These knocks by Indian players left a lasting impression on the minds of every Border-Gavaskar Trophy fans
In less than seven days, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy goes live in Perth, with Australia playing host to India. After the coveted Ashes, the Border-Gavaskar Trophy is probably the most prestigious and intense Test rivalry between the two nations. Even before the series started, a war of words began between the two sides, with Ricky Ponting and Gautam Gambhir hurling taunts against each other.
As the anticipation builds with the hope that Virat Kohli will make his much-needed comeback, we take a look at some Indian batters who have the most runs in a single Test on Australian soil.
One of the most remarkable batting performances on Australian soil, Rahul Dravid’s 305 runs in the 2003 Adelaide Test helped India secure a rare victory. With 556 runs on the board by the Aussies in the first innings, the Indian openers couldn’t do much, and that’s when Rahul Dravid stepped in as India’s saviour. In the first innings, he spent 594 minutes on the crease, scoring 233 runs. The second innings saw the Aussies post 196 runs, and in response, India scored 233/6, with Dravid adding 72. In total, he scored 305 runs to give India a historic win. The game is also fondly remembered for VVS Laxman’s 148.
The Indian team went rampant in this game, especially Sachin Tendulkar, the God of Cricket, who scored 241 runs, including 33 boundaries. This game also saw VVS Laxman adding 178 runs by spending 403 minutes on the crease, which helped India declare at 705. In response, Australia managed 474 runs, whereas in the second innings, Tendulkar added another 60, taking his total tally to 301 in the match. The highly competitive game extended till the final fifth day but ended in a draw despite such legendary performances.
This game, in particular, was a proud moment for India despite the nation losing its first-ever Test series against Australia 4-0. While VinooMankad was the first Indian to score a Test hundred against Australia, it was Vijay Hazare who scored two centuries in two different innings of the same game. In the 4th Test played at Adelaide, Vijay Hazare scored 116 runs in 303 balls with 14 boundaries. The second innings of the game again saw him going past a century, scoring 145 runs in 372 balls with 17 boundaries. Given how a newly independent India was navigating through multiple issues, this performance was a glimpse of what was to come for India in the field of cricket.
Vijay Hazare during a practice session
In what was his Test debut captaincy, Virat Kohli showed his masterclass by scoring 114 runs in the first innings, which included 12 boundaries. He followed that century by bettering himself in the second innings with 141 runs by standing on the crease for 279 minutes. Not just this match, but he went on to score two more centuries, i.e., 169 in Melbourne and 147 in Sydney, marking the 2014 Border-Gavaskar Trophy as one of his best-ever outings.
