4 times India nearly won a Test Series in Australia 

#2 1985-1986, Drawn 0-0

When the best was not enough

Here India's failure to win the series could not be attributed to a lack of cutting edge, nor a failure to stop opposition batters amassing huge scores. It was simply down to luck.

India had the better of Australia in all the three Tests. They led in the first innings of each game by 139, 183, and 204 runs respectively, but were unable to force a result in any of the games.

This was largely due to poor weather, which intervened in the first two games.

Kapil Dev also criticised the umpires after the second test, when Allan Border was contentiously given not out early in the third innings.

Dev's frustration was compounded by Border going on to make an exceptional 163. His innings was particularly impressive for the fact that no other Australian batsman even passed 20 in this innings.

India themselves had some brilliant individual performers throughout the series. Gavaskar was chief among these, averaging 117.33 over the three tests.

Yet if they could be blamed for anything it was their four dropped catches in the first test. Though even then, the weather meant this would have been unlikely to change the result.

India, therefore, went home having battered a struggling Australian side but remarkably having not won a single Test.