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After outrageous grinding, breaking sweat, and putting physical limits to the ultimate test for more than a month and a half by the 10 best cricket-playing nations, we finally have our ODI World Cup 2023 finalists: India & Australia. The stage is set for the grand finale and the cricketing behemoths are gearing up for one last showdown that will decide who the real deal is in one-day cricket.
While team India has beaten the robust Kiwis by more than 70 runs, team Australia clinched a clinical and nail-biting victory against in-form South Africa by 3 wickets. Australian & Indian cricket teams have collided umpteen times in ODI World Cups and the results are mostly in favor of Kangaroos. Moreover, the Australian cricket team is a 5-time world champion whereas team India is a 2-time world champion only which depicts the sheer dominance of team Australia on the biggest stage.
Indian-Australia shares one of the most fearsome rivalries in cricket. Over the years, many celebrated Indian batsmen have produced some phenomenal knocks against the Australian cricket team that are still etched in the memories of billions of cricket fans.
The ultimate purpose of carving this comprehensive blog post is to state the list of the most ODI centuries against Australia by Indian batters that will surely enrich the factual information base of cricket enthusiasts related to India vs Australia ODI matches. Let’s peek at the list.
Most ODI 100s Vs Australia By Indian Batters
1. Sachin Tendulkar – 9 Centuries
The Little Master blaster, The God of cricket, The man who made a mockery out of the most fearsome bowling lineup of McGrath, Jason Gillespie, and Warne. Sachin Tendulkar was a sheer nightmare that left Aussie bowlers sleepless for decades. Sachin Tendulkar is perhaps one of the few batsmen in the world who is ultra-successful against Australia individually despite losing as a team. Approximately, 9 times he surpassed the magical century mark against them and 15 half centuries as well. By any measure, it is a remarkable record.
In 70 innings, Tendulkar averaged nearly 45 against his favorite victims. He relished the challenge of taking on the mighty Australians at their peak and beating them at their own game. The Master Blaster chased the likes of McGrath, Gillespie, Lee, and Warne – the Australian bowling legends who time and again appreciated Tendulkar’s batting genius. He was the scariest behemoth for Australian bowlers but for Indian fans, he remains the God of Cricket.
Also See: Most Centuries in ODI Cricket
2. Virat Kohli – 8 Centuries
Perhaps the greatest and the most celebrated modern-day cricketer, Virat Kohli has successfully taken the baton from Sachin as India’s newest Aussie bowling destroyer. Where Tendulkar left off his legacy, Virat Kohli picked up without missing a beat. In merely 50 ODI innings, he smashed 8 centuries with an astounding average of 53. Over the years, Kohli has feasted like a hungry lion on Australian bowling attacks and hit them out of the stadium whenever he wanted.
He is on the verge of equalling and surpassing Sachin Tendulakr’s 9 ODI hundreds versus Australia and all the factors are in his favour to surpass it. Kohli always delivers and lives up to expectations on the big stage, especially when it comes to dominating Aussies. He’s India’s biggest weapon against the unassailable Kangaroos. Virat Kohli is the new undisputed king of cricket and there is no way anyone can stop him from surpassing all batting records.
3. Rohit Sharma – 8 Centuries
The iconic Indian captain and opening batsman Rohit Sharma is considered one of the greatest batters of all time. Nobody can forget his whirlwind of 5 centuries in the 2019 ODI World Cup held in England. Rohit Sharma has towering 8 centuries against team Australia in 50-over cricket in just 42 innings and also scored a couple of half-centuries at an average of 59.23. What makes Rohit Sharma’s tons even more special is he has smashed all of them at the most crucial moments. With a couple of years still left in International cricket, Rohit Sharma will surely surpass the 9 centuries record of Sachin Tendulkar against team Australia along with Virat Kohli and etch his name forever in history books.
4. Shikhar Dhawan – 4 Centuries
Former Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan has scored 4 mighty centuries in one-day international cricket against Australia in just 29 innings at an average of 45 which haunts Kangaroos to date. His first century came in 2013 when he scored 100 runs off 102 balls in the 4th ODI in Nagpur. He scored another century in 2016, making 126 runs in 113 balls in Canberra.
His third ODI century against the Aussies was in 2019 when he smashed 143 runs off 115 balls in. Most recently, in 2020, Dhawan scored 117 runs off 109 balls at Kennington Oval. Across his 42 ODI innings against Australia, Dhawan has scored 1265 runs at an average of 45. With 4 hundred and 7 fifties, he has established himself as one of India’s premier batsmen in the shorter format against their traditional rivals Australia.
5. VVS Laxman – 4 Centuries
Former Indian batsman and one of the most stylish players of all time VVS Laxman played a vital role against Australia in Test cricket, but his one-day international career against them was way too underrated. In the ODI format, Laxman scored 4 massive centuries against the Aussies in his 21 ODI matches against them. His first ton came in 2001 when he made 101 runs off 107 balls in Nehru Stadium, Goa.
His second ODI century against Australia was in 2003 during his knock of 102 runs off 134 deliveries in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. In 2004, Laxman smashed another century, scoring 103 runs from 113 balls at Brisbane Cricket Ground. His final ODI ton against the Australians was in 2004 when he made 106 not out off 130 balls in Sydney cricket ground. Overall, Laxman scored 739 runs at an average of 46.19 in his ODI career against Australia. Though he didn’t maintain an astronomical average, his 4-hundred and 2 fifties underlined his ability to produce big scores against the arch-rivals when required.
