5 of India's most memorable victories by an innings

Cricket in India was introduced by the European merchant sailors in the 18th century but it was not before 1932 India got to play its first Test match. Under the captaincy of C.K.Naydu, the Indian team became the 6th nation in the world to be granted Test status. The initial years in the international circuit wasn’t that good and it took 25 Tests and 20 years for India to win its first Test match.

In the 90’s under the captaincy of Mohammed Azharuddin , the Indians became invincible at home but their away record was far from impressive. It was under Sourav Ganguly that India started winning abroad on a regular basis. The arrival of Sachin Tendulkar paved a whole new dimension to Indian batting during the 90’s and after the emergence of Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid the middle order looked rock solid.

The last 2 to 3 decades had been eventful for Indian cricket they have come out on top in many memorable matches. The victories have been sweet when inflicted with a innings defeats on their opposition and even more so when on foreign soil. Now here we bring you five memorable matches where India inflicted innings victories.

Harbhajan Singh celebrates after dismissing Morne Morkel

#1 India Vs South Africa (Kolkata, 2010, innings & 57 runs)

India came into the match 1-0 down in the series and they had to win to keep their No.1 ranking in Tests intact. The match was far more thrilling than the scorecard suggested and though India won by an innings, Hashim Amla along with No. 11 Morne Morkel almost saved an impossible match for the Proteas.

Proteas won the toss and opted to bat. After a solid platform laid down by Hashim Amla and Alviro Peterson, the Proteas lost the plot altogether and from a healthy 218-1 they collapsed like a pack of cards and were bundled out for 296 in their 1st innings. Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh were the wreckers-in-chief with 4 and 3 wickets respectively.

India responded in a terrific fashion and courtesy centuries from Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and MS Dhoni they piled up a mammoth 643/6 dec in their 1st innings. The match was firmly in India’s grasp and all they needed was to dismiss the Proteas inside 2 days. Rain gods played spoilsport on the fourth day and Indians had to take 7 wickets on the final day to win the Test match.

It was Harbhajan Singh who spun a web around the South African batsmen and with 20 overs left India was just one wicket away from a memorable victory.

But a certain Hashim Amla was not yet ready to give up and he along with Morne Morkel kept their hopes alive for a series victory. Morkel played out 76 balls but in the penultimate over of the match a Bhajji arm ball struck Morkel plumb in front and he was adjudged out. It was one of the most memorable Test matches ever, and it was Harbhajan Singh’s spell that enabled India to keep their No.1 ranking in Tests intact.