5 most memorable Test series wins for Team India in the last 75 years
Prior to India's independence i.e. August 15, 1947, India had played just 10 Test matches (all against England). They had lost six of the said Tests and four were draws.
Post-independence though, they have played 554 Test matches, having won 168, lost 169, one tie, and 216 ending in draws.
Team India have so far won Test series in West Indies, England, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and Sri Lanka in the last 75 years. Only South Africa remains to be conquered as far as the Test series is concerned.
On the occasion of India's 75th independence day, here is a look at five memorable Test series wins by the subcontinent side in the last 75 years:
#1. India tour of West Indies 1971- Maiden triumph over the Caribbean Kings in a Test series
Not many expected India to win the five-match Test series over hosts West Indies in 1971. After all, the visitors were yet to beat the hosts in a Test match, home or away.
However, Ajit Wadekar's men created history in 1971 by beating a strong West Indies team by a margin of 1-0 in the series.
The first Test of the series was played at Sabina Park in Jamaica. Dilip Sardesai scored a brilliant double century (212) in the match and set the tone for the remainder of the series.
The Windies were bowled out for 217 runs in their first innings and to skipper Gary Sober's astonishment, India enforced a follow-on. West Indies played cautiously in the second innings and the Test ended in a draw.
The second Test at Queen's Park Oval witnessed a certain Sunil Gavaskar making his debut. The Windies were bowled out for 214 in their first innings. Riding on Gavaskar's 65 and Sardesai's 112, the visitors took a lead of 138 in the first innings.
Srinivas Venkataraghavan picked up five wickets in the third innings of the Test and the Windies were bundled out for 261, leaving a target of 123. Sunil Gavaskar once again impressed in the second innings, scoring an unbeaten 67 as helped his side win the Test by seven wickets.
The third Test at Bourda in Guyana ended in a draw. Sunil Gavaskar once again showed his class with the bat and scored his first Test century in the first innings (116). He followed it up with an unbeaten 64 in the second innings.
The fourth Test at Kensington Oval also ended in a draw. West Indies scored a mammoth 501 in the first innings courtesy a brilliant unbeaten knock of 178 by skipper Gary Sobers.
Dilip Sardesai scored his third century of the series in India's first innings and guided them to a total of 347. West Indies scored at a quick pace in the second innings. They declared the innings as the score reached 180 leaving a target of 334. Sunil Gavaskar scored his second century of the series and the visitors managed to draw the fourth Test.
Team India almost won the fifth Test at Queen's Park Oval, having reduced the Windies to 165 runs for the loss of eight wickets.
The hosts chased 262 in the fourth innings. Sunil Gavaskar scored a century (124) in the first innings of the Test. He followed it up with a double century (220) in the third innings of the Test.
Gavaskar scored 774 runs in four matches in the series, which included three centuries and a double century.
India won the series by a margin of 1-0 and created history on Caribbean soil by winning their maiden Test series against West Indies.
#2. Tour of England 1971- First triumph on English soil and a series win by a margin of 1-0
The confident Indian team took on a strong English team in the English summer of 1971.
Prior to the said series, the visitors had played 19 Test matches on English soil and had lost 15 of the said Tests with four ending in draws. They were yet to win a Test on English soil. The team looked to replicate their performances in the Caribbean earlier in the year and win a series on English soil.
The first Test at Lord's ended in an exciting draw with both teams in with a chance before rain played a spoilt sport. Chasing 182 runs in the fourth innings, Team India were batting at 145 runs for the loss of eight wickets before the rain gods intervened.
The action shifted to Old Trafford for the second Test and the same also ended in a draw.
India created history at the Oval by winning the Test and the series.
Batting first, England scored 355 in their first innings. The visitors conceded a lead of 71 runs in the first innings and were bowled out for 284.
Farokh Engineer was the top scorer of the Indian innings and scored 59 runs. B. Chandrasekhar was the hero with the ball in the third innings of the Test and picked up six wickets for just 38 runs.
England were bowled out for just 101 runs and India had a target of 172 in the fourth innings. Ajit Wadekar, Dilip Sardesai and Gundappa Viswanath played cameos and guided their side to their first ever win on English soil.
Since then, India have won two more Test series in England i.e. in the years 1986 and 2007 in 12 attempts.
#3. Australia tour of India 2001- The hosts beat the invincible Aussies by a margin of 2-1
Australia toured India for a three-match Test series in 2001 having won their last 15 Test matches.
The visitors thumped their authority over the hosts in the first Test of the series by beating the hosts comprehensively by a margin of 10 wickets. With the win, they extended their winning run to 16 consecutive Tests.
The action shifted to Eden Gardens for the second Test. The Aussies were in full control of the first half of the Test, having taken a lead of 274 in the first innings.
Steve Waugh, the Australian skipper, enforced the follow-on and the rest is history.
The hosts were 232 for the loss of four wickets in their second innings before Rahul Dravid joined VVS Laxman at the crease. The duo added 376 runs and batted right through Day 4 without getting dismissed.
Laxman scored 281 whereas Dravid added 180 runs and ensured that India scored 657 runs in their second innings. Harbhajan Singh had the Aussie batsmen in a spinning web on Day 5 and picked up six wickets in the fourth innings of the Test.
Australia were bowled out for 212 and the hosts won the Test by 171 runs. The said Test victory is one of the greatest triumphs for the subcontinent side because the Test was won after being asked to follow-on.
Team India won the third Test in Chennai by a margin of two wickets and beat the Aussies by a margin of 2-1 in the three-match series.
Harbhajan Singh was brilliant with the ball in the Chennai Test and had brilliant figures of 15-217 in the said Test.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a brilliant century (126) in the first innings. The invincible Aussies were beaten by a young team and their series victory is one of the most memorable for Team India to date.
#4. Tour of Pakistan 2004 - First and only series win in Pakistan
India toured Pakistan for the first time in 15 years in 2004. Before 2004, the two teams had competed against each other 19 times in Test cricket in Pakistan.
Pakistan had won five of the said 19 Tests with the remaining 14 ending in draws. The visitors were yet to beat Pakistan in their den in Test cricket.
The 2004 series witnessed Team India creating history by beating the hosts by a margin of 2-1.
The first Test of the series at the Multan Cricket Stadium was dominated by Virender Sehwag, who became the first Indian cricketer to score a triple century. He also got the nickname "Multan ka Sultan" for that innings.
won the Multan Test?
Runs: 3️⃣0️⃣9️⃣
Fours/Sixes: 3️⃣9️⃣/ 6️⃣
#OnThisDay in 2004, Virender Sehwag became the first India player to score a triple hundred in Tests 🙌
Do you remember the margin by which 🇮🇳 won the Multan Test? https://t.co/YSgGgxk8ba
Tendulkar scored 194 in the said innings and India scored a mammoth 675 in the first innings.
Pakistan were bowled out for 407 and 216 in both their innings and lost the Test by a margin of an innings and 52 runs.
Pakistan then beat the visitors by nine wickets in the second Test at Gadaffi Stadium in Lahore and the series was level at 1-1.
The third Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium witnessed the brilliance of Rahul Dravid. Pakistan were bowled out for 224 in their first innings.
Team India scored 600 in their first innings, with Dravid being the top scorer, scoring 270 runs. Pakistan managed to score just 245 runs in their second innings and the visitors won the Test by a margin of an innings and 131 runs.
Team India won the series by a margin of 2-1 and recorded their first Test series win in Pakistan. The said series win is their only one in Pakistan to date.
#5. Tour of Australia (2020-2021) - Defying all odds to beat Australia by a margin of 2-1
The said series win is one of the most significant for Team India in the recent past.
The first Test of the series was a day/night Test at the Adelaide Oval. The visitors took a lead of 53 in the first innings of the Test. However, they were bundled out for a paltry 36 in the third innings of the Test, their lowest ever score in Test cricket.
The Aussies chased the target with ease and were 1-0 up in the four-match Test series.
The action shifted to the MCG for the Boxing Day Test. The subcontinent side were without their regular skipper Virat Kohli and one of their most experienced pacers, Mohammad Shami, who was ruled out due to an injury.
However, the visitors recovered brilliantly from their defeat in the previous Test. The hosts were bowled out for a paltry total of 195 in the first innings. Skipper Ajinkya Rahane led from the front and scored a brilliant century (112), and helped his side score 326 in the first innings.
Australia scored just 200 runs in the third innings of the Test, and Team India chased the target of 69 with eight wickets in hand.
The third Test witnessed a brilliant fourth innings rescue by two players in Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin.
The visitors had a target of 406 to win in the fourth innings and had lost half of their side in 88.2 overs with almost 45 overs left on day five.
Vihari and Ashwin showed character and batted with grit and determination for 256 balls to deny the hosts a win. Vihari, despite suffering from a hamstring injury, batted 161 balls in the innings. Meanwhile, Ashwin batted for 128 balls and bailed out his side.
The four-match series was well poised at 1-1 with the final Test to be played at the Gabba.
The Gabba was a fortress for the hosts. They had not lost a Test at the ground since 1988 and were expected to thrash the visitors. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side were without the services of Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, and Hanuma Vihari for the Test.
However, a young Indian team created history and beat the Aussies fairly and squarely to clinch the series by a margin of 2-1.
The last Test played in Australia... Fortress Gabba was breached by India 💪
https://t.co/IxZeRhaytg
They had to chase 327 in the fourth innings, with Rishabh Pant playing a match-winning unbeaten innings of 89. He had the able support of Shubman Gill, who scored 91, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who scored 56 runs.
The visitors' inexperienced bowling lineup consisted of Mohammed Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, T. Natarajan, and Washington Sundar. However, they bowled out the Australians twice and were instrumental in their triumph.