Stat Attack: Best Bowling Spells By Indians Against Australia In Tests

Mar 14, 2017 at 4:09 PM

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Stat Attack: Best Bowling Spells By Indians Against Australia In Tests

The ongoing Test series between India and Australia is leveled at 1-1. After a historic victory at Pune in the first Test, Australian skipper Steven Smith was confident of repeating the same performance at Bengaluru but the hosts were ready to deliver this time. The spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja made great use of the pitch and kept the Oz batsmen in check.

The first innings of the second Test belonged to Jadeja, who picked up six wickets for 63 runs. However, with Jadeja quiet in the second innings, it was Ashwin who took his team to a sensational victory. The off-spinner took six wickets by giving away just 41 runs. This magical spell was the moment to remember for the Indians. Today, let us open the previous books where Indian bowlers were too good for the Aussies:

Harbhajan Singh’s 7 for 123 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in March 2001

Whoever thinks Test matches have lost their importance, should see this historic game! The match was a mixture of perfect batting, excellent bowling and outstanding captaincy. India’s rising star of that time, Harbhajan Singh, had a moment of his career when he took a hat-trick against the No.1 side of the world.

Bhajji individually forced the Australians to lose their grip in his own style. The Australian legends Matthew Hayden and Steve Waugh were in top form in the first innings before the turbanator removed them on 97 and 110 respectively. The historic deliveries started from the wicket of Ricky Ponting who got out LBW. After that, Bhajji swiped off Adam Gilchrist and Shane Warne on consecutive deliveries to script a hat-trick into his books in front of a packed crowd. He ended the innings with the figures of 7/123. After some scintillating performances, India won the match by 171 runs. This was India’s one of the best Test match victories.

Harbhajan Singh’s 8 for 84 at Chepauk Stadium, Chennai in March 2001

This was yet another famous victory for the Indians which came because of the one and only Harbhajan Singh. Australia didn’t lose their mind after their shocking defeat at the Eden Gardens in the previous match. They were ready to turn things around in Chennai but all didn’t go well for them once again. The visitors scored a decent 391 in the 1st innings with the help of Matthew Hayden’s double century.

On the other hand, India posted a total of 501 with the help of Sachin Tendulkar’s 25th Test ton. With the lead of above 100 runs on the board, the hosts were looking to wipe out the visitors early which they did easily with a magical spell of 8/84 by Bhajji. The offie removed almost every batsman and gave India a target of just 155 in the fourth innings. The Indians achieved the target on the fifth day, thanks to VVS Laxman’s sensible 66.

Ajit Agarkar’s 6 for 41 at Adelaide Oval in December 2003

So far, India’s only remarkable performance against Australia in Australia came in 2003-04 under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly. The series ended in a 1-1 draw which was a big thing at that time. The one-off match which India won was played at the Adelaide Oval. The hosts, after opting to bat, first put on a massive total of 556. India was not behind as they managed to score 523 in their first innings.

The visitors then were in need of some quick wickets which they got from their front-line bowler Ajit Agarkar. The Mumbaikar showed his much-needed class with the ball after taking 6 wickets for just 41 runs. He dismissed their top-order and was too good for the lower-order. The Australian side collapsed at 196, thus giving Indians a total of 230 runs to achieve. Rahul Dravid was up for the target and gave the Indians a memorable victory on the Australian soil.

Zaheer Khan’s 5 for 94 at Mohali in October 2010

This match at Mohali was one of the closest encounters between India and Australia which India won by one wicket because of our Very Very Special Laxman. With India fighting for every run in the fourth innings while chasing a target of 216, it was Laxman who made the most out of it. Also, Ishant Sharma played a special cameo with the batting maestro. Apart from these two, all other batting stars failed to deliver.

In the first innings, Australia managed to put 428 runs on the board, all thanks to Shane Watson, who played a top innings of 126. The only bowler who took wickets at crucial stages was none other than Zaheer Khan.

Zak was taking wickets when the team wanted him to. He finished the innings with five wickets for 94. The former speedster didn’t stop here as he went on to take another three wickets in the second innings, which helped India bowl out the visitors for 192 in the second innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin’s 5 for 63 at Hyderabad in March 2013

India is blessed to have a number of great spinners on their list. After the end of Bhajji’s era, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who took things forward. In the second Test of the four-match series between India and Australia in 2013, Ashwin had a great chance to become the front-line spin bowler of the team and he didn’t disappoint his skipper as he took a fifer (five wickets in an innings) against the Aussies in Hyderabad.

After Australia’s 237 in the 1st innings, India posted a huge 503 on the scoreboard. The match was in the hands of the Indians and Ashwin took the most out of it in the second innings with his five-wicket haul. Australia was bowled out for 131 in their second innings and the hosts had the last laugh with a victory by an innings and 135 runs.

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