Little known facts about Australia vs India clashes at MCG

Australia and India have faced eleven times at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the 2014 third Test between the two teams mark the twelfth instance.

Australia and India have faced eleven times at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the 2014 third Test between the two teams mark the twelfth instance.

Sudatta Mukherjee looks at some of the little known facts from Australia and India ties at MCG.

1. Out of the eleven instances, Australia has won eight times. Out of those eight times, Australia has defeated India twice by an innings.

2.  India last won a Test at MCG in 1981, and Sunil Gavaskar was the captain then. Allan Border scored 124 in the first innings of the match. Now the series is known as Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

3.  It also the only venue in Australia where India have won two Tests.

4.  MCG is also the first venue in Australia, where India registered a win.

5.  Out of the eleven clashes, six matches are Boxing Day Tests.

6.  Don Bradman as a captain scored century in both the innings in 1948. Thus becoming the first man to do so in Australia-India Test match histories at MCG.

7.  Bobby Simpson’s last Test as captain in his first phase was at MCG; Later on, he came back ten seasons later to captain Australia again in 1977.

8.  The best identical figures by any cricketer in history was at MCG, 1977-78, when BS Chandrasekhar took 6 for 52 and 6 for 52 in 1978.

9.  Sachin Tendulkar has played five Tests at MCG, the most by any cricketer from the two nations.

10.  Brett Lee made his Test debut at MCG against India in 1999. He took five wickets in the first innings and total seven wickets in the match. However, Tendulkar was the player of the match for his 116.

(Sudatta Mukherjee is a reporter with CricLife. Other than writing on cricket, she spends penning random thoughts on her. When she is not writing, you will catch her at a movie theatre or watching some English television show on her laptop. Her Twitter id is @blackrosegal)