India vs Australia draws

I expressed a lot of satisfaction in one of my previous blogs that draws in test matches were drastically coming down. We just had one more draw at the Gabba in Brisbane as part of the Border-Gavaskar series. So, this seemed like the right time to look back at the various draw related stats between India and Australia. 

Out of the 110 tests played between both countries 30 tests ended up draws.

I wanted to find out whether the number of draws between the two countries were increasing or decreasing over the years . 

India vs Australia draw stats

• The first draw between both countries was a rain affected match in 1947. A majority of the draws during the initial decades only occurred in India. 30% (8) of tests played between the two sides during the 60s and 70s ended in draws. All of these draws occurred in India while all the tests played in Australia during this period produced a result always in Australia's favor 
• The 1979-1980 series which happened in India accounted for four of these eight draws. This was also the first series where India bested Australia
• India did not win a test in Australia until the 1977-78 season but things improved once that feat was achieved with Australia struggling to rebuild itself from the World Series invasion. Thus 80s saw a proliferation of draws between both the countries
• In the 90s, Australia's rise as a cricketing super power was matched by India emergence as one of the toughest places to tour in the world. This led to one sided series with each side holding sway over the other at home
• This changed with the 2003 - 2004 series where India was able to draw a series in Australia with a balanced team comprising of vastly improved bowling resources
• These evenly balanced contests ended with the 2011-2012 series where Australia drubbed India 4-0 only for India to return the favor by completing a 4-0 whitewash of its own at home

Since then India has had better success forcing a result at home while also avoiding defeat when it travels to Australia. This also explains why there are more number of draws in Australia than in India when you take a look at the recent numbers. 

Finally, the past just presents a trend but is in no way an indicator of what might happen in the 4th test. Sport is unpredictable and we all hope that Melbourne adds to the results section rather than providing an uptick in draw stats.

Until Next Time,

Your Cricket Analyst