What was India’s greatest comeback against Australia?

The 2001 Test match between India and Australia at the Eden Gardens is the greatest comeback for the former side. After following on, the blue brigade won by 171 runs, powered by VVS Laxman’s 281 and Rahul Dravid’s 180.

Has an India vs Australia match ever gone to a Super Over?

Yes. India women and Australia women played a memorable T20I clash that went into the super over, with the blue brigade eventually winning the thriller.

Which India vs Australia match is considered one of the biggest World Cup classics?

The 2023 ODI World Cup final stands out as one of the biggest World Cup encounters between the two sides. Australia overcame the blue brigade by six wickets as Travis Head celebrated a fine century.

What’s the total head-to-head record between India and Australia?

Across the international cricket formats, Australia lead the overall head-to-head record against India. They have played a total of 309 matches, with Australia winning 149 games and India claiming 117 victories, and 43 matches ending in draws and no-results.

Top 10 India vs Australia matches that defined the rivalry

India and Australia have shared one of cricket’s greatest rivalries for more than seven decades. From the nerve-wreaking classical Test matches and unforgettable World Cup clashes to the thrilling T20 encounters, every meeting between the two giants has produced some special moments that become part of the game’s folklore. When the two sides come up against each other, fans expect high-quality cricket and fierce competition.

Over the years, the rivalry has displayed some last-ball thrillers, iconic centuries, magical bowling spells, controversial moments, and unforgettable comebacks. The legendary players like Ricky Ponting, MS Dhoni, Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Pat Cummins, and Mitchell Starc have all played some defining roles in shaping the historical contest.

Some of the encounters have changed the tournament’s course, while others have transformed careers and rewritten cricketing history. Whether it’s the remarkable fightback on the biggest stages, the rivalry has evolved while retaining its competitive edge.

From Border-Gavaskar classics to World Cup showdowns — The games that redefined the rivalry

The question, despite all the discussions, remains: which India vs Australia matches truly stand above the rest? Which games had everything- drama, pressure, extraordinary performances, and a finish that left millions of fans on the edge of their seats?

Here are the top 10 epic encounters between the two sides that the fans will never forget, ranking the clashes that created history and became unforgettable chapters in one of the game’s modern rivalries.

#10 2023 ODI World Cup final in Ahmedabad-

It was the final of the ODI World Cup 2023 between India and Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. The blue brigade, who were unbeaten in the campaign under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, struggled on the slow surface and were bundled out for 240 runs, thanks to the two half-centuries from KL Rahul and Virat Kohli. Pat Cummins was excellent for his figures of 2/34 in 10 overs at an economy rate of 3.40.

Australia found themselves struggling at 47/3 in the chase and were slowly edging out of the chase. However, Travis Head smashed a thrilling knock of 137 runs off 120 balls, shouldering 15 boundaries and four sixes, along with Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten 58-run knock, which completed the chase by six wickets with seven overs to spare.

Brief Scores: Australia 241/4 (Travis Head 137, Marnus Labuschagne 58*, Jasprit Bumrah 2/43) beat India 240 (KL Rahul 66, Mitchell Starc 3/55) by six wickets.

#9 2014-Australia vs India Test in Adelaide-

During the opening Test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2014/15 at the Adelaide Oval, the hosts declared at a massive score of 517 runs for the loss of seven wickets with three batters celebrating their respective centuries. Contributions from their top and middle order bundled them out for 444.

David Warner’s superb knock of 102 runs off 166 balls, thanks to 11 boundaries and one six, along with some fiery knocks in the lower order, fired them to 290/5. In reply, India were in the massive fourth-innings chase as Kohli drilled a dashing knock of 141 runs along with Murali Vijay’s 99.

However, a mistimed shot from Kohli saw the visitors fall like a pack of cards from 277/4 to 315 all-out and lost the contest by 48 runs and went 1-0 down in the series.

Brief Scores: Australia 517/7 (Steve Smith 162*, Mohammed Shami 2/120) & 290/5 (David Warner 102, Karn Sharma 2/95) beat India 444 (Virat Kohli 115, Nathan Lyon 5/134) & 315 (Virat Kohli 141, Nathan Lyon 7/152) by 48 runs.

#8 Benson Hedges World Cup 1992 in Brisbane-

During the Benson Hedges World Cup 1992 clash between the two dominant sides at the Gabba in Brisbane, the hosts put up a decent score of 237 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 50 overs as their number four batter, Dean Jones, smacked 90 runs off 108 balls, shouldering six boundaries and a pair of sixes. Both Manoj Prabhakar and Kapil Dev picked up three wickets each for the blue brigade.

Due to a slight delay because of rain, India were asked to chase 236 runs. Mohammad Azharuddin drilled 93 runs off 102 balls while Sanjay Manjrekar boosted the hopes with 47 runs off 42 balls. However, the visitors fell short of the chase by one run.

Brief Scores: Australia 237/9 (Dean Jones 90, Kapil Dev 3/41) beat India 234 (Mohammad Azharuddin 93, Tom Moody 3/56) by one run (DLS).

#7 2007- T20 World Cup semifinal in Durban-

During the T20 World Cup 2007 at Kingsmead in Durban against Australia, India fired their way to 188 runs for the loss of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs as Yuvraj Singh clubbed 70 runs off just 30 balls, thanks to five boundaries and as many sixes. He was well supported by captain MS Dhoni’s 36 runs off just 18 balls.

Australia, in reply, were restricted to 173 runs for the loss of seven wickets as Matthew Hayden’s 62 runs off 47 balls, shouldering on four sixes and as many sixes. They fell short of the target at the end and lost the contest by 15 runs.

Brief Scores: India 188/5 (Yuvraj Singh 70, Mitchell Johnson 2/31) beat India 173/7 (Matthew Hayden 62, S Sreesanth 2/12) by 15 runs.

#6 2016- T20 World Cup clash in Mohali-

Heading into the virtual quarter-final of the T20 World Cup 2016 between the two sides at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, India needed to win the do-or-die contest to remain in the race for the semi-final. Australia, thanks to small contributions from the batters, made their way to 160/6 in their allotted 20 overs.

In reply, the 2007 T20 World Cup champions found themselves crumbling at 49/3 before Virat Kohli nailed a jaw-dropping knock of an unbeaten 82 runs off 51 balls, thanks to nine boundaries and a couple of sixes to complete the chase by six wickets with five balls to spare. India reached the semifinal and eventually lost to West Indies in Mumbai.

Brief Scores: India 161/4 (Virat Kohli 82*, Shane Watson 2/23) beat Australia 160/6 (Aaron Finch 43, Hardik Pandya 2/36) by 6 wickets.

#5 2001- India vs Australia Test in Chennai-

Having squared up the three-match series in a memorable contest at the Eden Gardens during the second Test, the focus was on the final encounter at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Thanks to the double century from Hayden, the tourists ended up with 391 runs in the first innings. The top four of the Indian side got their fifties, headlined by Sachin Tendulkar’s 126, as they took a massive lead of 110 runs.

Harbhajan Singh’s 8/84 bundled out the visitors for 264 runs in the third innings. Chasing was never going to be an easy task for the blue brigade, especially on the last day. They kept losing wickets from one end, but VVS Laxman stood like a rock and carried them over the line by two wickets, shouldering on his 66-run knock off 82 balls.

Brief Scores: India 501 (Sachin Tendulkar 126, Glenn McGrath 3/75) & 155/8 (VVS Laxman 66, Colin Miller 3/41) beat Australia 391 (Matthew Hayden 203, Harbhajan Singh 7/133) & 264 (Mark Waugh 57, Harbhajan Singh 8/84) by 2 wickets.

#4 2010- India vs Australia Test in Mohali-

During the opening Test in 2010 between the two sides at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Shane Watson’s 126 and a fine 92-run knock of Tim Paine shouldered the tourists to 428 in the first innings as the hosts gave away a lead of 23 runs with Tendulkar missing out on his century by two runs.

In tough batting conditions, Australia were blown away for 192 runs with Watson continuing his dominance with a fiery knock of 56 runs. India found themselves 124/8 in the 216-run chase. But Laxman put up a fighting partnership of 81 runs for the ninth wicket with Ishant Sharma. The former finally shouldered them over the line and completed the chase successfully by one wicket.

Brief Scores: India 405 (Sachin Tendulkar 98, Mitchell Johnson 5/64) & 216/9 (VVS Laxman 73, Ben Hilfenhaus 4/57) beat Australia 428 (Shane Watson 126, Zaheer Khan 5/94) & 192 (Shane Watson 56, Ishant Sharma 3/34) by 1 wicket.

#3 2021- Australia vs India Test in Sydney-

In a rare situation, a drawn Test match can turn out to be the most exciting contest. At the Sydney Cricket Ground, Australia were bundled out for 338, thanks to Steve Smith’s 131-run knock and Labuschagne’s 91 runs. Despite a couple of fifties from Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara, the tourists were bundled out for just 244.

Another strong batting performance from the hosts set a massive target for the tourists, who decided to survive the final day’s play. At 250/4 and with two injured batters, Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari, facing the pace trio of Starc, Cummins, and Josh Hazlewood, India had slim chances of drawing the encounter.

But Ashwin and Vihari showed patience and had a partnership of 62 runs in 258 balls and drew the Test and scripted history.

Brief Scores: India 244 (Shubman Gill 50, Pat Cummins 4/29) & 334/5 (Rishabh Pant 97, Josh Hazlewood 2/39) drew with Australia 338 (Steve Smith 131, Ravindra Jadeja 4/62) & 312/6 dec (Cameron Green 84*, Navdeep Saini 2/54)

#2 2001- India vs Australia Test in Kolkata-

When India were bundled out for just 171 runs in their first innings in reply to Australia’s mammoth score of 445 runs, shouldering on a 110-run knock of Steve Waugh, during the second Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the blue brigade were called for the follow-on. At 232/4, it wasn’t a dominating situation for the home side.

That was when Rahul Dravid and Laxman batted for an entire day and got a partnership of 376 runs for the fifth wicket. The former nailed 281 runs while Laxman drilled a dashing knock of 180 runs as India posted 657/7. On the final day, Harbhajan’s 6/73, including the hat-trick, saw them win the contest by 171 runs.

Brief Scores: India 171 (VVS Laxman 59, Glenn McGrath 4/18) & 657/7 dec (f/o) (VVS Laxman 281, Rahul Dravid 180, Glenn McGrath 3/103) beat Australia 445 (Steve Waugh 110, Harbhajan Singh 7/123) & 212 (Matthew Hayden 67, Harbhajan Singh 6/73) by 171 runs.

#1 2021- Australia vs India Test at Gabba in Brisbane-

Just to add some context to the contest, Australia had not lost a single Test match at the Gabba since 1988, making it their ultimate stronghold where the visiting teams even came close to winning. No Asian team had ever won a red-ball encounter at this venue in this historic match.

During the 2021 series, Australia recorded a decent score of 369 runs in the first innings. In reply, the blue brigade, shouldering on the 123-run partnership for the seventh wicket, gave away a lead of 33 runs. The hosts were bowled out for 294 runs in the second innings as India decided to go for the chase.

Shubman Gill smashed a fine knock of 91 runs while Pujara showed grit for his 56 runs in 211 balls. Rishabh Pant contributed a dashing knock of 89 runs off 138 balls and completed the memorable win by three wickets.

Brief Scores: India 336 (Shardul Thakur 67, Josh Hazlewood 5/57) & 329/7 (Shubman Gill 91, Pat Cummins 4/55) beat Australia 369 (Marnus Labuschagne 108, T Natarajan 3/78) & 294 (S Smith 55, Mohammed Siraj 5/73) by 3 wickets.