Dravid, Ganguly have poor record against Australia

One team that always gives Australia a headache is India. Though known for its inconsistency, India always raises its game several notches when facing the World champions.

India are able to trouble the all-conquering Aussies because of the world class batsmen it has produced over the years.

A look at India's best players against Australia over the years reveals interesting details.

It is not Sachin Tendulkar emerges the best batsman against Australia, but charimastic all-rounder Ravi Shastri.

Among the current lot, only VVS Laxman makes it to the all-time top 10.

Overall Test Career				Record vs Australia				Difference in Avg
Player	Mts	Runs	Hs	Avg	Mts	Runs	HS	Avg
RJ Shastri	80	3830	206	35.79	9	622	206	77.75	+41.96
NR Mongia	44	1442	152	24.03	6	348	152	43.50	+19.47
DG Phadkar	31	1229	123	32.34	5	318	123	45.43	+13.09
ML Jaisimha	39	2056	129	30.69	6	434	101	43.40	+12.71
GR Viswanath	91	6080	222	41.93	18	1538	161*	53.03	+11.10
S Abid Ali	29	1018	81	20.36	5	304	81	30.40	+10.04
SMH Kirmani	88	2759	102	27.05	17	756	101*	36.00	+8.95
Nawab of Pataudi Jr.	46	2793	203*	34.91	11	829	128*	43.63	+8.72
NJ Contractor	31	1611	108	31.59	6	480	108	40.00	+8.41
VVS Laxman	96	6000	281	43.80	20	1823	281	50.64	+6.84

The table below shows how batsmen from the current squad have performed against Australia. While VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag raised their level, others like Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly failed to live upto expectations.

	Overall Test Career				Record against Australia				Difference in Avg
Player	Mts	Runs	Hs	Avg	Mts	Runs	HS	Avg
VVS Laxman	96	6000	281	43.80	20	1823	281	50.64	+6.84
V Sehwag	59	5074	319	52.85	10	1049	195	55.21	+2.36
SR Tendulkar	150	11877	248*	54.23	25	2352	241*	56.00	+1.77
R Dravid	124	10223	270	54.38	22	1717	233	47.69	-6.68
SC Ganguly	109	6888	239	41.75	20	1079	144	31.74	-10.01
MS Dhoni	29	1418	148	33.76	4	141	38	17.63	-16.14
G Gambhir	17	1002	139	37.11	1	4	3	2.00	-35.11