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Top 5 Most Iconic Batting Performances in BGT SCG Matches | Analysing the top 5 most iconic batting performances in BGT SCG Tests

The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the most iconic stadiums in Australia. Hence, the Test match scheduled over here during every Down Under tour of the Indian cricket team is keenly followed. Over the years, some of the most memorable performances from players belonging to both these teams come in matches at SCG.

The pitch at Sydney is considered to be slightly batting-friendly and has something in it for the slower bowlers, too. However, the pacers have managed to extract enough support from the tracks too and hence it presents an all-round challenge to players of each skillset.

In this article, we ponder upon the five most iconic batting performances at the SCG in the history of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT).

 1: VVS Laxman: 167 in 1999/2000

This innings is said to be the knock that truly saved VVS Laxman’s Test career and cemented his spot in the Indian team. The batsman from Hyderabad had multiple middling outings in international cricket until then. Naturally, pressure was building on him as the Indian team underwent a very underwhelming series. Having scored merely seven runs in the first innings, Laxman really had to make the second essay of the game count to hold on to his place in the lineup. Playing as an opener, the seasoned star demonstrated some insane artistry to play a stroke-filled impactful knock of 167 runs in just 198 deliveries.

For Laxman to play at a strike rate of 84.34 is slightly rare in Test cricket; but, such was the nature of that innings. Australia had already gained a lead of 402 runs and a comeback was out of question. However, VVS scored 27 boundaries and took the bowling arsenal of Glenn McGrath, Damien Fleming, Brett Lee and Shane Warne to absolute cleaners. The Indian team could score merely 261 runs despite Laxman’s 167, and that displays how heavily tilted were the odds when the veteran batsman unleashed a masterclass to put a show of his individual brilliance.

2: Sachin Tendulkar: 241* in 2003/04

Sachin Tendulkar was uncharacteristically going through a rough phase in the Indian team’s tour to Australia in 2003/04. The player from Mumbai was repeatedly caught behind fishing outside the off stump and that had left him immensely frustrated. Ahead of the game in Sydney, Tendulkar decided to do something totally unique. The legendary batsman decided to put his restraint to test and score only through the leg-side at Sydney. It was a huge ask from a player of his caliber, class and range of shots.

However, to overturn the trend of his dismissals, Tendulkar decided to undertake this arduous task. Guess what? He came out of it in flying colours. Tendulkar sweated it out in the middle for 436 deliveries, notching 241 runs with 33 boundaries in the process. He consciously avoided trying out any expansive drive through the off-side, thus curbing his natural instincts and yet came out triumphant eventually.

Well, that’s the kind of mettle that truly great sportspeople are made of.

3: Michael Clarke: 329* in 2011/12

The Indian team had already suffered a terrible loss in the first match of the 2011/12 tour at Melbourne. Whatever hopes they harboured heading into the second game were thrashed by Michael Clarke’s marathon innings of 329 runs at Sydney. The Aussie pacers bundled out the Indian batsmen for 191, but Clarke came to bat at a slightly tricky phase with his team stuck at 37/3. However, the skipper first partnered with Ricky Ponting and then Michael Hussey to put the Indian bowlers through an absolute annihilation.

Clarke scored his 329 runs at an incredible strike rate of 70.30 that included 39 boundaries and a solitary six. He tired out the Indian pacers, eventually compelling them to succumb after gaining a head-start with three quick dismissals. Ravichandran Ashwin, on his first tour to Australia, perhaps bore the maximum brunt of Clarke’s assault. The off-spinner bowled 44 overs and conceded runs 3.57 RPO and couldn’t notch a solitary wicket. Clarke’s triple-century pretty much sealed the fate for Australia in that series as he stood at the crease for over 10 hours to completely demoralize and defeat the Indian team.

4: Hanuma Vihari: 23* in 2020/21

Hanuma Vihari’s steely resolve to see off the final session of day five of the recently concluded Sydney Test remains to be a tale for the ages. The batsman was battling a poor run of form and a faced a herculean task upon his arrival on the crease at 250/4. The target looked too steep to be reached from thereon, especially after Rishabh Pant’s departure. Shortly into his innings, Vihari ran for a quick single and realized that he had torn his hamstring. He took a painkilling injection and carried on, well-aware that he could not bat efficiently throughout. Yet, enduring incredible pain, Vihari didn’t let his guard down.

He tired down the pacers, putting a dead bat to the meaty blows that they inflicted upon him. Vihari’s determination looked unperturbed, immovable that day. He apprised Ravichandran Ashwin that he couldn’t bring his leg forward to defend Nathan Lyon regularly. So, the duo devised a plan according to which Ashwin would face Lyon whereas Vihari will tackle the pacers. Such grit and tough-headedness are invaluable traits for any team to succeed in alien conditions. Hanuma Vihari proved that day that milestones are not merely three-figure marks. His unbeaten 23, given the excruciating pain that he bore for 161 deliveries, deserves a special applause from the Indian cricket fraternity.

5: Cheteshwar Pujara: 193 in 2018/19

India had already gained a 2-1 lead coming into this match and was assured of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the end of the series. However, a series victory in Australia was a coveted prize that the team couldn’t afford to miss out on. Cheteshwar Pujara, in peerless form this series, decided to put on a show for the final time in the series to help attain India’s objective.

The number 3 set his foot on the crease early on in the game due to Rahul’s early dismissal. He steered the innings gradually, getting his eye in and aiding batting partner Mayank Agarwal settle on the crease well too. Pujara displayed his trademark patience, restraint and resistance whilst dealing with the lethal Aussie attack. However, he didn’t spare any opportunity to put the bad deliveries away and notched 22 boundaries in his innings of 193 runs.

As Pujara kept piling on the runs, a last-ditch Australian effort to avoid the series victory was gradually swept out too. The batsman looked invincible at one point of time, and his psychological draining of the opposition’s bowling attack arguably played a critical role in India’s historic series victory. Eventually, he missed out on a double century by only seven runs as he was caught and bowled by Nathan Lyon.

However, the damage was definitely done by then!

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.