We have been better in tests then aussies for last 12 years

[King Tendulkar]

Despite all talk of the aussies for over a decade being unbeateable, greates test side , dominant etc. Is this all a myth? Throughout this period the 2nd best team has been India. We are the benchmark of how good they are i.e how they did against us. Since and including 1996 series we have won 4 tests series they have won 3! This means through out there so called claims to be best test side and no 1 in the world. We have been better then them when we play each other and have had the edge for over a decade. It also puts an end to the claim of them being better then the great windies side. We are the number 2 side and have been better then the aussies since 1996!

[bunny]

That's a biased comparison for more than 1 reason. (1996 was hardly a series and you have taken into account 5 home series and 3 away series). Just counting the last 3 home and last 3 away series (excluding this series because this is not the same team as the 90s and also either you take this series or exclude the 97-98 series), Australia have won 2 home and drawn 1. India have won 2 at home and lost 1. So still advantage Australia. Anyway India where never clearly the 2nd best team. They are always one of the two-three 2nd best teams.

[Gambit]

Oh shut up bunny rabbit. With fans like you, who needs enemies. India have looked Australia in the eye and never blinked. Zip it and accept these FACTS - 1. We have won more test series than them in the last 12 years. 2. We have won as many tests against OZ as they have won against us i.e. 10. 3. We are the only team to have won a live match AND drawn a series in Australia since 1995. 4. We are the only team to have stopped two 16 match winning Australian streaks. :top:

[Gambit]

Also, Australia's 2-1 BG win in 2004 and 2-1 in 2008 were tainted with umpiring controveries.

[bunny]

Of course we play well against Australia, but the thread was about Aussie's undisputed position at #1. And I was responding to that. If you are comparing this Aussie team with the Aussie team of the late 90s then you are sadly mistaken. And secondly if you are ignoring some series because of umpiring controversies, then what's the point in including 2003-04 Australia tour. McGrath and Warne were not there. We have already seen that Australia is not good without Warne and McGrath. And now it's been confirmed. That's the biggest conclusion one can draw.

[King Tendulkar]

They had warne and mcgrath in 2001 when we wooped them

[bharat297]

They had Warne and McGrath during the 1990s and we beat them. They had Warne and McGrath during 2001 and we beat them.

[fineleg]

4. We are the only team to have stopped two 16 match winning Australian streaks. :top:

i remember one of the 16 match streak being stopped. Which year were these streaks stopped? (Test match streak right?)

[Chalks]

i remember one of the 16 match streak being stopped. Which year were these streaks stopped? (Test match streak right?)

The famous Laxman-Dravid test in Kolkata in 2001 (win after following on), and Perth this year.

[fineleg]

The famous Laxman-Dravid test in Kolkata in 2001 (win after following on)' date=' and Perth this year.[/quote'] oh, both were 16 match streaks that were stopped. Cool, Thanks.

[bunny]

I think this thread needs some perspective. We played against Warne, Mcgrath & co only 3 times. In 1999 when we toured Australia. In 2001 when they toured here. And in 2004 when they toured here. The conclusions we can draw are that on seaming wickets they had a much much better bowling attack. If we had Ishant and Zak (and Sree and Patel) then, we might have given a fight. But we didn't have them then. On spinning wickets we were better, especially our batting lineup was much better. But still Aussies managed to give a fight in 2001 and 2004. If you put together the best of India since mid 90s and that might be: Sehwag, *, Dravid, Tendulkar, Laxman, Ganguly/Azhar, Dhoni, Kumble, Srinath, Zak, Ishant, Bhajji against their best which might be Hayden, Taylor, Ponting, Waugh, Waugh, Hussey, Gilchrist, Gillespie, Warne, McGrath, Fleming/Lee, Symonds and have them play 2 tests on seaming, spinning and batting wickets each it will be very very interesting. But, I still feel there's no point in counting series where Warne and McGrath didn't play, and saying that we were actually better than the Aussies.

[fineleg]

I think this thread needs some perspective. We played against Warne, Mcgrath & co only 3 times. In 1999 when we toured Australia. In 2001 when they toured here. And in 2004 when they toured here. The conclusions we can draw are that on seaming wickets they had a much much better bowling attack. If we had Ishant and Zak (and Sree and Patel) then, .

just why!? Munaf - well atleast he is on the "path to recovery" hopefully - getting away from being a lazy bum to being a bowler and a fielder (needs to improve lots still) Sree - let him have fun partying. Thats his priority, and he can enjoy that.

[bunny]

just why!? Munaf - well atleast he is on the "path to recovery" hopefully - getting away from being a lazy bum to being a bowler and a fielder (needs to improve lots still) Sree - let him have fun partying. Thats his priority, and he can enjoy that.

Yeah Sreesanth has been disappointing to say the least. With some away tours coming up in 2009 he should try and get himself back to his best. If he misses those it will be hard for him to make a comeback.

[cochise]

We have given Australia a close run for their money on both the 2003 tour, where the final match at Sydney, the rub of the green (umpiring especially) did not go our way and in 2007, when we got Bucknored in Sydney again. Whatever said, they won the last series but it was closely fought and was qualitatively drawn (for want of a better description)...if we had a bit more preparation before the Melbourne game where our players were seriously under prepared...who knows how that series might have turned out? So yes, we have been up there...talent wise, unsurpassed...but consistency and in the all round game, we have many areas to improve further.

[Predator_05]

Oh shut up bunny rabbit. With fans like you' date=' who needs enemies-[/quote'] Exactly. What a loser. But i agree with him when he says that there is no point in counting the 2003/04 tour. Like he would say - Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were not there for the whole series. We have already seen that India is not good without Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan. Yet the MIGHTY AUSSIES still lost a test to an Indian 2nd string bowling attack.

[Ram]

If you discount 1999, when we were royally whooped, the last decade has seen India give Australia the most headaches. How wonderful it would have been, had we won the Sydney test in 2003/04... Sigh.....

[King Tendulkar]

No way can the aussies be seen as better then the great windies sides. We were there main challenges and have out gunned them. Windies dominated all!

[The Outsider]

bunny rabbit is a perfect example of the kind of fans/media I was referring to in another thread - here is some news for you......Harbhajan/Zaheer were injured in '03-'04. We won '01 despite Kumble being injured. Tendulkar/Ganguly/Harbhajan were injured for parts of the '04 series. Zaheer was again injured in the '07-'08 series. Why didn't you include all the above injury misses in your "balanced" comparison? Also, in '03-'04 Warne was not missing because of any injury but was banned for cheating. Surely, you can't count cheats as missing from a squad in the same breath as some injuries.

[satishg]

Punters last 6 matches as captain against India..lost 3 drawn 3..that stat alone ends all debate..we are better than Aussies wen it comes to India-Aus rivalry..but we are not a dominating force as the aussies because we play according to the opposition..Against SL we play like the lankans and match their intensity against England again it is different..that has been the greatest enigma of our side..hope it changes starting now

[Predator_05]

we play according to the opposition..Against SL we play like the lankans and match their intensity against England again it is different..that has been the greatest enigma of our side..hope it changes starting now

Good point.