India and Australia enjoy a fierce rivalry in Test Cricket. The Border-Gavaskar series is considered as one of the biggest competitions in Test Cricket. Border-Gavaskar Trophy began with one-off Test played in 1996 in New Delhi between India and Australia. India won that game by 7 wickets.
Since then, 98 Tests have been played between the sides, with India winning on 28 occasions, Australia, on the other hand, have proved victorious on 42 occasions.
India is currently the defending champions of the Border Gavaskar Trophy. The last time India visited Australia, they created history after winning the Test Series for the first time against Australia in Australia. Virat Kohli and Co. beat Australia by 2-1 in the 2019 Border Gavaskar Series.
Over the years, there have been numerous players who have found great success and boast of an outstanding record in Border-Gavaskar series. In this article, we look at 5 such batsmen with the highest average in Border-Gavaskar series (minimum 1000 runs):
5. Ricky Ponting: 54.36
Ricky Ponting had a forgettable 2001 Border-Gavaskar series in India but has scored a plethora of runs otherwise. Ponting is in fact one of the highest run-scorers in the history of Border-Gavaskar series.
He has currently the fifth-highest average in Border-Gavaskar series. In 29 matches, Ricky Ponting has scored 2555 runs at an average of 54.36. He has 8 centuries and 12 half-centuries to his name in the prestigious series.
4. Sachin Tendulkar: 56.24
Master Blaster, Sachin Tendulkar too scored heavily in the Border-Gavaskar series. He has the fourth-highest average in the list. Between 1996 and 2013, Tendulkar played 34 matches in the]Border-Gavaskar series, scoring 3262 runs at an average of 56.24.
His best knock came in the fourth Test of 2004 Border-Gavaskar series. Riding on Tendulkar’s unbeaten 241, India posted a mammoth 705-run total in the first innings. Overall, Sachin has 9 centuries and 16 half-centuries against Australia in Tests.
3. Mathew Hayden: 59.00
An aggressive opener, Mathew Hayden enjoyed great success in both ODIs as well as Test Cricket. He has an outstanding record in Border-Gavaskar series as well. Mathew Hayden has in fact the third-highest average in the prestigious trophy.
In 18 matches, Hayden scored 1888 runs at an average of 59.00. Mathew Hayden loved playing against India. He has 6 centuries and 8 half-centuries against India in his Test Cricket career.
2. Cheteshwar Pujara: 60.07
Cheteshwar Pujara played one of the biggest roles in India’s 2019 Border-Gavaskar series win. He was awarded the Man of the Series for his outstanding performance against in the series. He scored 521 in 4 games at an average of 74.43.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, he will once again have a lot of responsibility on his shoulders to guide India to a series win in the forthcoming 2020 Border Gavaskar Series.
Cheteshwar Pujara has the second-highest average in the Border-Gavaskar series. In 16 matches, he has scored 1622 runs at an average of 60.07. He has notched 5 centuries and 7 half-centuries so far against Australia in his Tests.
1. Steve Smith: 84.05
When it comes to Test Cricket, there is no one surpassing Steve Smith in the current era. The Australian batsman has enjoyed tremendous success in Test Cricket in the last half-a-decade. Smith is currently regarded as the best batsman in the longest format.
He has scored runs heavily against India in his Test Cricket career. He has the best average in the history of Border-Gavaskar series. In 10 matches, Smith has 1429 runs to his name at a jaw-dropping average of 84.05 in the Border-Gavaskar series. Smith has notched seven centuries and three half-centuries against India thus far in his Test Cricket career.
