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Test cricket is the most challenging format of the sport. And if a team is playing against Virat Kohli's India or Ricky Ponting's Australia on their respective turfs, things get a lot harder. Competing against these formidable units speaks a lot about the character of the touring teams.
India's 1-0 win against world Test champions New Zealand was their 14th consecutive Test series win at home. The series win also took them back up to the number one spot in the ICC Test rankings. The last time India lost a home series in Test cricket was way back in 2012 against Alastair Cook's England.
On that note, let's look at the top three longest series winning streaks at home in Test cricket.
#3 Australia- 10 (1994-2000)
The Australian Test team played 37 matches in this duration. They ended up with 27 wins, five draws, and five losses - a win percentage of about 73. Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Adam Gilchrist captained Australia during this time period.
Mark Waugh was the highest run-getter with 2784 runs at an average of 49. Steve Waugh had the highest average - 2503 runs at an average of 56. Michael Slater (2170 runs) and Mark Taylor (1828 runs) were also major contributors. Youngsters like Justin Langer (1260 runs) and Ricky Ponting (1466 runs) also started finding their feet in this phase.
Glenn McGrath took 152 wickets at a staggering average of 20.36 and a strike rate of 49.2. Shane Warne picked up 141 wickets at an average of 24.69 and a strike rate of 59.8. They were well supported by other bowlers like Stuart MacGill (41 wickets), Damien Fleming (56 wickets) and Craig McDermott (53 wickets).
Australia won two Ashes series by a 3-1 margin. Both of them (1994/95, 98/99) came under Mark Waugh's leadership. They also beat Pakistan (1995, 99), South Africa (1997/98), India (1999/00), Sri Lanka (1995/96), West Indies (2000), and New Zealand (1997).
#2 Australia- 10 (2004-2008)
Australia, under Ricky Ponting, went on to become one of the most ruthless and dominant teams in the history of Test cricket. It was virtually impossible to beat Australia anywhere, let alone at home. Ponting is considered one of the most successful captains in Test cricket history. In 27 matches during the aforementioned time period, Australia won 23, drew three and lost just one.
The Ricky Ponting-led team had some of the best batters in Australian Test cricket history - Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ponting, Michael Clarke, Mike Hussey, Adam Gilchrist and Andrew Symonds.
Ponting scored 2643 runs at an incredible average of 70, while Michael Hussey scored 1794 runs at an average of 75 during the time period. All of the above-mentioned batsmen also averaged more than 40.
Brett Lee was the highest wicket-taker with 105 wickets at an average of 25.17 and a strike rate of 46.8. Warne (94 wickets) and McGrath (82 wickets) followed him in the top wicket-takers list.
They whitewashed England in the 2006/07 Ashes, which was one of the highlights of Ponting's tenure as Test captain. They also beat India, New Zealand, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Pakistan by convincing margins.
#1 India- 14 (2013- present)
India's dominance in home Tests in the last eight years has been unmatched. In their last 40 home Tests, the Indian Test team have won 32, drawn six and lost just two. Virat Kohli has been captain for the most part, leading India to 24 Test wins in 31 games. In Kohli's absence, Ajinkya Rahane has led the team to two wins and a draw. Before Kohli took over, MS Dhoni captained India to six wins in a row.
India's top batters during this period have been Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sharma has scored 1670 runs at a mind-boggling average of 79.52, while Kohli has scored 3251 runs at an average of 65.02. Cheteshwar Pujara (2969 runs) and Murali Vijay (1877 runs) have also been among the top run-getters for India.
The team possesses a world-class bowling attack. They have the best spinners in the world in Ravichandran Ashwin (246 wickets @ 20.10) and Ravindra Jadeja (159 wickets @ 20.67).
Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav are elite fast bowlers in subcontinental conditions, as they have the skills to bowl reverse swing. Jasprit Bumrah is in a league of his own The rise of Axar Patel and Mohammad Siraj in recent times has also been a joy to watch.
India's most memorable home series wins came against Australia, 4-0 in 2013 and 2-1 in 2017. They have also beaten England, South Africa, New Zealand, Bangladesh and West Indies twice in this time period.
