Top 5 Indian wins against Australia in Tests

Having drawn the T20I series against Australia, the Men in Blue will be excited to face the Test challenge as they face Australia in a four-match Test series starting from 6th December in Adelaide. The Test series between India and Australia is expected to throw us again in some of the fiery contests between the Indian batsmen and the Australian bowlers.

Moreover, other than usual, with the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, and Ishant Sharma, the Indian pace battery is likely to pose a grim challenge for the Australian batsmen in the coming series.

As usual, the verbal attacks have begun as the two teams have spoken a lot about their counterparts and the way they are going to deal with the opposition in the series. In addition to that, the Indian captain and the Indian coach are of the impression that Australia will unquestionably throw plenty of challenges towards the Indian team despite Smith and Warner's absence.

Hence, before Virat Kohli and men lock horns against Australia in the first Test at Adelaide Oval, let us look at India's top five wins against Australia in Tests.

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#5 3rd Test Melbourne - India's tour of Australia 1977-78

In 1977-78, India toured Australia for a 5-match Test series and had a horrendous start to the series as the Indian team lost both of their first two encounters and were standing on the brink of a yet another whitewash in Australia. But, cricket, the game of uncertainty, witnessed one of the greatest turnarounds as India went on to win the third Test by a hefty margin of 222 runs.

India won the toss and elected to bat first. India didn't have a great start as both of their openers, Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan, made a long walk back to the pavilion with a score of zero each. Howbeit, Amarnath and Viswanath's fifties helped India post a respectable total of 256. In reply, Australia scored 213 with Cosier and Serjeant being the only contributors.

Having possessed a decent lead, India posted a target of 387 runs for Australia on the back of Gavaskar's glorious century in the second innings. The total proved to be too dear for Australia as India's spin-twins, BS Chandrasekhar and BS Bedi, ran through the Australian batting line-up while bundling them out for 164.

The win proved to be quite memorable for India as they defied a whitewash and this also was their first-ever Test win on the Australian soil.

#4 2nd Test Adelaide - India's tour of Australia 2003-04

The 2003 Adelaide Test happens to be one of the best wins for India against Australia. It also happened to India's first Test win against Australia in Australia in the 21st century (2000 onwards).

On a bright sunny day, Sourav Ganguly and Steve Waugh walked out to toss, and the latter called it right as Australia elected to bat first. The pitch at Adelaide Oval was looking top-notch under the bright sun. Justin Langer and Mathew Hayden opened the proceedings for India. But, the highlight of Australia's first innings was Ricky Ponting's remarkable knock of 242 that helped the Australians post an enormous total of 556.

In reply, India's Mr. Dependabale aka Rahul Dravid's 233 and VVS Laxman's 148 set the platform for India's mammoth total of 523. Leading by 33 runs, Australia managed to score just 196 runs in their second innings as Ajit Agarkar's 6-wicket haul rattled the Australians leaving India with a target of 230 to win a historic Test match.

Once again, it was Mr. Dependable who came to the rescue and took the Indian team over the line as the Ganguly-led team won the match by four wickets.

#3 3rd Test Perth - India's tour of Australia 2007-08

By the time India reached Perth for the third Test of 2007/08 Australian tour, the Indian team had already encountered Monkey-gate fiasco, the inconsistent umpiring decisions and what not. But, the Indian team was determined enough to go through those rough patches and bounce back in the series. And they did, they went on to win a record-breaking Test at Perth defying all the odds.

Anil Kumble was the captain who knew the side to which the coin would flip and elected to bat first on a pitch which was known for widened horrifying cracks in the fourth innings. Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag faced the opening music for India. The openers failed to give India a strong start as India crumbled at 59 for 2 when Dravid and Tendulkar walked in. Dravid's 93 and Tendulkar's 71 paved the way for India's 330 in the first innings.

In contrast to India, Australia were bundled out for a meager 212 with Gilchrist and Symonds scoring a fifty each. On the other hand, the Indian bowling had equal contributions from Irfan, Ishant, and Kumble who grabbed two wickets each. Besides, RP Singh was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets to his name.

Having acquired a lead of 118, India scored 294 in the second innings owing to Laxman's 79 while posting a target of 413. The total proved to be too glorious for Australia as they lost the match by 72 runs with Irfan being the pick of the Indian bowlers in second innings.

#2 1st Test Mohali - Australia's tour of India 2010

One of the closest wins that India ever had in their history of Test cricket was against Australia at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali, Chandigarh. The Test went down as one of the most exciting encounters between the two sides.

It was the first Test of the series as MS Dhoni and Ricky Ponting shook hands at the toss time. Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. Shane Watson and Simon Katich opened the innings for Australia, and they posted a total of 428 on the back of Watson's 126, Ponting's 71, and Tim Paine's 92 while Zaheer Khan (5 wickets) was the star performer from the Indian base.

In response, India scored 405 with the valuable contributions of Sehwag (59), Dravid (77), Tendulkar (98), and Raina (86). On the other hand, Mitchell Johnson was the pick of the bowlers for Australia while picking up a 5-wicket haul.

Leading by 23 runs, Australia managed to score just 192 in their second innings as the Indian bowlers rattled the Australian lineup. With a target of 216 up against them, India opened the innings with Sehwag and Gambhir. India had a horrendous start, and their middle-order failed too.

However, one man was steadily holding his post at the other end while the others were falling like a pack of cards. The man was VVS Laxman. The tension grew as each wicket fell and eventually India was down and out at 124 for 8. And then the Ishant and Laxman partnership happened that snatched the victory for India as they won the match by one wicket.

#1 2nd Test Kolkata - Australia's tour of India 2001

One of the best wins that India ever had over Australia was at Eden Gardens, Kolkata in 2001 when India was trailing by 1-0 in the three-match series and was on the brink of a disappointing series loss at home. But, all of that didn't happen as we witnessed one of the best performances by the Indian team in the 2nd Test.

It was the month of March as the two captains - Sourav Ganguly, and Steve Waugh - walked out to toss. Australia called it right and chose to bat first. Mathew Hayden and Michael Slater opened the proceedings for Australia. On the back of Hayden (97), Langer (58), and Steve Waugh (110), Australia amassed 445 in their first innings with Harbhajan Singh, the newbie, taking seven wickets for India.

In contrast to Australia, India was bundled out for 171 with VVS Laxman (59) being the top-scorer. Glenn McGrath (4 wickets) was the pick of the bowlers for Australia. Consequently, Australia enforced the follow-on on India. And then, India's two of the finest batsmen displayed their best innings as they scored 281 and 180 respectively while taking India to a total of 657 for 7 (declared). Oh! I forgot to mention the names. But, do I need to?

Laxman's 281 and Dravid's 180 helped India post a hefty target of 384 runs ahead of Australia on the last day. And once again, Harbhajan's 6-wicket haul disintegrated the Australians as they managed to score only 212 in their second innings with India winning the game by 171 runs. India went on to win the 3rd Test as well while clinching the three-match series 2-1.