games.
When it comes to the smallest victories, the November 3, 2004, game between India and Australia stands on top that was won by India by 13 runs. However, the next two matches took place at the Adelaide Oval.
Two cases of close calls—the second smallest victory in the history of the tournament is also held by India. On December 6, 2018, India triumphed over Australia by a margin of 31 runs.
Adelaide had witnessed one of the finest batting performances by an Indian cricketer, with Cheteshwar Pujara hitting 123 and 71 in the first and second innings, respectively.
The third smallest victory in BGT’s history belongs to Australia when the home team defeated India by 48 runs on December 9, 2014. This has to be one of the most iconic matches, as it saw six centuries from David Warner (145 & 102), Michael Clarke (128), Steve Smith (162), and Virat Kohli (115 & 141). Not to forget, Murali Vijay scored 99 and missed the century by one run. Both teams did their best against each other, but Australia eventually won the game.
Regarding the top five largest victories in BGT history, four belong to Australia, whereas one is in India’s favour. The fifth and seventh largest victories all went in Australia’s favour, both taking place at the Adelaide Oval.
On January 24, 2012, Ricky Ponting’s 221 and Michael Clarke’s 210 guided Australia to a 298-run victory against India. From India, in the first innings, only Virat Kohli could retaliate with a century, whereas Virender Sehwag scored 62 in the second innings. Unfortunately, their efforts weren’t enough to save India’s day.
Over two decades, in December of 1999, Australia won by 285 runs at Adelaide, the largest victory in the tournament’s history. Steve Waugh had scored 150, whereas Ricky Ponting hit 125 to give Australia a historic victory. From India, the only two decent innings were by Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly, who scored 61 and 60, respectively.
If any team wishes to script a larger victory by runs at the Adelaide, they must win by over 298 runs.
