Top 5 overseas Test victories for India in recent times

Test Cricket is always considered as the pinnacle of the sport. The capability of the team and its strength is always measured by its performances in Tests. Whether it is the great West Indies team of the 70s or the Australian team of the 90s, they stood apart from the rest on the basis of their great Test records.

The Indian cricket team has a decent record in Tests over the years but they have always struggled in Overseas conditions. India has played close to 200 Tests in overseas conditions and has emerged victorious in only 15% of those matches India performing well in foreign conditions is a prerequisite if it is to achieve a status similar to the one enjoyed by Australia in the 90s

#5. India vs England, Trent Bridge 2007

India had come to England in the summer of 2007 after a disastrous first-round exit from the World Cup that year. The Indian team faced immense criticism and had a temporary coach in Lalchand Rajput after the sacking of former coach Greg Chappell for the England tour.

India managed to scrape out of the first Test with a draw thanks to the weather, after being reduced to 282/9 chasing a target of 379. The second test is famous for the Jelly Bean incident where the England fielders threw jellybeans on the crease when Zaheer Khan was batting and this turned out to be the turning point of the Series. The entire incident irked Zaheer and the Indian team and what came after that can be described as one of the most impressive displays of cricket by the Indian team.

The team scored a huge first innings score and backed it up by restricting England to a decent total in the second innings thanks to an inspirational spell by Zaheer who picked up a fifer in the 2nd innings. The batsmen chased down an easy target of 73 runs to take the team to a historic victory in Trent Bridge.

The victory in the match aided India in winning its first Test series in England since 1986 and it turned out to be England's first home series loss since 2001. The triumph was one of the most important victories in Dravid's captaincy career.

#4. India vs Australia, Adelaide 2003

Dravid was the chief protagonist of the victory

The Indian team had won its home Test series against the mighty Australians in 2001. This Indian team was brimming with confidence and the weak Indian touring sides of the 1990s were now a thing of the past. Team India was in brilliant form and had the capability to defeat Australians on their home turf.

India had drawn the first Test after taking the first innings lead in Brisbane. The second match proved to be an interesting match, where a result was made possible even after the mammoth first innings scores which were piled up by both the teams. In the first innings, both teams posted 500+ totals with Dravid and Ponting both scoring double centuries.

Indian bowlers bowled brilliantly in the second innings restricting Australia to a low score and enabling the Indian batsmen to chase an easy target. Dravid fired in both the innings to take the Indian team to one of its most famous victories.

The victory bears great significance in the history of Indian cricket. Australia was at its dominating best in 2003, and winning against them in their home conditions provided a great morale boost to the Indian team which would then go on to achieve great things in the future.

#3. India vs Pakistan, Multan 2004

Sehwag became the first Indian to score a triple century in Multan

Cricket between the two nations was suspended from 1999 and India had come to play in Pakistan after a gap of 15 years. The Indian team had a dismal record in the country, not winning a single Test series in Pakistan.

The new Indian team was in great form and was looking to set the record straight. India played their first test in Multan and the match turned out to be a historic one, with Virender Sehwag becoming the first Indian to score a triple century in Test Cricket.

India ended up with a mammoth first innings total thanks to Sehwag's first triple century. Pakistan also posted a decent first innings total, but it wasn't enough to avoid a follow on. Indian bowlers bowled brilliantly in the second innings to bundle Pakistan out for 216 to secure India a historic victory.

The match in Multan was the beginning of an important Test series for India. The team then lost the next match, but won the third and final match of the series to secure a historic Test series victory against arch-rivals Pakistan in their own backyard.

#2. India vs South Africa, Johannesburg 2006

Sreesanth dancing after hitting Nel for a six

India came into the 2006 Test series with an extremely poor record in South Africa. India hadn't won a single Test match in South Africa and this team was hell-bent in rewriting the history.

India played it's the first Test of the series in Johannesburg against a strong South African bowling side comprising the likes of Pollock, Ntini, an in-form Nel and Kallis. India batted first and posted a decent score in the first innings with a fifty from Ganguly.

South Africa was rattled in their first innings by an extremely impressive Sreesanth who was in the form of his life. South Africa was bowled out for just 84 with Sreesanth taking a fifer.

India batted well in the second innings as well to set South Africa a huge target of 402 runs. The South African batting was dismantled in the second innings by the Indian bowlers resulting in one of the most historic Test victories for India. India won the first ever Test in South Africa thanks to a brilliant performance by the Indian bowlers.

#1. India vs Australia, Perth 2008

Anil Kumble lead India to one of its most memorable victories in Perth

India came to Australia with a poor record in the country winning just 4 Test matches in Australia. India had a poor opening game where they were bundled out for less than 200 in both innings in the 1st Test match at Melbourne. India lost the second Test at Sydney from a winning position due to multiple umpiring errors.

The 2nd Test at Sydney was filled with controversies leading to several on field and off field altercations between the players as well as between the cricket boards of the two countries. Harbhajan Singh was accused of racism in the infamous monkey-gate incident at Sydney, and captain Kumble had publicly accused Australia of not playing the series with the true spirit of the game.

With the poor form of important players, grave umpiring errors against the team and charges of racism against one of their premium spinners almost everything that could have gone wrong for India had gone wrong. With this backdrop, India came into play the 3rd Test match at Perth.

India batted well in the first innings and posted a par total. In response, Australian batsmen were outsmarted by the Indian bowlers restricting them to a below par total giving India a huge lead in the first innings. The Indian batsmen consolidated in the second innings setting Australia a target of 412.

The Indian bowlers restricted Australia to 340 runs in the 2nd Innings to give India a monumental victory against the World Champions. Captain Kumble deserves a large part of the credit for this stellar performance for the way he carried the team in extremely tough conditions