First Test series win for India in each nation

India vs Australia at MCG
India vs Australia at MCG

India recorded their maiden Test series win in Australia, 71 years after having toured for the first time. Prior to this India played 11 Test series in Australia and lost 8 of them with 3 being drawn. The three drawn Test series were 1981, 19985 and 2004 respectively. Its been always tough outing in Australia now only for Indian even for any Asian team had visited this country.

India becomes the only Asian side to win a Test series in Australia. Till now 29 Asian captains played Test series in Australia and only Virat Kohli emerged as the winner. Pujara who scored 500+ runs along with 3 vital centuries won the Man of the series, he made the difference between the two sides.

India did really well in South Africa and England but the scoreline shows the other way. But it was not the case in Australia as India won the Adelaide Test and MCG Test by outplaying Australia in all the departments. This series win means India now has recorded a Test series win in eight Test playing nations except South Africa.

We will now look at India's Test series win in each of these eight countries.


#1 India won in New Zealand 3-1 (1968)

India's maiden away series came against New Zealand in 1968
India's maiden away series came against New Zealand in 1968

India's first ever Test series win in New Zealand came when they toured them in 1968. Nawab of Pataudi led India went to New Zealand to play a four-match Test series. India won the first Test by five wickets and thanks to E A S Prasanna for the six wickets haul in the second innings.

But, India lost the second Test Christchurch. GT Dowling smashed a double century in first innings, It helped the Kiwis win the Test by four wickets. Indian went to Wellington with series being 1-1.

It was Prasanna show yet again who took five wickets to haul in the first innings which helped India to bowl out the home side under 200 runs. India won the third Test by 8 wickets. It was Prasanna show in the final Test as well as he took 4 wickets in each innings. India won their maiden away Test series.

#2 India won in West Indies 1-0 (1971)

Sunil Gavaskar scored 774 runs on his debut series against West Indies
Sunil Gavaskar scored 774 runs on his debut series against West Indies

During the 70s and 80s era winning a Test against West Indies itself very big task and winning the series was a herculean task. Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar made his debut in this series. He played one of the key roles for India which helped them to beat the mighty West Indies on their home turf. Indian manage to draw the first Test also the third, fourth and fifth Test.

India won their maiden Test in West Indies at Port-Of-Spain. It happened to be Gavaskar's debut Test who made a half-century in both the innings against the strong West Indian attack also hit the winning runs.

It was a dream series for both Indian and Gavaskar. The Little Master becomes the first Indian to aggregate 700 runs in a Test series and he finished the series with 774 runs at an average 154.80. This is still the record for most runs made by anyone in a debut Test series. India registered their first ever Test series in the West Indies.

#3 India won in England 1-0 (1971)

India's first Test series win in England came in 1971

The year 1971 has been the dream year for India in Test cricket history. After a historic win in the Caribbean, they traveled to England to play a three-match Test series. India came so near to win the first Test. When England set the target of 183 runs to chase down in the fourth innings, Gavaskar, who carried his form from West Indies and scored a half-century in the fourth innings.

However, on the other side, they kept losing the wickets. In the end, Indian managed to draw the Test with the 145/8 on the board. The second Test between these two also ended in a draw. These two teams traveled to London for the decider. England piled up 355 runs on their first innings and India bowled for 284.

With a 71 run lead. England began the innings well but fell to BS Chandrashekhar's spin as he took a six-wicket haul and England was bowled out for 101 runs. Chasing 174 runs to win, India reached the target with six wickets down. Also, registered their first Test also the series win on English soil.

#4 India won in Sri Lanka 1-0 (1993)

Vinod Kambli scored a century in consecutive Tests vs Sri Lanka in 1993
Vinod Kambli scored a century in consecutive Tests vs Sri Lanka in 1993

Mohammad Azharuddin led Indian team visited Sri Lanka to play a three-match Test series in 1993. The first Test at Kandy lasted for only 12 overs as the remaining days were washed out due to heavy rain. It was one of the shortest Tests in cricket history.

After some rest, the Indian team played the second Test at Colombo. India batted first and Vinod Kambli scored his third consecutive century in Tests, after scoring a double century in his previous innings. It was a blockbuster start for Kambli's short career.

Sachin Tendulkar and Navjot Singh Sidhu scored centuries for India in the second innings and the hosts were set 472 runs to win the Test. The Islanders were bowled out for 236 runs and India won the Test by 235 runs. It was one their biggest away Test wins. Vinod Kambli yet again scored a century in the third Test and the game ended in a draw thus India won their maiden Test series in Sri Lanka.

#5 India won in Bangladesh 1-0 (2000)

Bangladesh played their inaugural Test against Indian in 2000
Bangladesh played their inaugural Test against Indian in 2000

Bangladesh attained their Test status in 2000 and they played their first ever Test against India at Dhaka. Bangladesh was the 10th Team to get the Test status. The home team won the toss and scored 400 runs on their first ever Test innings, thanks to Aminul Islam who scored 145 runs for them.

India responded with 429 runs in the first innings. The tables were turned upside down in the second innings as the home team was bowled out for 91 runs in the second innings. India chased down the target with one wicket down and India won the home team's inaugural test as well as the series.

Sunil Joshi won the man of the match for his all-round performance as he took a five-wicket haul in the first innings and also scored 93 vital runs with the bat. He also took three wickets in the second innings.

#6 India won in Pakistan in 2-1 (2005)

Virender Sehwag scored India's first ever triple century in Test history
Virender Sehwag scored India's first ever triple century in Test history

Whenever India play against Pakistan, the expectations are always sky high. After a 15 year hiatus, India traveled to Pakistan to play in a three-match Test series. It turned out to be a memorable series as Virender Sehwag registered India's first ever triple century in Test history at Multan in the first Test.

Also, the much talked about Rahul Dravid declaration with Tendulkar batting at 194 came in this Test. India won the Test by an innings and 52 runs. Pakistan hit back India in the second Test, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Imran Farhat scored centuries in first innings which helped them to win the second Test.

The decider took place at Rawalpindi, Indian fast bowler Lakshmipathy Balaji stole the show with the ball by taking four wickets in first innings. Dravid recorded his highest ever score of 270 runs in this Test. India won the Test by an innings and 131 runs also the historic series, thanks to some heroic performances which makes this series still memorable.

#7 Indian won in Zimbabwe 2-0 (2005)

Zimbabwe vs India in 2005
Zimbabwe vs India in 2005

In 2005, India played in a two-match Test series in Zimbabwe. Prior to this India visited had Zimbabwe three times but never won a Test series. Sourav Ganguly led a strong Indian team to the African nation to play a two-match Test series.

The first Test was played at Bulawayo. VVS Laxman and Ganguly scored centuries in the first innings which gave them a lead of 275 runs in. However, the home side were bowled out for 185 runs and India won the Test by an innings and 90 runs.

In the second Test also Zimbabwe didn't put up a strong performance and hence India thrashed them by 10 wickets winning the series 2-0. It wasn't a tough tour for India as the win was always on the cards since India were playing some fabulous cricket under the leadership of Ganguly during this era.

#8 India won in Australia 2-1 (2019)

India becomes the first team to register a Test series win in Australia
India becomes the first team to register a Test series win in Australia

India has been visiting Australia since 1947 but winning the Test series down under has been the dream for both players and the fans. India came to Australia as favorites to win the Test series. After a decent show in South Africa and England, the experts were putting their money on a strong Indian side.

On the other side, Australia facing one of their worst periods in cricket because of the ball tampering issues which led to the ban of Steve Smith and David Warner. However, their bowling looked strong which meant India had to play really well to win the series, Which is exactly what the visiting team did.

India won the Adelaide Test by 31 runs and took the lead 1-0. Then both the team went west to Perth and India made some questionable team selections which cost them the Test as Australia beat them by 137 runs.

A rejuvenated Indian team went to the MCG and won the all-important toss and also picked the right playing XI. India won the historic Boxing Day Test by 137 runs and took the series lead 2-1. It was a special effort from both Jasprit Bumrah and Cheteshwar Pujara.

The final Test between these two ended in a draw due to rain though India had the upper hand. Eventually, India went on win their maiden Test series after 12 attempts in 71 years. Pujara was the difference between the two sides and was rightly awarded the Man of the series. It was a moment to cherish for both players and fans.

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Edited by Aditya Joshi