One of the fiercest Test match rivalries in recent times has been between India and Australia. Given the balance between the sides and the nature of contests they have had over the last decade, the Border-Gavaskar trophy (BGT) is now seen at par with the Ashes in terms of popularity & following.
This is largely thanks to the players involved on both sides and the close contest between the bat & ball. We can confidently say that India has improved their performances away from home and this has brought the gap between the sides rather close, especially while playing in Australian conditions. In this article, we will see who are the top Indian batters down under in terms of runs.
Most Test Runs for India in Australia
| Player | Innings | Runs | High Score | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 38 | 1809 | 241* | 53.20 |
| Virat Kohli | 34 | 1542 | 169 | 46.72 |
| VVS Laxman | 29 | 1236 | 178 | 44.14 |
| Rahul Dravid | 30 | 1143 | 233 | 43.96 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 21 | 993 | 193 | 47.28 |
| Virender Sehwag | 20 | 948 | 195 | 47.40 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 19 | 920 | 172 | 51.11 |
| Ajinkya Rahane | 23 | 884 | 147 | 42.09 |
| Rishabh Pant | 21 | 879 | 159* | 46.26 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 28 | 746 | 78 | 28.69 |
Key Stats
14 – Number of Indian batters to have scored 500 or more runs in Tests, while playing in Australia. Apart from the 10 players mentioned here, Gundappa Vishwanath (686), Mohinder Amarnath (668), Rishabh Pant (624), and Murali Vijay (531). Out of them, only 4 Indian batters have scored 1000 or more Test match runs in Australia.
1809 – Sachin Tendulkar, expectedly has scored more runs for India in Australia as far as Test cricket is concerned. He has also made the most number of 50+ scores (13), at an average of 53.20 in 38 innings. His average in Australia is only bettered by Virat Kohli (54.08) among Indian players with more than 750 runs.
7 – Virat and Sachin’s century counts are the best when it comes to Indian batters down under in Test cricket. Check the top ten here.
62.40 – The Test batting average of Rishabh Pant in Australia is the highest for an Indian batter who has scored at least a century in the country. At the same time, KL Rahul’s 20.77 is the lowest and the right-hander scored a century there.
5 – Sunil Gavaskar has scored a whopping 5 Test tons in just 19 innings he played in Australia and just one of his fifty-plus scores was not converted into a ton. You can read these five Gavaskar records to understand his astonishing legacy in Indian colors.
692 – Virat Kohli’s tally in the Border-Gavaskar 2014 series held in Australia. This is the most an Indian batter has scored in a single Test series down under. Dravid’s 619 in the 2003/04 series is the next best followed by Pujara’s 521 in India’s victorious 2018/19 series.
Read: IND VS AUS – HEAD TO HEAD IN TEST CRICKET
