Amid the ongoing Indian Premier League 2023, Indian Cricket Team is eyeing the prestigious World Test Championship finals. The team is set to face Australia in the finals of the Test Championship at the iconic Oval Cricket Ground in London from June 7. Ahead of the much-awaited game some Indian players including Chateshwar Pujara, and Mohammed Siraj have reached the UK and have started training.
Notably, earlier this year India hosted Australia in a four-match Test series named Border-Gavaskar Trophy. India won the series by 2-1 and made their way into the finals for the second consecutive time. However, Australian bowlers will be a real trouble for Indian batters in the English conditions. From Pat Cummins to Josh Hazelwood Indian team is set to face top Aussie guns. It will be safe to say that it will be Australian bowlers vs Indian batters who will decide the fate of the Test Championship. So today in this article we will discuss the top 3 Australian bowling performances against India in Test.
3. Mike Whitney (7/27 at Perth, 1992)
Mike Whitney’s outstanding performance on 7/27 in India vs. Australia match at Perth on February 1, 1992, made an everlasting impression. Whitney’s amazing exhibition of talent and accuracy as the opening bowler shocked the Indian batters. Whitney captured 7 wickets for 27 runs in 12.1 overs, demonstrating his mastery of swing and seam. His lethal deliveries affected the Indian batsmen regularly, leaving them to battle for runs.
Whitney’s ability to generate movement off the pitch confronted the opponents with a significant problem. Among his essential wickets were Indian legends Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin, both regarded as batting superstars of their time. Whitney’s 7/27 stats were critical in limiting India’s total to 141 runs and helping Australia to win the game by 300 runs.
2. Nathan Lyon (8/64 at Indore, 2023)
Nathan Lyon, Australia’s spin maestro, delivered a fantastic performance against India on March 1, 2023, at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore which will go down in cricketing history. Lyon’s incredible stats of 8/64 in 23.3 overs destroyed the Indian batting order.
Lyon skillfully weaved his magic, utilising the pitch’s conditions and perplexing the Indian batsmen, with a remarkable economy rate of 2.72. Among his renowned victims were Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Shubman Gill. His amazing performance helped Australia to clinch the game by nine wickets. After going two down in the first two games Lyon helped the Aussies to make a comeback.
1. Nathan Lyon (8/50 at Bengaluru, 2017)
On March 4, 2017, at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon bowled brilliantly against India in the second Test match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Lyon’s numbers of 8/50 in 22.2 overs left an indelible mark on the game. Lyon bowled with outstanding control and variation, resulting in an economy rate of 2.23.
He took crucial wickets of Indian batsmen including Cheteshwar Pujara, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Ajinkya Rahane. Throughout their innings, the Indian batsmen were tormented by his exceptional accuracy and ability to exploit the pitch’s circumstances. However, despite an amazing performance from Lyon Australia failed to hold nerves against Indian bowlers and lost the game by 75 runs.