ICC World Cup 2015: Australia vs India in past World Cup matches

Australia have played six semi-finals so far, winning all of them, while India have won three of the five they have played. On Thursday, the previous stats will not matter much but Australia, playing at home, hold the edge.

Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) will host a fitting semi-final between two of the best limited-overs sides on Thursday. Australia have played six semi-finals so far, winning all of them, while India have won three of the five they have played. On Thursday, the previous stats will not matter much but Australia, playing at home, hold the edge. And only once in the previous 13 ODIs, have they lost a match against India at this venue.

Suvajit Mustafi lists out the 10 encounters between these two sides in World Cup matches.

 

1: World Cup 1983 – Nottingham | Group match

In the end it was a comfortable victory for Australia. Led by a fine hundred from Trevor Chappell, Australia posted 320. Dennis Lillee was rested for the game and 24-year old Ken MacLeay stood up to the occasion, picking up six wickets as India were bundled out for 158 in the 38th over. For India, captainKapilDevclaimed a fifer and followed it up by scoringa 27-ball 40, but his all-round efforts weren’t enough to save India from the big loss.

Brief scores:

Australia 320 for 9 in 60 overs (Trevor Chappell 110, Kim Hughes 52, Graham Yallop 66*; KapilDev 5-43) bt India 158 in 37.5 overs (Kris Srikkanth 39, KapilDev 40; Ken MacLeay 6-39) — by 162 runs

 

2: World Cup 1983 – Chelmsford | Group match

India spoiled Australia’s party and denied them the win that would have taken them to the semi-final. India were bowled out in the 56th over for 247. The score got a boost from the 37 extras Australians conceded. Indian bowlers were expected to make things difficult for the Australian batters and Balvinder Singh Sandhu dismissed the centurion of the week before, Trevor Chappell for three.

India’s medium-pace brigade combined brilliantly and Australia, 46 for one at one stage, were reduced to 78 for seven. MadanLal and Roger Binny picked up four wickets, while Sandhu gottwo, as Australians were folded for 129.

Indians got the much-needed confidence and winning momentum. Five days later, they went on to win the World Cup.

Brief scores:

India 247 in 55.5 overs (Yashpal Sharma 40; Rodney Hogg 3-40, Jeff Thomson 3-51) bt Australia 129 in 38.2 overs (Allan Border 36; Balvinder Singh Sandhu 2-26, MadanLal 4-20, Roger Binny 4-29) —by 118 runs

 

3: World Cup 1987 – Chennai | Group stage

A year back, both these sides were involved in a tied Test at this venue and in the biggest events of all, the World Cup, India agonisingly lost the encounter by a run. It was Indian captain KapilDev’s sportsmanship which proved to be the difference. One of the hits from Australian batsman Dean Jones had been signalled a four, but between the innings Kapil agreed upon with Australia’s insistence that it was six. That added two runs to the score, a run more than India’s loss margin.

India put Australia in to bat and the latter put up a good total on the board. India, the defending champions, weren’t worried about the total and began well in their chase. Sunil Gavaskar scored a fluent 37 from 32 balls and added 69 with KrishnamachariSrikkanth at the top. Srikkanth went on to score 70. India remained in the chase till the last over when the heartbreak came.

With two required from two balls, all Maninder Singh had to do was take a single and ensure the game wasn’t lost, but he was cleaned up by Steve Waugh.

Brief scores:

Australia 270 for 6 in 50 overs (David Boon 49, Geoff Marsh 110, Dean Jones 39; Manoj Prabhakar 2-47) bt India 269 in 49.5 overs (Sunil Gavaskar 37, KrishnamachariSrikkanth 70, Navjot Singh Sidhu 73; Craig McDermott 4-56) — by one run

 

4: World Cup 1987 – Delhi | Group match

Hurt by the loss at Chennai, Maninder Singh made amends, as he bowled well and picked up the key wickets of Geoff Marsh, Dean Jones and Allan Border. Earlier, winning the toss Australia put India in to bat and the hosts returned the favour by putting up a massive 289 on the board. Australia tried, but the score was beyond their reach. Mohammad Azharuddin was adjudged the man-of-the-match, for his quick 54 and three wickets.

The win also meant that India’s chances of finishing second in the group lessened and that meant less chance of going to Pakistan to play their semi-final. Later, India played their semi-final in Mumbai and that ended in heartbreak and Australia went on to win their first World Cup title.

Brief scores:

India 289 for 6 in 50 overs (Sunil Gavaskar 61, Navjot Singh Sidhu 51, DilipVengsarkar 63, Mohammad Azharuddin 54*; Craig McDermott 3-61) bt Australia 233 in 49 overs (David Boon 62, Steve Waugh 42; Maninder Singh 3-34, Mohammad Azharuddin 3-19) — by 56 runs

 

5: World Cup 1992 – Brisbane | Group stage

Once again it was the controversial rain-rule that had an impact on a crucial match and this time the victims were Indians. Chasing 238 from 50 overs, India were 45 for one in 16.2 overs, when rain cut 15 minutes. The game resumed and as per the strange rules, India’s three overs were docked but only four runs from the target, making it difficult for them.

Azharuddin’swristy 93 kept them in the chase and they needed 13 from the final over, which was to be bowled by Tom Moody. It was a thriller of a finish as India needed four from the last ball and JavagalSrinath swung. Steve Waugh dropped the ball just inside the boundary, India had almost completed their third runbut Waugh’s throw to the wicket-keeper was accurate, and VenkatpathyRaju was run out. It was almost a tie but luck wasn’t in India’s favour.

Brief scores:

Australia 237 for 9 in 50 overs (David Boon 43, Dean Jones 90; KapilDev 3-41, Manoj Prabhakar 3-41) bt India 234 in 47 overs (Mohammad Azharuddin 93, Sanjay Manjrekar 47; Tom Moody 3-56) — by one run (revised target)

 

6: World Cup 1996 – Mumbai | Group stage

It was the first one-dayer under floodlights in Mumbai and the atmosphere couldn’t have been better for the big contest. Mark Waugh became the first batsman to score three hundreds in a World Cup and his 126 was full of delightful strokes. India did well to stage a comeback and Australia were restricted to 258.

Sachin Tendulkar threatened to overshadow Waugh’s show at his home ground, but the latter was determined to make this day his own. Waugh got Tendulkar stumped for 90 off a wide ball. The match saw some see-saw moments before Damien Fleming with a fifer sealed it for Australia in style.

Brief scores:

Australia 258 in 50 overs (Mark Waugh 126, Mark Taylor 59; Venkatesh Prasad 2-49, VenkatpathyRaju 2-48) bt India 242 in 48 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 90, Sanjay Manjrekar 62, Damien Fleming 5-36, Steve Waugh 2-22) — by 16 runs
7: World Cup 1999 – The Oval | Super Sixes

When Australia had set a target of 283 for India, they knew no total was safe enough for the Indian batting line-up which boasted the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, SouravGanguly, Rahul Dravid, Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja. In the year prior, they had faced some torrid experiences against India, when toured the country and later in Sharjah and Dhaka.

They had to bowl well and Glenn McGrath just did that. His first four overs set it up for the Aussies, when he got Tendulkar for a duck, Dravid for two and skipper Azharuddin for three. Ganguly got cleaned up by Damien Fleming for eight. India were 17 for four in the seventh over and never came back.

Jadeja (100 not out) and Robin Singh (75) added 141 for the fifth wicket, but that just helped India to salvage some pride and reduce the victory margin. Apart from Jadeja and Robin, none of the Indian batsmen reached the double figure, as they were bowled out for 205 runs. A few weeks later, Australia went on to win the World Cup.

Brief scores:

Australia 282 for 6 in 50 overs (Mark Waugh 83, Steve Waugh 36; Robin Singh 2-43) bt India 205 in 48.2 overs (Ajay Jadeja 100*, Robin Singh 75, Glenn McGrath 3-34, Damien Fleming 2-33, Steve Waugh 2-8) – by 77 runs

 

8: World Cup 2003 – Centurion | Group match

Australia, the then best side in the world just ran through the much famed Indian batting-up and handed them a humiliating nine wicket defeat. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar, none of the Indian batsmen looked comfortable against Australia’s lethal pace attack.

The aftermath of the defeat was extreme in India. Players’ houses were stoned and effigies burnt. The expectations were immense from Indian fans and the side rejuvenated after the game and marked a dramatic turnaround to win their next eight matches in a row to make it to the final, where they faced Australia again.

Brief scores:

India 125 in 41.4 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 36; Brett Lee 3-36, Jason Gillespie 3-13) lost to Australia 128 for one in 22.2 overs (Adam Gilchrist 48, Matthew Hayden 45) — by nine wickets

 

9: World Cup 2003 – Johannesburg | Final

One more win for SouravGanguly’s men and it would have been India’s second World Cup win, but on this day at Johannesburg, India faced the harsh truth that they were the second best team and the dominant Australia made them realise it.

In a brutal display of batting, Australian captain Ricky Ponting ensured that the final was a no contest. His belligerent knock ensured that Australia won the World Cup for the second time in a row and their third overall.

Australia were benefitted from a powerful start by Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist, and Ponting was helped by Damien Martyn’s fluent knock at the other end. Martyn, who was playing that match with a broken finger, crafted an artistic fifty. Ponting’s memorable carnage ended with an unbeaten 140 from just 121 balls taking the team score to 359 in their 50 overs. He hit only four fours but clubbed eight sixes in his innings. Chasing 360, India really had no chance against a bowling line-up that boasted of Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel and Brad Hogg. India were bowled out for 234 and once again, it was Australia’s cup.

Brief Scores:

Australia 359 for 2 in 50 overs (Adam Gilchrist 57, Ricky Ponting 140*, DamienMartyn 88*) bt India 234 in 39.2 overs (VirenderSehwag 82, RahulDravid 47, Glenn McGrath 3-52) by 125 runs

 

10: World Cup 2011 – Ahmedabad | Quarter-final

The sides faced each other in a World Cup encounter, exactly after eight years and one day after India’s humiliating defeat in the final at Johannesburg. The atmosphere in Ahmedabad was electrifying and the Indian fans would have settled for nothing less than a win.

A spectacular all-round show from Yuvraj Singh saw India beating Australia in the quarter-final of the World Cup 2011. Ponting elected to bat first and a disciplined show with the ball from India restricted the Aussies to 260, it was 100 less than the target they had given the same side in the final of the 2003 edition. Ponting once again displayed his sublime class, as he scored 104 this time.

In a tense chase, Sachin Tendulkar and GautamGambhir scored resilient fifties, but every time when it seemed that Indians were at the top, they lost wickets. Yuvraj, who had earlier bowled 10 overs for 44 runs and picked up the wickets of Brad Haddin and Michael Clarke, now with the bat crafted a brilliant unbeaten 57 to see India home in the 48th over.

India went on to win the World Cup for the second time and Yuvraj’s brilliant show throughout the series, won him the man-of-the-tournament award.

Brief scores:

Australia 260 for 6 in 50 overs (Brad Haddin 53, Ricky Ponting 104, David Hussey 38*; RavichandranAshwin 2-52, Zaheer Khan 2-53, Yuvraj Singh 2-54) lost to India 261 for 5 in 47.4 overs (Sachin Tendulkar 53, GautamGambhir 50, Yuvraj Singh 57*, Suresh Raina 34*) – by five wickets

 

Head-to-head (Overall)

Played: 117                     Aus: 67                     Ind:47

Most Runs:Sachin Tendulkar (Ind)            Runs:3077 (71 ODIs)        Average:44.6

Most Wickets:Brett Lee (Aus)                    Wickets:55 (32  ODIs)    Average: 21.0

 

Head-to-head (In World Cups)

Played: 10                       Aus:7                         Ind:3

Most Runs:Ricky Ponting (Aus)                  Runs:303 (5 ODIs)            Average:101.0

Most Wickets:KapilDev (Ind)                      Wickets:9 (5 ODIs)          Average:20.2

 

(Suvajit Mustafi consumes cricket for lunch, fiction for dinner and munches numerous other snacks throughout the day. Yes, a jack of several trades, all Suvajit dreamt of was being India’s World Cup winning skipper but ended up being a sports writer, author, screenwriter, director, copywriter, graphic designer, sports marketer, strategist, entrepreneur,  philosopher and traveller. Donning so many hats, it’s cricket which gives him the ultimate high and where he finds solace. He can be followed at @RibsGully and rivu7)

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