Cricket is an intense game, it is often said. The emotions are high and when engaged in close battle, its practitioners elevate the nature and status of the game altogether.
The emotions fly high.
We’ve seen how close rivalries forge epic cricketing tales that transcend time and go on to become legends. But which cricketing battles over the years have gone on to become epic duels that are always remembered for bringing something thrilling and action-packed to the game?
List of Top 5 Biggest Rivalries in International Cricket
Allan Border vs Ian Botham
One great exceptional record breaking batsman and the other, a great all rounder without much of a doubt!
This was an interesting cricketing rivalry in that it also included a sense of camaraderie and friendship, which isn’t always the case between an Englishman and an Aussie on the 22 yards.
In each of the fiercely competitive Ashes battles of 1989, 1991 and 1993, which were won by Australia under Border’s leadership Botham came out as the second best or very nearly the best for such was the aggression in the contests.
India versus Pakistan
Aggression, drama and ultimately, one great rivalry.
For the longest possible time, this cricket rivalry from the onset of the late Forties, has set the stage on fire and entertained millions of cricket fans around the world.
All one has to do in order to understand the manic size and gravity of the rivalry between the two sub-continental forces is to simply state the phrase India versus Pakistan on a cricket turf and next up, all important works and chores for the day across both sides of the border will remain suspended until the final ball of the contest has been bowled.
India have more often than not enjoyed the strong hand over their fiercest cricket rivals, having established a 8-0 lead over Pakistan in World Cup clashes. Where it comes to the ICC tournaments and World Cup contests, India are clearly in the lead with stakes poised at 9-3.
The Ashes
Cricket’s oldest and most formidable rivalry has seen England and Australia locking horns in each of the three formats of the sport but it is their intense battle in the game’s purest format, Test Cricket, where the battle for supremacy reaches peak crescendo.
Test cricket’s longest standing rivalry began in 1882 and has, since then, seen epic moments such as the “controversial Bodyline series of 1932-33” and Shane Warne’s magical “ball of the century” that flummoxed Mike Gatting.
In the contemporary firmament, the rivalry sees Steven Smith locking horns with Jofra Archer under splendid contests.
Sachin Tendulkar v Glenn McGrath
During their heydays, Tendulkar, vastly recognised as the world’s greatest batsman took on the most devious and clever fast bowler of his day, Glenn McGrath and the slugfest between the bat and ball raised the bar of the sport altogether.
In an interesting and closely followed contest, Tendulkar, in the fourth odi held at Vizag in 2001 during Australia’s tour of India clubbed the Aussies for a 38-ball-62 during which several of his 11 boundaries came against the fiery Australian speedster.
On the whole, McGrath also enjoyed an upper hand in his battles with Sachin having dismissed him 13 times, including 7 in ODIs.
Brett Lee v Shoaib Akhtar
At the peak of their powers, there weren’t many tear away fast bowlers who possessed the nagging pace and unfaltering consistency as that of Shoaib and Lee. At the end of their careers, these two ferocious exponents of fast bowling ended up almost level in the pace department with the Pakistani speedster being marginally quicker than Lee.
Brett Lee himself admires Shoaib’s sheer pace while Akhtar attributes Lee’s ability to bowl toe crushing yorkers as one of his key strengths. During the late nineties and mid 2000’s the two shared a close rivalry that elevated the nature of cricketing contests, especially in the white ball arena.
That both bowlers often came close to bowling in the confines of 160.9 kmph speaks volumes of their prowess at sheer raw pace.
