Often hailed as the best ever, cricket has ever seen, the Baggy Greens were his favourite snacks
Be it cricket or any sport, every famous player has an opponent who is their favourite. They love playing against that one opponent, holding a grudge against them, and trying to outperform them in every game. The tale is no different when it comes to India vs. Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT). At the moment, India’s Virat Kohli adores going up against the Aussies, given the Baggy Greens have always been the most dominating team in cricket.
Pat Cummins vs Rohit Sharma
— Gulsana 5k (@Gulsana86038488) November 18, 2024
Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith
Rishabh Pant vs Travis Head
Cricket will peak for next 50 days 🥶 pic.twitter.com/7qKRS5a2k3
The same can be said for Australia’s Steve Smith, who has a knack for scoring runs against India, given how India has also become a dominating state in the field of cricket since the early 2000s. Not to forget, the constant comparison between Steve Smith and Virat Kohli has fueled a special rivalry in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
And although Virat Kohli has played some of his finest against the Aussies in tests, this article is not about the Delhi-based aggressive lad. We are referring to a young kid with curly hair and short height from Dadar, Mumbai, who grew up to become the God of Cricket—Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
While his hardcore fans or cricket enthusiasts from the 2000s are probably aware of his exploits against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar, new-gen fans of Indian cricket may not be aware of the minutiae of Tendulkar’s statistics against the Aussies.
Having played the most number of innings in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Tendulkar retired with the maximum number of runs scored in the iconic series, i.e., 3,262 runs. When it comes to the maximum hundreds scored in the series, Tendulkar still stands tall at the top with nine centuries to his name. Even the maximum number of half-centuries, i.e., 16, were scored by him, and none of the active cricketers come close to Tendulkar’s record.
Most number of fours? Tendulkar again leads the way with 391 boundaries, and even the most number of sixes (25) in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy’s history were hit by the former Indian opener.
This list just keeps on going, as Tendulkar also retired with six 150+ scores in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, another most. The most number of Man of the Match awards, i.e., five, were won by Tendulkar. Three Man of the Series awards in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy were also grabbed by the Master Blaster. The Mumbai-based former Indian player was also involved in 20 100+ partnerships, the maximum in the series’ history. Finally, the last piece of maximum that Tendulkar still owns is the number of 50+ scores in BGT, i.e., 25.
While Tendulkar played numerous knocks, our favourite still remains his 214 in the 2004 Sydney Test, which witnessed India scoring a mammoth 705 runs against the Aussies. Tendulkar spent over 10 hours on the pitch, tiring the Aussie bowlers by not even playing his sensational cover drive even when easy temptations were served on the plate. His stand included 33 beautifully crafted fours, but despite all his efforts and those of others, the match ended in a draw.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy goes live in Perth on November 22, and all of India’s eyes will be on Virat Kohli, who is expected to find his redemption. If found, Kohli could break a record or two belonging to Tendulkar.
