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Top 5 Batting Performances at the MCG in BGT Matches | Looking back at the best batting performances in Border-Gavaskar Trophy at MCG

In my last article, I had picked the best five bowling spells at the MCG in BGT.

Similarly, there have been some seriously good knocks played by the batsmen from both Australia and India at this historic venue in the BGT. So, during the 2020 the Boxing Day Test, I am going to pick only five of those splendid knocks on the basis of quality, which I think are definitely some of the most impactful knocks in the BGT. Here we go.

5. Michael Hussey 89 (151), 2011

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My respect for Michael Hussey got amplified after this magnificent knock. Perhaps he played one of the most underrated innings of his Test career at a point when Australia were reeling at 27-4 in the 2^nd innings and had an overall lead of just 78 runs with 6 wickets in hand. First, he formed a brilliant partnership of 115 runs with Ricky Ponting for the 5^th wicket. After Ponting got out, he batted along with the tail-enders for more than 26 overs before being dismissed by a terrific delivery from Zaheer Khan. He played drives, his signature pulls, lofted shots against spinners on his way to a crucial innings of 89 runs which played the most important part in Australia’s victory by 122 runs in this match.

4. Virat Kohli 169 (272), 2014

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This innings is considered as one of the finest innings ever played by an Indian on Aussie soil. Australia had posted a huge total of 530 after batting first in this Test. So, India needed a big daddy hundred to even come close to that total and Virat did exactly that.

Although India got a good start thanks to half century from Murali Vijay and supportive knocks from Dhawan and Pujara, it was that marathon partnership of 262 runs between Virat and Ajinkya Rahane which ensured that India wouldn’t lose the plot. Coming to the knock from Kohli, it was dynamic as well as a disciplined one. Virat played every delivery as per its merit and tackled a really good attack comprising Josh Hazlewood, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Lyon and Shane Watson brilliantly. He hit 18 fours which included several beautiful cover drives, flicks and pulls and I can say it was Virat Kohli at his very best that day.

3. Ricky Ponting 257 (458), 2003

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This was the 3^rd Test match of the series and the visitors were already ahead by a margin of 1-0. Batting first, India had posted a decent total of 366 thanks to a blistering knock of 195 by Virender Sehwag.

Ponting entered the middle after the fall of an early wicket in the form of Justin Langer. What followed next was supreme dominance of the Australian captain over the Indian bowling. He came when Australia were 30 for 1 and got out when the total was 555, can you believe it? It was such a marathon knock. He scored a mammoth 257 runs which assured a big lead of 192 runs for Australia in the first innings. His innings involved 25 gorgeous boundaries and the way he pierced the gaps through the off side that day, was a sight to behold. His innings was instrumental in Australia’s victory by 9 wickets and he was also rewarded as the ‘man of the match’ for this match-winning knock.

2. Virender Sehwag 195 (233), 2003

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In Test cricket, the basic strategy for a top-order batsman is to play out the difficult new-ball spell and make the road easier for the middle order. But, Virender Sehwag had his own methods of making the ball old. The dashing opener got hit on his helmet on a couple of occasions by Brett Lee, survived a runout chance too. Perhaps it was destined for a Sehwag masterclass at the historic venue on the very first day of the game.

His innings involved 25 fours and 5 huge sixes, which signified how brutally he hammered the Aussie bowling that day. He played shots all around the park and went after all the bowlers especially Stuart Macgill and raced to 195 off just 233 balls in the first day itself. Although his innings went in vain as India lost the game, I would term it as the most dominant knock by an Indian batsman in Australia. 

1. Sachin Tendulkar 116 (191), 1999

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A batsman from the defeated team being rewarded as the ‘man of the match’ is not something we often see, do we? Such was the artistry of this knock from the master that he was awarded despite India being defeated convincingly.

As we all know, Sachin was the lone warrior for India in the 90s on most of the occasions and this was not an exception too. Sachin went to bat when India had lost both the openers at a score of just 11. The wickets kept falling at the other end, but he led from the front as the skipper and fought extremely well. He respected the good deliveries and punished the bad ones on his way to a well compiled 116. This marvellous knock included 9 classic fours and a single huge six off Shane Warne. Moreover, his innings proved to be pivotal for India to avoid the follow on and thus saved them from a possible humiliating defeat.    

Also read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy all-time XI

Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.

5 Best Debut Performances in Border-Gavaskar Series | Looking back at the best debut performances in Border-Gavaskar Test matches

Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj will join Cameron Green as Test debutants in the current Border-Gavaskar series. Making one’s way into the international arena in the toughest of circumstances is not the ideal start that any young player would desire for.

Most individuals prefer facing rather easier opponents in their first match, which allows them to get their eye in and gradually build confidence before heading towards the tougher challenges ahead. However, some cricketers have managed to create quite an impact whilst debuting in the Border-Gavaskar series over the last 25 years. Cricblog tries to go down the memory lane and elaborate on five such historically memorable performances.

1. Michael Clarke

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Former Australian skipper Michael Clarke made his debut in the whites during Australia’s tour to India in 2004/05.

Moreover, Clarke put forth a testament of his sheer class and skillset straightaway. Batting in the middle-order, the Aussie scored 151 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium with a strike rate of 60.89 in his very first Test innings. His impeccable technique against spinners held him in good stead against the Indian attack throughout the course of the series.

Clarke went on to amass scores of 91 and 73 in the two innings of the third match at Vidarbha to ensure that Ricky Ponting’s men secured a historical series victory on Indian soil. Overall, Clarke scored 400 runs in four matches at an average of 57.14. However, his most remarkable outing from the series might be in the fourth game at Wankhede.

Rolling over his arm, Clarke delivered an extraordinary spell of 6.2-0-9-6 as he dismissed the likes of Rahul Dravid, Mohammed Kaif, Dinesh Karthik and blew away the Indian lower-order in the second innings of the match. This was certainly the ‘all-round’ debut that Michael Clarke must have set his sights on.

2. Jason Krejza

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Jason Krejza didn’t don the Baggy Green for long, but he surely made a wonderful start to his career. The off-spinner made his test debut at Vidarbha in the fourth match of the 2009 Border-Gavaskar series. He was right on the money from the start, scalping Dravid’s dismissal in the veteran’s second delivery of the first innings.

The spinner followed that up with a brilliant rampage, taking eight wickets in the innings as he dismissed every single batsman except Murali Vijay and Sachin Tendulkar. However, it wasn’t an eight-wicket haul that provided no breathing space to the Indian batsmen as Krejza as the likes of Virender Sehwag, VVS Laxman, Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni scored half-centuries along with Tendulkar’s 109 to take India to 441.

Krejza returned in the second innings to take four more wickets, and was by far the only Aussie bowler who looked incisive and threatening enough to stop the home team’s run-feast. India won the game by 172 runs but Krejza’s 12-wicket haul in his first match in whites is surely an unforgettable feat.

3. Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan had to undergo the tumultuous tenure of domestic cricket for a long period of time before he got his first national team call-up. But, boy did he make that count?

India was already cruising along the 2012-13 Border Gavaskar series as Clarke had led the Aussies to India. Having won the first two matches, the team must have already been staring towards a complete whitewash and Dhawan ensured that it happened through his stroke-filled, flamboyant debut innings at Mohali.

Australia had notched up an impressive 408 in the first innings but Dhawan carried out an onslaught with his knock of 187 runs in merely 174 deliveries that included a massive 33 boundaries along with two sixes. He spared no mercy for any of the bowlers, taking them all to cleaners and propelling India to take an impressive 91 runs’ lead in the first innings.

Unfortunately, he picked up a minor injury during the course of the innings and didn’t feature either in the second innings or the fourth Test. However, Dhawan’s ferociously dominating innings had sealed India’s authority over the series and hence an Aussie comeback was wiped out of equation.

4. Josh Hazlewood

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Josh Hazlewood burst into the international scene with his incredibly disciplined fast-bowling in the second test at Brisbane during India’s tour to Australia in 2014/15. The Virat Kohli-led side had fought tooth and nail for a victory in the first game and despite losing the encounter, headed to the next contest with head high in confidence.

However, Hazlewood debuted in the same game tore apart the Indian batting order with his fantastic ability to hit the top of off stump persistently.

The Brisbane track offered a significant amount of bounce and Hazlewood capitalized on the same to notch a five-wicket haul in his very first outing in test cricket. Four of his dismissals in that innings was caught by wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, displaying his ability to put the batsmen into two minds by hitting the accurate line-length regularly.

More importantly, Hazlewood had secured the prized scalps of the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Dhoni along with Ravichandran Ashwin; thus effectively breaking the back of the Indian batting lineup. He took a total of 12 wickets in three matches in that series, playing a key role in Australia’s 2-0 overall victory. Needless to say, the pacer hasn’t looked back since then.

5. Mayank Agarwal

It requires nerves of steel for any newbie to play his first international Test match in front of a hostile Melbourne Cricket Ground crowd on Boxing Day.

However, Mayank Agarwal took his first steps in the longest format of the game for India in such circumstances and excelled at the challenge. With the series in line, India completely changed the opening pair and Agarwal partnered Hanuma Vihari at the crease in front of the Aussie pace trio of Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood.

Known to be an attacking strokeplayer, Agarwal weathered the storm patiently and steered his way to a commendable, gritty knock of 76 runs in 161 deliveries in his first Test innings. He followed that up with 42 runs in the second innings and then bettered the record by notching 77 runs in 112 deliveries in the first innings in Sydney. Agarwal was absolutely instrumental in the team registering a victory and a draw in these two matches.

He held on to his wicket through a solid start and later opened the arms and didn’t deter from bagging boundaries as per the delivery. The player from Karnataka has been honed through the rigours of domestic cricket and all that bore fruition as he lifted the Border-Gavaskar trophy along with the team in the Australian land.

Written by Tarkesh Jha. Follow Tarkesh on Twitter today.