What is Team India’s record in Boxing Day Test matches?
India will take on South Africa in the Boxing Day Test at the SuperSport Park in Centurion from Tuesday, December 26. This will be the second of the two Boxing Day clashes for the 2023-24 season. Australia will also be facing Pakistan in the second Test of the three-match series at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
India will be led by Rohit Sharma in the Test matches. The veteran batter did not feature in the white-ball games. While Suryakumar Yadav captained the Men in Blue in the T20Is, KL Rahul took charge of the team for the ODI series. Apart from Rohit, Virat Kohli, who also did not feature in the limited overs matches, returns for the Test challenge.
The Test series in South Africa will be the first assignment for Kohli and skipper Rohit since the heartbreaking loss in the 2023 World Cup final. Both delivered good performances, but India failed to get over the line.
The duo, as well as the Indian team as a whole, will be keen to deliver a special performance in the Boxing Day match against the Proteas.
How India have fared in Boxing Day Test matches
Team India have featured in 17 Boxing Day Test matches so far, winning four and losing 10. Three of the other games have ended in a draw.
India’s first Boxing Day Test match was against Australia at MCG in 1985. The match ended in a draw. Greg Matthews (100) and Allan Border (163) scored impressive centuries for the hosts. For India, Ravi Shastri claimed eight wickets.
India’s second Boxing Day encounter was against West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 1987. This game also ended in a high-scoring draw as Gordon Greenidge (141), Gus Logie (101), Carl Hooper (100*), and Dilip Vengsarkar (102) crossed three figures.
India’s first Boxing Day Test loss came in 1991 when they went down to Australia by eight wickets. Left-arm pacer Bruce Reid starred in the match with figures of 6/66 and 6/60. Team India then lost to South Africa by nine wickets in Gqeberha in 1992. Allan Donald ran through the visitors’ batting line-up with 5/55 & 7/84.
India’s disappointing run continued as they lost their next six Boxing Day Test matches as well. South Africa hammered them by 328 runs in Durban (1996), New Zealand beat them by four wickets in Wellington (1998), Australia defeated them by 180 runs in Melbourne (1999) and by nine wickets at the same venue in 2003.
In 2006, the Proteas got the better of India by 174 runs in Durban. India then suffered another Boxing Day loss to the Aussies by 337 runs at the MCG (2007).
India register maiden Boxing Day Test triumph
India’s first-ever win in a Boxing Day Test came in Durban in 2010 when they beat South Africa by 87 runs. Daley Steyn claimed six wickets to bowl out India for 205 in the first innings, but the visitors hit back strongly courtesy of Harbhajan Singh (4/10) and Zaheer Khan (3/36) to clean up the Proteas for 131. VVS Laxman then scored a sublime 96 in the second innings as India set South Africa a target of 303. The hosts were all out for 215.
In their next Boxing Day Test, though, India suffered another loss, going down to Australia by 122 runs during their disastrous 2011 tour. They also succumbed to a 10-wicket defeat to South Africa in Durban in 2013.
India managed to eke out a draw in the 2014 Boxing Day encounter against Australia at the MCG courtesy of famous tons from Virat Kohli (169) and Ajinkya Rahane (147).
India have won their last three Boxing Day Test matches
Team India have been brilliant in their last three Boxing Day Test matches, winning all of them. They beat Australia by 137 runs in 2018 as Cheteshwar Pujara (106) got a century in the first innings, while Jasprit Bumrah shone with nine wickets.
Rahane (112 & 27*) then led Team India to an iconic victory at the MCG in 2020. The visitors had been bundled out for 36 in Adelaide, but Rahane led a sensational fightback for India in the next Test as they registered an eight-wicket win. A buoyant India went on to clinch the series with another historic win in Brisbane in the fourth and final Test of the series.
India’s most recent Boxing Day encounter was against the Proteas in Centurion in 2021. KL Rahul led the way with the bat scoring 123 in the first innings as India put up 374. Mohammed Shami (5/44 & 3/63) starred with the ball as the visitors registered a famous win by 113. They will be hoping for an encore in the upcoming Boxing Day Test at the same venue.