Best all-time Indian XI Down Under

It was a tough assignment picking the best Indian XI based purely on performances in encounters Down Under. It involved 36 Tests played over nine tours and there were several cricketers in contention for the eleven slots. Keeping a minimum qualification of five Tests helped but thanks to fine performances there were serious contenders down the line.

SUNIL GAVASKAR (Eleven Tests, 920 runs, average 51.11, five hundreds, one fifty)

Over three tours, Gavaskar lived up to his reputation as one of the world's leading batsmen. He did have to endure one mediocre series in 1980-81 when he could notch up only one half century in six innings but on the other two tours he scored five hundreds.

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He was fluent in his strokeplay in 1977-78, playing Jeff Thomson with more than a degree of comfort in reeling off centuries in the first three Tests. On his last tour in 1985-86, at the age of 36, he was still good enough to get two big hundreds (166 not out and 172) and becoming the first to score 9000 runs in Test cricket.

Images: AFP/AP