Indias Best Test Victories

New Zealand became the fifth team to receive Test status in 1930 while India became the 6th team to receive Test status in 1932\. In this podcast we recount India’s first ever overseas win in Tests. India’s first ever Test win, away from home was against New Zealand at Carisbrook in Dunedin. The record of both teams prior to the start of the Test series in New Zealand, in February 1968 was pretty poor. In fact, it was downright abysmal. Out of the 7 teams which had Test status in 1968, (Pakistan were the 7th in 1952), it would not be an exaggeration to say that New Zealand and India, along with Pakistan were right at the bottom of the pile. They were certainly not at the standard of teams like Australia, West Indies, England and South Africa.  Listen on...

Five - is the total number of test wins India have managed against Australia in Australia until the start of the series in 2018\. Suffice to say then that a win in Australia is always treasured and long remembered. India was still searching for their first ever series win in Australia as of December 2018. Apart from the fact that Australian teams have been very good, there are few more reasons why the Indians just don’t win there enough. Listen on...

India is not normally known as a country that travels well in cricket. To an extent that has changed since Sourav Ganguly became the captain of India in 2000\. Post that, we have had some memorable victories in Tests but Test series wins in Australia and South Africa continue to elude us. India’s first Test series win was in New Zealand in 1967-68 followed by twin Test series wins over West Indies and England in 1971\. In 1970, South Africa were banned from international cricket for the policy on apartheid. India did not even play the Proteas in international cricket till their reintroduction to international cricket in 1991-92\. Out of the 7 countries that had Test status in the 1970s, India had not registered overseas Test series wins against Australia, South Africa and Pakistan. India missed a golden chance to win their maiden Test series Down Under in 1977-78 when they narrowly lost the series 3-2 to an Australian team weakened by defections to Kerry Packer. Listen on...

In this podcast, we recap another of India’s famous away Test wins. This was against England at Lord’s in 1986\. Before we get into the details of India’s victory against the hosts, it is important to delve into the events just prior to the 1986 tour to England. India had just lost the Asia Cup final to Pakistan at Sharjah in heartbreaking fashion when Javed Miandad hit Chetan Sharma for a six off the last ball of the match. Over the previous few years, the Indian selectors had played a game of musical chairs over the captaincy of the team with both Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. After India’s famous victory in the Benson and Hedges, World Championship of Cricket in 1985, Sunil Gavaskar vowed that he would never captain the Indian national side again. Listen on...

Through the years Indian Test sides have not won much outside the country. Series wins abroad are even rarer. This fact makes us savour wins abroad even more. In fact, India has never won a test series in Australia and South Africa, have won only one series in Pakistan, twice in New Zealand and 4 times in West Indies ( but only one of them before 2006). In England, they have won three series once in 1971, then in 1986 and then in 2007\. It can safely be said that Indian wins abroad are few and far between. Even the current side, Number 1 in the world, lost the series they recently played in England and South Africa earlier in the year. Not now... Listen on...

Historically, the Indian cricket team has travelled poorly. For the longest time, the first aim of the Indian cricket team was to see if they could avoid defeat. Every draw they could manage abroad was something very much like a victory. If one takes away Wadekar's 1971 team, which made the whole of India dream - briefly - of world domination, the tours abroad had followed a pattern where the team lost the first Test and hence the initiative, and then went on to lose more Tests, or at least the series! With Sourav Ganguly coming in as captain, there was a perceptible difference in the attitude of the team, and the desire to win abroad was evident. And there was the expectation that things would change. The tour to Pakistan in 2004 went a long way in taking this forward. Listen on...

This is a series where we celebrate the brightest moments in India’s Test cricket history. India’s win over Australia in the second Test at Kolkata in 2001 will always remain a watershed moment. Bundled out in the first innings by a champion side that had 16 consecutive Test match wins under their belt, then asked to follow on, India carved a memorable, character-building win that set the tone for the future. It also led to an entire generation of Test cricket captains giving up on the idea of follow ons. Today, we will revisit those five days of the very best Test cricket had to offer. Listen on...