Is India-Australia the Marquee series of world cricket ?

[Ram]

I know this has been talked before but do you think we have come a definite point where Ind-Aus is ahead of the Ashes interms of popularity, following and intensity ? The whole world's attention seems to be glued on this series. If you feel otherwise, do post your point of view and the reasoning behind it.

[IndianRenegade]

I know this has been talked before but do you think we have come a definite point where Ind-Aus is ahead of the Ashes interms of popularity, following and intensity ? The whole world's attention seems to be glued on this series. If you feel otherwise, do post your point of view and the reasoning behind it.

I second that!:dito:

[Sachinism]

of course it is everytime we meet in tests, theres some good competition

[Gambit]

It is/has been quite simply the series in test cricket for the past 12 years now, ever since the Aussies took the crown away from the Windies in that historic 1995 series. Apart from the 1999 series down under where India were woeful, India has been the only team to not only compete but challenge the Australian cricketing hegemony. We beat them in a one off test in 1996 and crushed them in 1998 where the Aussies were swatted by an innings and 219 runs at Calcutta. We got dumped in '99 but the SERIES in '01 will go down as probably the best series in cricket history with magic written all over it. I mean, who comes back after following on against a team that's won 16 tests in a row?! :isalute: Then we became the only team to hold Australia to a draw(where there were results) in Australia in nearly 10 years. The Aussie experts and former greats heralded the Indian batting in that series as probably the best lineup to visit the Australian shores in the last 50 years. What followed after that series was a controversial 2-1 surrendering of the BG trophy in India. Rain denied India in Chennai and traitors in Nagpur. And now here we are, on the verge of equalling our own record of winning a live test in Australia when no team has in a long time. Had it not been for the Sydney fiasco, India would have been looking at leading the series going into Adelaide! We are, quite simply, the only team to have given Australia headaches and problems. Heck we've won more tests against OZ than Pak,RSA,NZ and SL combined in the last 10-12 years! :hysterical: Here's to test win number 8 tomorrow Australia have treated teams like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, New Zealand, West Indies like dirt. Our beloved neighbours play like Maldives against Australia. They are simply not worthy to belong on the same field as Australia let alone play a test against them. Australia have beaten them 9 tests in a row and haven't lost a test to them since 1995. :hysterical: NZ and WI are not even on the radar anymore. I don't think there is a need for me to go into the numerous beatings England have suffered in the Ashes. Apart from the two series('98 down under and '05 England), I haven't seen England even challenge Australia. Now we come to the team that was expected to knock Australia off the top perch. That team is South Africa. Given their deep batting lineup and battery of pacers, experts thought that RSA would pose some serious problems for Australia but how wrong they(and most of us) were! Thrashed 5-0 in the home and away series in '05-06, 5-1 in '01-02 and 3-1 in '97-98, they simply were no match for the all conquering Aussies.They just didn't have it in them mentally to beat OZ. And on top of that, they were silly enough to sledge players like Gilchrist who went ballistic in the '02 series blazing the then fasting double ton against them.

[Guest dada_rocks]

And reason is our batting is second to none, so whenver bowling shows up we kick them..

[veer]

heck yeahh.. I have been telling you guys for months now.. I was looking forward to this series for past 5-6 months and some of you were too interested in awful India-pak series.. India-pak series is nothing in quality compare to quality we play against Aus IN Aus.. plus.. channel 9 commentrators are freaking awesome!! TEST series against Ozzies in Aus is THE SERIES.. But this is IT folks... this is the last series where our big 5 will show up together.. SRT, RD, SG, VVS, AK will be gone when we go their next..

[Ram]

Good post there Gambo ! Well summed up ! :two_thumbs_up:

[veer]

btw.. we still need to beat them in this game.. otherwise this thread will look silly with 3-0 scoreline..

[King Tendulkar]

Without a doubt.

[Sachinism]

its amazing how india play soo well against aus, but when playing lesser teams they lower their standards

[sm332]

I ahve always believed that India invariably plays to the stds of its opposition .. very rarely will you see us dominate and likewise very very rarely will you see us get plastered.

[IndianRenegade]

Sambit Bal comes up with the stats:

Since India's disastrous tour in 1991-92, the teams have met 21 times in Test cricket; the numbers now stand at 10-8 in Australia's favour. In the corresponding period Australia's record stands at 27-9 against England, 12-2 against Pakistan, 15-4 against South Africa and 9-1 against Sri Lanka. And India were the last team to humble Australia in a home Test.

the entire article is worth a read:

A great rivalry revived Sambit Bal at the WACA January 19, 2008 Australia must wonder why they always run into India when in full flow. The same opponents had halted them in 2001 by conjuring a miracle in Kolkata; now they have done one better by overwhelming them at the bastion of Australian supremacy. Perth didn't quite live up to the hype, but it was still the paciest, bounciest track the Indians have experienced this summer and it is likely to remain so. More significantly, though, after a blip in Melbourne, a great rivalry has been restored to health. Just over four years ago India had taken a Test off Australia in Adelaide and now they have done it again. It would be ridiculous to suggest that a new world order is upon us but one thing has been re-established: Australia v India is the Test rivalry of the decade. England popped up spectacularly in 2005 but only India have been able to match, fight and beat Australia over a sustained period. Since India's disastrous tour in 1991-92, the teams have met 21 times in Test cricket; the numbers now stand at 10-8 in Australia's favour. In the corresponding period Australia's record stands at 27-9 against England, 12-2 against Pakistan, 15-4 against South Africa and 9-1 against Sri Lanka. And India were the last team to humble Australia in a home Test. Till 2001, contests between India and Australia followed a familiar pattern: India were hopeless in Australia and Australia could never beat India in India. Steve Waugh's team, though it lost that great series, actually started the change - Australia were two wicket-taking balls away from winning the series - and Sourav Ganguly's Indians continued it during a magnificently competitive series in 2003-04. There was a real danger of this series ending as a washout. A less resilient side would have been shattered by the heartbreaking last-minute loss at Sydney, and the other distractions it brought. India are fortunate to have a man of Anil Kumble's resolve and calm, and a bunch of steely senior players in the dressing room. Instead of licking their wounds when they retreated to Canberra after the stand-off, they renewed their spirit to fight on and found the calm to be able to do so. Kumble spoke after the win about the special bond within the team and this is as united a team as India have ever been. Kumble had no hesitation in ranking this win the greatest of his career and he is hardly off the mark. The good thing about this Indian side is that the wins have been getting better and better. Adelaide in 2003 was special because no one had given them a chance of competing against Australia before the series and, more so, because they were 85 for 4 in the first innings chasing 550. Like Kolkata, it had a touch of the miraculous to it. And of course, Australia had contributed to their defeat by some reckless batting. Not so here. This was a Test in which India looked Australia in the eye from the first session and never blinked. . Apart from batting and bowling better than their opponents, they even caught more safely. Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid showed what difference technique can make by batting through a challenging period when Brett Lee and Stuart Clark were at their best on the first day; when they failed in the second innings VVS Laxman stood up. Virender Sehwag's two wickets in successive overs hastened India's win but his contribution with the bat was equally vital. He got India off to quick starts in both innings and in fact had looked to have regained his form in the second innings. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is still far from his booming best but this is his first tour of Australia and his restrained 38 in the second innings saved India from a collapse. But the bowlers won India the match and, staggeringly, they outbowled their rivals. Even more staggeringly the bowling line-up, had injury not intervened, would have read Zaheer Khan, Sreesanth and Munaf Patel. Rarely has the gap between expectation and delivery been so huge in a positive sense. Even though Perth was expected to deliver pace and bounce, the Indian always knew they had to do it with swing and, irrespective of what the pitch did, they were prepared to throw it up. Teamwork has been a feature of India's recent wins and, as at Trent Bridge and Delhi, there were no singular performances here. Wasim Jaffer and Sourav Ganguly were the only failures of the match, and even Jaffer played his part in the first innings. It's a sign of strength and a healthy departure from the not-so-distant past when they were over-reliant on individual brilliance. The result in Perth was also a victory for world cricket and there were few Australian journalists in the press box who were not alive to the fact; they were even prepared to rejoice over it. Australia's dominance has been boring and unhealthy and, even though this is not a sign of a decline, to see them challenged itself is uplifting. The Australian season began in misery with Sri Lanka belying their promise. Now, Test cricket is alive again. The trophy has been won but there is a series that can be shared. Adelaide is a salivating prospect. Sambit Bal is the editor of Cricinfo © Cricinfo

[talksport]

Good article... Yeah...He has been visiting the forum

[Hawkeye]

It is simply because we are a better test side than England and we have the goods to beat Australia.

[goose]

What an annoying read ! http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ausvind/content/current/story/332276.html

[poori_meri]

Pak never had the oppurtunity on playing Aus without Mcgrath & Warne since 1995. What was the result of 1999 & 2004 series in India when Mcgrath & Warne played???

[The Outsider]

Pak never had the oppurtunity on playing Aus without Mcgrath & Warne since 1995. What was the result of 1999 & 2004 series in India when Mcgrath & Warne played???

What was the result in 2001?:finger:

[mhr123]

Since India's disastrous tour in 1991-92, the teams have met 21 times in Test cricket; the numbers now stand at 10-8 in Australia's favour. In the corresponding period Australia's record stands at 27-9 against England, 12-2 against Pakistan, 15-4 against South Africa and 9-1 against Sri Lanka. And India were the last team to humble Australia in a home Test. 10 loss and 8 wins in last 16 yrs tells us something abt the team India.:hatsoff:

[aussiefan]

sentimental favourite and would garner more interest in australia, sad to say, is england vs aussies... but for competition its india vs australia and for $$$ for india.... what about in india domestically? who do you like to see India play the most? pakistan?