Top Five Team India’s Innings-Wins Outside of Asia

Team India is touring West Indies for a two-match Test series and a three-match ODI series. They have already scored a comfortable win in the first Test. It was an innings win by 141 runs and team India completely dominated the hosts. 

India consistently ranked among the top teams in the ICC Test Team Rankings. They have often occupied one of the top positions and competed closely with teams like Australia and England for the top spot.

In recent years, Team India had shown considerable improvement in their performance in overseas Test matches. They achieved historic series victories in countries like Australia, England, and South Africa, proving their ability to compete and win in challenging conditions.

Here is a list of the top 5 innings-win for team India outside of the Asian continent.

Innings win by 92 runs vs WI, North Sound, 2016

During the 2016 season, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, team India dominated West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound. Batting first, team India scored a humongous 566 runs and the major contributors were Virat Kohli, who scored his double century, Ravichandran Ashwin who scored 113 runs off 253 balls at a strike rate of 44.66, and Shikhar Dhawan who scored 84 off 147 balls at a strike rate of 57.14. 

When it came to bowling, West Indies was unable to surpass the target as Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami dominated with their pace. West Indies witnessed a follow-on and was allowed to bat again but this time Ashwin displayed his spin talent and picked up 7 wickets.

Innings win by 90 runs vs ZIM, Bulawayo, 2005

This Test match was part of a two-match Test series between India and Zimbabwe in 2005. India dominated the first Test, securing a comprehensive victory by an innings and 90 runs. Irfan Pathan and Zaheer Khan were the standout bowlers for India picking up 5 and 3 wickets respectively in the first inning. 

Rahul Dravid (77), Sourav Ganguly (101), and VVS Laxman (140) were the top contributors in the first inning. In the second innings, Zimbabwe managed to score 185 runs and Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan picked up 4 wickets each and controlled the match.

Innings win by 46 runs vs ENG, Leeds, 2002

This Test match was part of a four-match Test series between India and England in 2002. The match ended up in favour of team India as they dominated the Test with exceptional batting performance. Sachin Tendulkar’s innings of 193 and Rahul Dravid’s 148 were the highlights of India’s first innings and Sourav Ganguly scored 128 off 167 balls. 

Overall team India’s first inning ended up with a score of 628 runs. In reply, England was all out for 273 runs where Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked up 3 wickets each. In the 2nd inning, England were all sent back pavilion for 309 runs as Anil Kumble picked up 4 wickets and Sanjay Bangar scalped 2 wickets.

Innings win by 2 runs vs AUS, Sydney, 1978

The 4th Test win over Australia at Sydney in 1978 was one of the historical wins. In the 1st inning, Australia scored 131 runs and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar picked up 4 wickets. In reply, Team India scored 396 runs with Gundappa Viswanath and Karsan Ghavri scoring 79 and 64 respectively. 

The second inning of Australia was all over at 263 runs as Erapalli Prasanna picked up 4 wickets. It was the beginning of the new era of Indian cricket which helped the team to prepare for future challenges.

Innings win by 141 runs vs WI, Roseau, 2023

The recent addition to the list is the win over West Indies by 141 runs at Roseau in the first Test of the two-match Test series. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 5 wickets in the 1st inning and in reply team, India scored 421 runs where skipper Rohit Sharma (103) and the debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (171) were the major contributors. In the 2nd inning, Ashwin again displayed his talent as he picked up 7 wickets at an economy of 3.30.