# 3 – Mohammed Azharuddin (14 matches)
Azharuddin is unfortunately remembered for many wrong reasons now, the latest among them being a film made fictionalising his life. Amidst all the dirt, and the grace of the leg glance and cover drive, it is easy to forget that Azhar brought a rare stability to the Indian team in the mid-1990s.
Azhar’s captaincy career started with tough away tours of New Zealand and England, where his team failed to register a single win. A horrendous 0-4 loss to Australia followed in 1992. The Africa series towards the end of the year too started badly, a win against Zimbabwe was not possible, and South Africa inflicted one defeat.
However, as the year turned, something unexplainable happened. India drew the last Test of the South Africa series, following it up with a 3-0 drubbing of England later that month. Azharuddin himself was in glorious form with the bat, as Kapil Dev and India’s spin trio formed a lethal team. And then there was the young Sachin Tendulkar, holding abundant promise. Kapil’s mantle was soon passed on to young Javagal Srinath, as India looked again like the team to beat.
India then went on to beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in Sri Lanka, compounding it with a 3-0 sweep of the return tour. When West Indies toured in the winter of 1994, India had not lost a Test for almost two years, something which had not happened since the 1950s and something that has not happened since. It was West Indies, inspired by Courtney Walsh, Brian Lara and Jimmy Adams, who finally brought Azhar’s glorious run to an end.
Unbeaten from January 1993 to December 1994 – 9 wins, 5 draws
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