Five Most Memorable Test Series Wins for Team India

In recent years, the Indian cricket team has been quite successful in Test cricket. Previously, under the leadership of Virat Kohli, Team India reached the number-one spot in the ICC Test rankings. They have had notable series victories in both home and away conditions. Now Rohit Sharma has become the leading man and the hopes are high for the ferocious Indian batsman.

In 2020 and early 2021, India had a historic Test series win in Australia. Despite being faced with multiple key player injuries, the team showed great resilience and clinched the series 2-1, which was their second consecutive Test series win in Australia. This victory was highly praised and regarded as one of India’s finest moments in Test cricket.

In this article, we have compiled a list of the five most memorable series wins for Team India.

1) Australia vs India 2020-21

The series started in Adelaide with a day-night Test match. India’s batting struggled in their first innings, and they were bowled out for just 36 runs, their lowest-ever Test score. Australia won the match convincingly by 8 wickets, with Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood playing key roles. India made a strong comeback in the second Test. Ajinkya Rahane led the team in the absence of Virat Kohli, who returned to India for the birth of his child. India won the match by 8 wickets, with stand-out performances from Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, and Jasprit Bumrah. The third fixture ended up in a draw but in the fourth Test team India scored a thrilling and closely contested win. In a remarkable chase, India achieved the target on the final day, securing a historic victory by 3 wickets. The series was significant because India became the first team to defeat Australia at the Gabba in over three decades.

2) Pakistan vs Team India 2004

Both countries have big political issues and because of the same reason, they have become arch-rivals in sports. However, when it comes to cricket, because of the quality of players in both teams, they always grab the spotlight. After 15 years, team India was touring Pakistan in 2004 due to political tensions between the two teams. It should be noted that before 2004, team India always failed to score a series win against Pakistan at their home ground. However, the 2004 series will go down the history books as team India defeated Pakistan by 2-1. Virender Sehwag scored a triple century in the first Test and became “Multan ka Sultan”.

3) India vs Australia – 2001

Australia’s tour to India always has a certain amount of significance in international cricket. The two teams are evenly matched and in the past three decades, they both have produced some of the best cricketers in the world. In 2001, Australia was touring India for a three-match Test series where the meat match took place in Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Team India clinched a series victory by winning the first two fixtures and a team of legends went down the history books. The series is particularly remembered for the outstanding batting performances of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, who played key roles in India’s victories.

4) England vs India – 1971

India and England have a rich history of cricket and whenever both teams are on the ground, a certain thrill is always there among the fans. In 1971, team India travelled to England to play three-match Test series but unfortunately, the first two fixtures ended up in a draw at Lord’s and Old Trafford respectively. However, the third Test became a historical win for team India at the Oval as the visitors clinched the series by 1-0 and defeated the hosts. Farokh Engineer and B. Chandrasekhar were the heroes of the series.

5) West Indies vs India – 1971

There was a time when West Indies was the most feared team in the international cricket. They had the best players and it was next to impossible to defeat them in the Test format. However, during that era, the underdogs, team India made history as they defeated West Indies on their own soil and scored a series win by 1-0. Dilip Sardesai scored a double century in the first Test and gave momentum to the team. It is the same series where one of the most legendary Indian batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar made his debut in international cricket.