AUS vs IND Head to Head in Test – Top 3 Key Player Battles to Watch in 3rd Test Match Today

AUS vs IND Test Head to Head: The biggest rivarly of modern-day cricket is all set to introduce its next episode. It is the high-profile five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 series, which is all set to begin on November 22. The last time these two teams played a five-match test series was back in 1991/92. But with the growing demand for contest between these two powerhouses, the two boards decided to bring on five tests for the fans.

Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy have got their maiden test call, while opener Abhimanyu Easwaran will look to make his test debut after being a part of the team as backup opener for a long time. The first test will start on November 22 at Perth Stadium.

India have won the last two BGT series in Australia, and beating India at home is one box that Pat Cummins wants to tick in his captaincy. Can India become the first ever team to register a hat-trick of test series wins in Australia, or will Australia take revenge for their last two series losses?

This article will give you an overall overview of the AUS vs IND head-to-head match, including the top 3 battle players to watch out for in today’s game.

Overall Australia vs India Test Head to Head

Overall, India and Australia have faced each other in 107 test matches. Australia are leading the head-to-head competition with 45 wins, while India have registered 32 wins. One game between the two has ended in a tie, while 29 have been drawn.

The table below shows AUS vs IND head-to-head in the Test cricket format-

Matches	IND Won	AUS Won	Tied	Drawn
108	33	46	1	29

Category	India	Australia
Win at Home	23	31
Win Away	10	14
Neutral Win	0	1
Highest Total	705/7d	674
Lowest Total	36	83
Most Runs	Sachin Tendulkar (3630)	Ricky Ponting (2555)
Highest Scorer	VVS Laxman (281)	Michael Clarke (329*)
Most Hundreds	Sachin Tendulkar (11)	Steve Smith (9)
Most Fifties	Sachin Tendulkar (16)	Ricky Ponting (12)
Most Sixes	Sachin Tendulkar (25)	Matthew Hayden (24)
Most Wickets	Nathan Lyon (123)	Ravi Ashwin (115)
Best Bowling	Jasubhai Patel (9/69)	Nathan Lyon (8/50)

Let’s look at the top 3 Key Players’ battles for the AUS vs IND ahead of the 5 Test Series.

Top 3 Key Player Battle Between AUS vs IND of Test Series 2024

Rishabh Pant vs Nathan Lyon

Tighten your seatbelt because it will be a rollercoaster ride when Rishabh Pant will face Nathan Lyon. The experience and impact of both players are totally different, but when they come up against each other, the only motive is to get the better of each other. Pant will not hold back, and Lyon will keep on teasing him with his length.

This battle will decide which way the game is heading. This duo has come up against each other in 12 tests. Pant has scored 229 runs against Lyon, but the veteran spinner has dismissed the Indian keeper five times in tests. However, in 2018, Lyon dismissed Pant four times, but after that, in the next three BGT series, he has dismissed him only once.

Year	Runs	Balls	Outs	Dots	4s	6s	SR	Avg
2018	71	103	4	66	7	2	68.9	17.8
2019	51	81	0	46	2	1	63.0	–
2020	12	16	0	9	1	0	75.0	–
2021	95	147	1	106	9	4	64.6	95.0
2024	5	14	1	12	1	0	37.3	5
Total	234	361	6	239	20	7	66.0	45.8

Steve Smith vs Ravi Ashwin

The India vs Australia rivalry is not just between two nations or their fans but also some great individuals. Two of the greatest modern-day cricket brains will be up against each other in the upcming series. Steve Smith, who has most runs among the active Australia batters against India, will be against Ravi Ashwin, who has most wickets for India in a test against Australia.

These two have enjoyed playing against each other and have mentioned it a lot in the past. But when they are on the field, the equation gets totally different; it is about getting better at each other. It is a decade-old battle.

Steve Smith has scored 434 runs in tests against Ashwin in these years at an average of 54.2. This is an alarming record for India. But Ashwin has dismissed him eight times in total, and he will be a big challenge for Smith.

Year	Runs	Balls	Outs	Dots	4s	6s	SR	Avg
2013	39	93	1	68	4	0	41.9	39.0
2014	122	186	0	127	11	4	65.6	–
2015	55	76	0	45	5	1	72.4	–
2017	132	215	2	126	11	0	61.4	66.0
2020	4	23	2	19	0	0	17.4	2.0
2021	60	101	1	65	6	0	59.4	60.0
2023	22	71	2	55	2	0	31.0	11.0
Total	434	765	8	505	39	5	56.7	54.2

Virat Kohli vs Pat Cummins

Virat Kohli is the leading scorer among active Indian batters against Australia in test cricket. He has an average of over 53 on Australian soil. But he is not in good form. However, when it comes to scoring against Australia, Virat is always up to the challenge, which has been the best part of his career.

But his biggest rival will be Australian captain Pat Cummins, who has had better of him in recent times. Cuimmins was the one who dismissed Kohli in the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup at Narendra Modi Stadium, which changed the game.

Cummins has dismissed Virat ten times in international cricket. In test cricket, Virat has average numbers against Cummins. He has scored only 96 runs off Cummins at an average of 19.2, and Cummins has dismissed the former Indian captain five times. This will be the battle which will define which team is getting the edge.