Reliving India's first Test series victory in each country
As of January 2019, India have won Test series in West Indies (four times), Bangladesh (four times), England (thrice), Sri Lanka (thrice), New Zealand (twice), Pakistan (once), Zimbabwe (once) and Australia (once). At home, India have won 46 Test series thus far.
Excluding recent entrants Afghanistan and Ireland, South Africa remains the only Full Member venue wherein India are yet to register a Test series victory.
In this segment, let us relive each of India's maiden Test series wins in nine different countries.
#1 India: 2-1 against Pakistan in 1952
India's first test series win at home came against the then debutants Pakistan in 1952. This was also India's first ever Test series win after playing 9 Test series in 20 years. Lala Amarnath's India took on Abdul Kardar's Pakistan in a 5-match Test series.
Kardar and Amir Elahi had previously represented India in Test matches. India thrashed Pakistan in the first match at Delhi by an innings and 70 runs. Pakistan beat India in the second Test at Lucknow and achieved their first ever win by an innings margin.
India went on to hammer Pakistan in the third Test at Mumbai by 10 wickets to take a 2-1 lead. The remaining 2 matches were drawn and India won the series 2-1.
#2 New Zealand: 3-1 in 1968
This was India's first ever tour of New Zealand. India had played 2 series against New Zealand at home previously. And they had also won both the series without dropping a match.
This was also India's first ever overseas victory. MAK Pataudi's troops took on New Zealand in a 4-match series. New Zealand managed to beat India in the second Test at Christchurch. However, India won the other three Tests (at Dunedin, Wellington and Auckland) to win the series 3-1.
#3 West Indies: 1-0 in 1971
Ajit Wadekar's team toured West Indies in 1971. This was India's third tour to the Caribbean in 18 years. They played 5 Tests against Sir Garry Sobers' West Indies team.
India won the 2nd Test at Port of Spain by 7 wickets despite Jack Noreiga's 9-wicket haul. This was also India's first ever win against West Indies. The other four matches were drawn and India won the series 1-0.
#4 England: 1-0 in 1971
Under Ajit Wadekar's captaincy, India clinched another famous overseas series victory. After touring England seven times since their debut in 1932, India managed to win the series on English soil for the first time in 1971.
India played a 3-match Test series against the Ray Illingworth-led England team. The first two matches were drawn. India won the deciding Test at the Oval by 4 wickets to win the series. Their victory was set up Bhagwat Chandrashekar's six-wicket haul in the second innings. It was also the first time that India had won a Test match in England.
#5 Sri Lanka: 1-0 in 1993
Mohammed Azharuddin's Indian team took on Arjuna Ranatunga's Sri Lankan side in a 3-match Test series in 1993. This was the second time India were touring Sri Lanka for a Test series. They had lost the first one in 1985.
After drawing the first Test, India thrashed Sri Lanka in the 2nd test by 235 runs. This was India's first Test win in Sri Lanka and their first overseas Test victory in seven years. Kapil Dev played his 126th Test match to become the most capped Indian player and the 2nd most capped in the world. The third Test was drawn and India won the series 1-0.
#6 Bangladesh: 1-0 in 2000
After beating Pakistan in a match in the 1999 World Cup, Bangladesh were awarded full membership in 2000 which allowed them to play Test matches. As a result, the Naimur Rahman-led Bangladesh team made their Test debut against an Indian team led by Sourav Ganguly.
Zaheer Khan made his Test debut for India in this match. Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. Aminul Islam scored a century to help the hosts post 400 runs in their first innings at Dhaka.
In reply, India scored 429 runs as Sunil Joshi top-scored with 92. In the second innings, Bangladesh were bowled out for 91 runs.
India hunted down their target of 64 runs with 9 wickets to spare and consequently won the one-off Test match. Joshi was adjudged the man of match for his all-round performance.
#7 Pakistan: 2-1 in 2004
India toured Pakistan in 2004 for 5 ODIs and 3 Tests. Having won the ODI series for the first time on Pakistani soil, India were ready to take on Inzamam-ul-Haq's team in the Test series.
Ganguly, who was injured in the fifth ODI, was ruled out of the first two Tests. Hence, Rahul Dravid led the team in the first two Tests. In the first Test at Multan, India won the toss and piled on 675 runs for the loss of just five wickets.
Virender Sehwag became the first ever Indian batsman to score a triple hundred in a Test innings. India won the first Test by an innings and 53 runs after enforcing the follow-on. This was the first instance of India winning a Test match on Pakistani soil.
Pakistan bounced back in the 2nd Test at Lahore by winning by nine wickets. Ganguly returned in the 3rd Test at Rawalpindi and took over the captaincy from Rahul Dravid.
After being put into bat, Pakistan managed to score only 224 runs in their first innings. India, in reply, scored 600 runs. Dravid scored a career-best 270. India went on to win the match by an innings and 131 runs to take the series 2-1.
#8 Zimbabwe: 2-0 in 2005
India toured Zimbabwe for a Tri-Nation ODI tournament and a Test series in 2005. Sourav Ganguly's troops took on Tatenda Taibu's Zimbabwe team in a two-match Test series.
In the first Test at Bulawayo, Irfan Pathan picked 9 wickets (5/58 and 4/43) and scored a fifty. Ganguly and VVS Laxman scored centuries to help India win the match by an innings and 90 runs.
In the second Test, Irfan Pathan claimed 12 wickets to propel India to a ten-wicket win at Harare. India had won their maiden Test series in Zimbabwe by a 2-0 margin.
#9 Australia: 2-1 in 2018-19
India won their first ever Test series on Australian soil during 2018-19. This triumph came after 72 since their maiden visit to Australia.
Also Read: What happened in India's 12 attempts in 72 years in Australia
In the first Test at Adelaide, India relied on Cheteshwar Pujara's masterful century to win the match by 31 runs. Australia bounced back by winning the second Test at Perth. However, Virat Kohli's team hammered the hosts by 137 runs in the third Test at Melbourne. The fourth Test at Sydney ended in a draw because of rain. But India had won a historic series 2-1.