The 5 times World Cup-winning side Australia has always been a challenging opponent to bat against.
Still, with the difference between the bat and ball slowly deteriorating, the Australian bowlers are more cutthroat than they once were.
Cricket being a more batsmen-friendly game now, the modern-day batting superstars are able to shine brilliantly against Australia, even in their homeland.
Mainly, Rohit Sharma, the Indian opening batsman, has his own liking for the Australian bowlers when it comes to the limited overs setup and rightly tops the list of batters with the best batting average against Australia in ODIs.
This article lists the top 10 batters with the highest batting average against Australia in ODIs.
Note: The list considers only the batters who have played more than 20 ODI Innings against Australia.
Highest Batting Average against Australia in ODIs
| BATSMEN | AVERAGE | INNINGS | RUNS | STRIKE RATE | 100S | HIGH SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AB de Villiers (SA) | 59.52 | 25 | 1250 | 99.04 | 1 | 136* |
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 58.02 | 45 | 2379 | 96.00 | 8 | 209 |
| David Miller (SA) | 57.38 | 26 | 1033 | 104.44 | 2 | 139 |
| Clive Lloyd (WI) | 54.22 | 28 | 976 | 81.53 | 1 | 102 |
| Faf du Plessis (SA) | 54.00 | 21 | 1080 | 93.50 | 5 | 126 |
| Virat Kohli (IND) | 53.79 | 47 | 2367 | 94.21 | 8 | 118 |
| Vivian Richards (WI) | 50.86 | 50 | 2187 | 84.63 | 3 | 153* |
| Aravinda de Silva (SL) | 48.36 | 36 | 1451 | 83.96 | 2 | 107* |
| Hansie Cronje (SA) | 47.03 | 36 | 1364 | 73.05 | 2 | 112 |
| Graham Gooch (ENG) | 46.50 | 31 | 1395 | 61.78 | 4 | 136 |
Key Stats
Rohit Sharma’s dominance against Australia started when he scored his 1st of the 3 200+ ODI scores against Australia in 2013 in Bangalore. Since then, Rohit Sharma’s runs tally has gone up and up every year.
Rohit is the only batsman to have a 200+ score against Australia in ODIs. Despite having the highest batting average, Rohit’s strike rate against Australia is just below 100 – 97.73.
Sachin Tendulkar, the leading run-scorer against Australia in ODI, scored at an average of 44.59.
The Indian dominance against Australian bowlers is so apparent by looking at the list of batters who have scored 5+ ODI centuries against Australia. 3 out of 5 are Indians. In fact the top three are Indians.
- Sachin Tendulkar (IND) – 9
- Rohit Sharma (IND) – 8
- Virat Kohli (IND) – 8
- Desmond Haynes (WI) – 6
- Faf du Plessis (SA) – 5
Read the top ten of the above list here.
Highest Batting Average against Australia in Australia
Once again, it is Rohit Sharma who tops an ODI batting record against Australia.
This time, in & against Australia, Rohit averages more than anybody who has played ODI in the Kangaroo land.
All thanks to the 2016/17 year ODI series in Australia, when Rohit was named the man of the series for his 441 Runs in 5 Innings.
Here is the list of 5 batsmen with 50+ Average in & against Australia in ODIs (Min. of 10 Inns)
| BATSMEN | AVERAGE | INNINGS | RUNS | STRIKE RATE | HIGH SCORE | 100s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rohit Sharma (IND) | 58.23 | 19 | 990 | 90.99 | 171* | 4 |
| Viv Rchards (WI) | 56.02 | 38 | 1905 | 86.16 | 153* | 3 |
| Dinesh Chandimal (SL) | 52.14 | 10 | 365 | 84.68 | 80 | 0 |
| Clive Lloyd (WI) | 50.31 | 24 | 805 | 78.92 | 80* | 0 |
| Chris Harris (NZ) | 50.00 | 13 | 300 | 64.10 | 63* | 0 |
Rohit Sharma is now the top run-scorer for India in ODIs in Australia.
Viv Richards, the fastest player to reach 2000 ODI runs on Australian grounds (faster than any Australian batsmen!), stands at the 2nd spot after Rohit jumped him in the 2017 ODI series in Australia.
Furthermore, Rohit has 4 ODI Centuries in and against Australia, which is the best by any foreign player.
Rohit Sharma’s 171* is also the highest score by an Indian batsman against Australia in Australia (Among the international players, it is only next to Jason Roy’s 180 in Melbourne). Such is his dominance in the land of Aussies!
