Slowly but surely Simon Katich marked his name in cricket with his unmatchable batting skills. On this day (August 21, 1975), Simon was born in Middle Swan, Western Australia. He was finally picked up for the Australia cricket team during the 2001 Ashes tour.

Expectations were high around him as he smashed tons of runs in the 2000-01 domestic season. Before making his strides into the international arena, Katich hit 1282 first-class runs and a century against every state. His debut international match was with 15 and 0 runs in a match against England. Then, selectors took the tough call to bench the batter. Two years later, when he came back to Australia again, it turned out to be a successful launch.

Katich, mostly known for his batting, polished his bowling hands too to contribute in a more significant way. Against Zimbabwe, he took 6 for 65 with his left-arm legspin in the second innings in Sydney. In the same year, at SCG, when Australia was up against India, Katich wreaked havoc by registering his maiden Test century.

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Australia vs India, SCG, 2004

It was a high-scoring match between India and Australia, where India, the touring team, registered 705/7d & 211/2d in the first and second innings, respectively. Sachin Tendulkar was outstanding, scoring an unbeaten 241 runs in the first innings, followed by the second innings' 60 not out. Justin Langer and Simon Katich kept the home team in the fight, especially after India's mammoth first-innings score. Katich, then a middle-order batsman, scored 125 off 166. Anil Kumble emerged as the real deal for the Australia batting lineup. The legendary spinner single-handedly took 8 wickets in the Aussies' first innings. He claimed the scalp of Katich too.

In the second innings, while Australia was chasing a target of 443 runs, Kumble again came as a major threat for them by taking 4 more wickets in the game. Katich showed great resilience and patience to keep himself on the wicket. The match eventually ended in a draw. Katich remained not out for 77 when Australia lost 6 wickets. 

Summary of the match:

IND: 705/7d & 211/2d

AUS: (T:443) 474 & 357/6

Match drawn