What is India's lowest total in Tests at home?
Team India has crumbled under the Australian spin trio in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar series at the Holkar Stadium, Indore on Wednesday, March 1.
The Men in Blue were bowled out for 109 in the first innings, which saw an astronomical amount of turn on a dry surface, allowing the spinners to exploit the conditions from the word go. The hosts were on the verge of being bowled out for an embarrassing first inning total, but lower-order resistance prevented such a circumstance.
A huge bowling effort from Australia means that India all out for 109!
#INDvAUS
Cameos by Umesh Yadav and Axar Patel early into second session helped the team get past the three-figure mark on a tough surface. It also helped India avoid the humiliation of recording their lowest first innings score at home, which still reads as 75.
During the 1st Test against the West Indies in 1987, the Men in Blue were bundled out for a humiliating total of 75 runs in the first innings in Delhi. Kris Srikkanth was dismissed for a duck, which was an ominous touch as the wickets continued to tumble after that.
@Richard25049348 Some more pictures from the 1987 Delhi Test (India vs West Indies). Patterson and Viv Richards. @venkatveda2003 @thefallingsweep https://t.co/yRG1rJdVfq
Arun Lal, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Kiran More were the only batters to record double digits as the famed West Indies bowling unit wrapped things up in just 30.5 overs.
In reply, India chipped in with a spirited bowling display and put up challenging fourth-innings target as well, but the visitors ended up as victors by five wickets.
What is Team India's second-lowest total in Tests at home?
During the 2008 home series against South Africa, Team India were bowled out for 76 in the first innings of the second Test in Ahmedabad. Only MS Dhoni and Irfan Pathan mustered up double figures. 19 extras by the Proteas bowlers ended up being the second biggest contributor for India in terms of runs.
Dale Steyn emerged as the pick of the bowlers with figures of 5-23 as it only took the pacers 20 overs to get through the famed batting unit. The hosts eventually ended up losing the contest by an inning and 90 runs despite a much better batting display in the second innings.
The Men in Blue's lowest Test total of all time remains the Adelaide debacle, where they were bowled out for a paltry 36 to concede a 1-0 deficit in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Will 109 prove to be enough on a challenging surface in Indore? Let us know what you think.