Top 7 Rivalries from India-Australia series

Rivalries in cricket are a tradition which has continued through these years. Playing styles of players, rules and formats of the matches have changed but the nature of on field rivalries have not changed, it is still competitive and yes still very nasty. There have been rivalries in the history of this wonderful game, be it rivalry between two teams or two players. As the high octane series between India and Australia about to start we will have a look at some rivalries between players of India and Australia.

1. Virat Kohli vs Steve Smith 

(Nov 12,2014 Adelaide Test Day 4)

Virat Kohli was leading the Indian Test side against Australia in the fourth test at the Adelaide. This test match had witnessed enough action as there was some heated exchange of words between Varun Aaron and David Warner on Day 1. On Day 4, Rohit Sharma was bowling and had appealed for an LBW against Smith. Smith made a gesture towards Rohit after his appeal was turned down by the umpire. This infuriated Virat and he approached Smith and passed some comments. He even asked Smith to 'stay in his limits'. This heated banter between two star players was much talked about after the test got over.

Watch the video here:

2. Ashwin vs Glenn Maxwell.

Unlike the previous rivalry in the list, Ashwin and Maxwell have not exchanged words on field nor they have had a heated argument but they are rivals when it comes to smashing sixes or taking wickets against each other. Maxwell has faced Ashwin 7 times in ODIs where Ashwin has dismissed him only once. Strike rate of Maxwell against Ashwin in ODIs is also pretty high. During the IPL in 2014, Maxwell had said that he enjoys playing against Ashwin as he is relatively easy to pick. This rivalry is indeed special in its own case.

3. Brad Haddin vs Rahul ( 26-30 December, MCG)

KL Rahul, one of the talented batsmen in the longest format of the game had debuted on 26th December,2014 at the MCG. He was fielding at short leg and Brad Haddin was batting. M.Shami had hit Haddin on his elbow and he was facing some problems due to it. Seeing this KL Rahul told him something which did not go well with Haddin. He replied him saying that he is still young in his career and must be careful when he would face Mithchell Johnson as he might break his head!. This argument was a bit humorous in its own way. KL Rahul later told that sledging was uglier when it came from an Aussie.

4. Sreesanth vs Hayden (22 September,2007,Durban)

It was a high octane match at Durban on 22 September 2007 between India and Australia as it was the Semi Final of the inaugural T20 World Cup. Australia were chasing a mammoth 189 and Hayden had started his show at Durban. He had smashed 62 of 47 deliveries and due to his innings Australia were right on course in the match. But then came S.Sreesanth who bowled Matthew Hayden and started celebrating his wicket in a weird manner by pounding the pitch. As Hayden left the pitch there was again war of words between the two. Earlier in the match during the fourth over of Australia's innings Sreesanth had appealed excessively for a LBW against Hayden which resulted into a fine. Hayden also told in an interview in 2009 that Sreesanth is a bit over rated bowler.

5. H.Singh vs A.Symonds (2-6 January 2008, SCG)

Now,this one is the ugliest, nastiest of the above four or I can say of the entire list. This match was described not less than a Bollywood flick as it had all the thrills and fights which a Bollywood movie has. This test was remembered for the poor umpiring decisions from umpires Steve Bucknor and Mark Benson and yes,of course the "Monkeygate" incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds.

Also Read: Benson and Bucknor ruin it for India

It was during third day when Singh was batting with Tendulkar. There was an exchange of abusive words between Symonds which resulted Harbhajan calling Symonds a "Monkey".Calling someone a "Monkey" in Australia was termed as racial abuse. Symonds heavily objected to this and Australia ultimately complained to ICC. BCCI and Indian Cricket Team had made its stand clear and told ICC that it was Symonds who had abused Singh first. Cricketing relation between the two nations was marred due to this incident. Harbhajan was banned for three tests following this heated argument vs Symonds. This was indeed one of the low points in the history of cricket.

6. S.Dhawan vs S.Watson ( 2 November 2013,Bengaluru)

Rohit Sharma had notched a double hundred in this game to help India win the 7th ODI by 57 runs but during the Australian innings while they were chasing an incident sparked which was termed ugly by many senior cricketers and critics. Watson was suffering a hamstring injury and walked after bowling only 5 overs and did not come to bat in his regular batting position. Seeing Australian team tottering at 138-6 Watson came to bat and it was clearly evident that he would face some problems during running. He pushed the first ball he faced to covers where Dhawan fielded the ball and mocked Watson by hobbling exaggeratedly and wildly to demotivate Watson. Watson was clearly taken aback by this and told the umpire about his displeasure. Dhoni intervened and sent Dhawan to field in the deep. Many of the former cricketers said that this type of mockery and unpleasant behaviour should be totally avoided by Indian cricketers especially if the team is on a winning course.

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7. Sunil Gavaskar vs Dennis Lillee ( 7-11 Feb, Adelaide )

One of the most weird and bizarre incidents between India and Australia happened on 9th Feb 1981. The batting maestro Sunil Gavaskar was batting on 70 where Dennis Lillee bowled a low off cutter which ripped the pads of Gavaskar. Lillee appealed for a LBW and the umpire raised his index finger very quickly. Gavaskar was surprised with this decision as he believed that there was a huge edge of the bat before striking the pad, He insisted to stay there and not go . Lillee was clearly not happy with this behaviour of Gavaskar. He started to walk off but suddenly he turned and insisted his batting partner Chetan Chauhan. Luckily Indian team manager Durrani intervened and told Gavaskar to calm down. Dilip Vengsarkar accompanied Chetan Chauhan resuming the match. Gavaskar later regretted his behaviour during the match.