Most one-sided contests in Test cricket in recent memory

Cricket has had its own share of one-sided contests. Among them, there have several whitewashes where one of the teams has been completely hammered.Heres a look at 6 whitewashes in recent memory.

#6 England v New Zealand 2013

England with the trophy

New Zealand got off to a good start in the first Test of the two-match series at Lord’s, bowling out England for 232. However, in reply, they were bowled out for 207. England, then, could only manage 213 – thanks to a 71 from Joe Root – in their second innings.

New Zealand, in the final innings of the match, were skittled out for 68, thanks to an outstanding spell of fast bowling from Stuart Broad, who picked up 7 for 44.

Heading into the second Test 1-0 up, England posted a competitive 354 all-out with hometown boy Joe Root scoring a hundred. New Zealand, in reply, were bowled out for 174, with Graeme Swann picking up 4 wickets. Led by a hundred from Captain Alastair Cook, England set New Zealand a target of 468 in the fourth innings. However, Graeme Swann once again starred for the hosts picking up 6 wickets and helping England win the series 2-0.

#5 Pakistan v Australia 2014-15

Pakistan celebrating their win

Pakistan and Australia squared off in a two-match Test series in the United Arab Emirates after the visitors had won the ODI series 3-0.

Thanks to hundreds from Younis Khan and Sarfaraz Ahmed, Pakistan posted 454 runs on the board. In reply, Australia, despite a fine 133 from David Warner, handed the hosts a lead of 151. Ahmed Shahzad and Younis Khan scored hundreds in Pakistan's second innings to set Australia a target of 438. On a turning pitch, the Pakistani spinners ran through the Australian batting line-up picking up nine out of the 11 Australian wickets and, in turn, help their side win by 221 runs.

Heading into the second Test at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Pakistan had a great chance to win the series 2-0. Their batting once again came good with Younis scoring a double hundred. None of the Australian batsmen apart from Mitchell Marsh got going as the visitors were bowled out for 261. Helped by a hundred from Ahmed Shahzad and a record-equalling ton from captain Misbah Ul-Haq, Australia were set a target of 603. Once again, the duo of Yasir Shah and Zulfiqar Babar wreaked havoc to pick up 8 out of the 11 wickets to help Pakistan win by 356 runs and also the series 2-0.

#4 Australia v England 2013-14 Ashes series

Australia posing with the urn

Hoping to win their second Ashes in a row in Australia, England arrived in Brisbane. However, Australia, right from Day 1, showed that they were ready for a fight this time, and, thanks to a fiery spell of fast bowling from Mitchell Johnson and hundreds from David Warner and Michael Clarke, they hammered England by 381 runs in the first Test.

Australia arrived at Adelaide high on confidence, and that showed in their play as they amassed 570 runs on the board, thanks to a century from Michael Clarke. In response, Mitchell Johnson ripped the heart out of the England batting line-up picking up 7 for 40 to bundle the visitors out for 172. In their second innings, Australia once again batted well to set England a target of 530 for a win. Despite fifties from Joe Root, Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior, Australia crushed England by 218 runs to go 2-0 up.

Australia knew that this was their best chance to reclaim the Ashes as they reached Perth for the third Test. Helped by a hundred from Steve Smith, they posted 385 runs on the board. A collective effort from the home side’s bowlers meant that England were bowled out for 251 in their first innings. Hundreds from David Warner and Shane Watson helped their side set England a target of 504 to win. The Australian bowlers, led by Mitchell Johnson, once again wreaked havoc as they reclaimed the Ashes and went 3-0 up.

The Boxing Day Test match in Melbourne saw England make a comeback of some sorts as they bowled out Australia for 204 after scoring 255 in their first innings. However, thanks to a five-wicket haul from Nathan Lyon, the hosts bowled out England for 179. Chasing 231 for a win, Australia won the game convincingly, thanks to a fine 116 by Chris Rogers and an 83 from Shane Watson.

The New Year's Test match at Sydney saw the Aussies post 326, courtesy a hundred from Smith. As was the case in all the preceding Tests, the Australians bowled superbly to dismiss England for 155. Australia, in their second innings, put up 276 runs on the board, thanks to a hundred from Chris Rogers. Led by a five-wicket haul from Ryan Harris, Australia bowled England out for 166 to win by 281 runs and thereby complete a 5-0 whitewash.

#3 India v Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2013

MS Dhoni with the Border-Gavaskar Trophy

After losing 2-1 to England at home, MS Dhoni and his boys were under the pump heading into the four-Test series v Australia. On a turner at Chennai, Australia put up 380 runs on the board, thanks to an excellent hundred from Michael Clarke. Ravichandran Ashwin picked up 7 wickets. India led by a hundred from Virat Kohli and a brilliant 224 by MS Dhoni, posted 572 runs on the board. An innings-defeat looked imminent for the Aussies, but Moises Henriques ensured that was avoided. India, however, needed just 50 runs to go 1-0 up, and they did so with ease.

The second Test in Hyderabad again saw India take the upper hand as Australia declared their first innings on 237 for 9. Aided by a 370-run second wicket partnership between Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara, India put up 503 all out on the board to gain a lead of 266 runs.

Up against 3 good spinners on a turning pitch, It was always going to be a challenge for the Australian batsman. Expectedly, the spinners wreaked havoc to pick up 8 Australian wickets as the Kangaroos couldn’t avoid an innings defeat this time around.

Heading into Mohali for the third Test, the Australians put up a much better batting performance, posting 408 runs on the board, thanks to fifties from Ed Cowan, David Warner, Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc. Shikhar Dhawan, on Test debut, then scored the fastest century by a debutant, off just 85 balls, to help India get off to a rollicking start. His 187, combined with Murali Vijay's patient 153, helped the hosts post 499 runs on the board. Indian bowlers then put up a good performance collectively to dismiss Australia for 223. Needing 133 to win on the final day, India got to the target thanks to contributions from Kohli and Pujara to go 3-0 up.

An Australia side minus Michael Clarke headed to Delhi for the fourth and final Test. Thanks to a fifty from Peter Siddle, Australia reached 262 all out. India, however, only managed to do marginally better on a pitch that was turning square and were bowled out for 272, with Nathan Lyon picking up 7 wickets. A turning pitch and 3 spinners in the Indian attack meant that the Aussies were bowled out for 164. India, thanks to an unbeaten 82 from Cheteshwar Pujara, completed the win and won the series 4-0.

#2 Australia v India, Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2011

The victorious Australian Cricket Team

After the debacle in England, India headed to Australia with a full-strength squad for a four-Test series. Unlike England, India began well in the first Test at Melbourne, first bowling Australia out for 333 and then batting strongly to reach 214 for 2 in their first innings, when the turnaround began. Sachin Tendulkar looked on course to score his 100th international hundred and create history, but that was not to be as Peter Siddle bowled him for 71. None of the Indian batsmen got going thereafter as they handed the hosts a 51-run lead. India, however, continued to remain in the game despite conceding the lead, but a costly drop by Rahul Dravid at slip of Michael Hussey meant that the visitors had to chase 292 to go 1-0 up. But the Australian quicks bowled brilliantly to win the game by 121 runs.

In the New Year's Test at Sydney, India's batsmen once again failed to perform and were bowled out for 191. Australia, led by Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke, sent the Indian bowlers on a leather-hunt, piling up 659 runs for the loss of 4 wickets on the board. Despite fifties from Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Ravichandran Ashwin, India were all-out for 400, giving the hosts an innings and 68-run win.

In the third Test at Perth, India were bowled out for 161. Australia, led by David Warner's hundred, took a 205-run lead. India once again got off to a poor start, but Virat Kohli showed glimpses of his talent by scoring 75, which couldn't prevent his side from going 3-0 down.

With MS Dhoni banned and Virender Sehwag taking over the captaincy in the fourth and final Test, at Adelaide, India hoped for a change of fortunes; that was not to be as Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting smashed the Indian bowlers to post centuries and help the hosts reach 604 for 7 declared. India's poor run with the bat continued, but Kohli scored his maiden Test hundred in an otherwise lacklustre performance. Australia batted again and set India an improbable 500 for a win. But, as was the case for most of the series, the Indian batting unit failed once again and lost the series 4-0, their second such loss in as many overseas tours.

#1 India v England, Patuadi Trophy 2011

England Cricket Team

India was going to England, high on confidence after having won the World Cup a few months back. They were also the number 1 ranked team in the world in Test cricket. But they were up against an England team who had been extremely consistent in Tests, both at home and away and boasted of probably, the best fast bowling attack in the world at the time.

Right from day one of the first Test at Lord’s, it seemed like India were going to have problems in the tour. Their most experienced bowler, Zaheer Khan was seen limping off the ground on the very first day, leaving his side with a bowler short. England took complete advantage of the situation and piled on the runs in their first innings. Only Rahul Dravid got amongst the runs for the Indians, scoring a memorable hundred to finally get his name on to the Lord’s honours board.

Heading into the second innings with a deficit of 288 runs and one bowler short, Ishant Sharma produced a spirited spell of fast bowling to remove 4 out of the 5 top-order batsman and got India back into the game. But that's when things started to go wrong yet again for the visitors. Gautam Gambhir was hit flush on his left elbow by a sweep shot from Matt Prior, which will eventually rule him out of action for the next two Tests. Despite the poor start, the hosts managed to set a target of 458. Barring Suresh Raina's 78, none of the Indian batsmen got going, and they were handed a 196-run loss by the Englishmen.

India began on an impressive note in the second Test at Nottingham and had England 124 for 8, before Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann counter-attacked to help their side reach 221. With no Gambhir, Dravid opened the batting and once again looked in fine nick. He notched up his 34th Test hundred and, in the company of Yuvraj, looked to take India to a respectable score. But, aided by a Stuart Broad hat-trick, India were bundled out for 288.

Led by Ian Bell's 159, England piled on the runs in their second innings and posted a mammoth 544 in their second innings, leaving India no option but to try and salvage a draw. England bowlers, however, bowled magnificently to dismiss out for India for 158 and take a 2-0 lead.

The third Test in Edgbaston was, without a doubt, the most one-sided match of the series. India were bowled out for 224 with only MS Dhoni getting among the runs, scoring 78. The Indian bowlers were then sent on an absolute leather hunt by the England batsman, with Alastair Cook scoring a career-best 294. India were once again bowled out cheaply for 244, handing the visitors a whopping innings and 242 run-defeat.

India entered into the final Test at the Oval hoping to salvage some pride. However, the Englishmen once again batted brilliantly to post 591 for 6, thanks to centuries from Bell and Kevin Pietersen. Gambhir's misery continued as he injured his head in the first innings, leaving Rahul Dravid to open again. The Bangalorean displayed amazing levels of concentration, scoring 146 out India's total of 300 and carried his bat, as well. Following on, India were again in early trouble. Only Tendulkar managed to get among the runs, but that couldn't prevent India from going 4-0 down.

Shockingly, India failed to win a game throughout that tour and also lost the number one status to England.