For a team that carried the tag of a poor touring side for decades, India managed sparks of brilliance on their tours to Australia time and again. We revisit India’s seven Test wins in Australia so far.
When Virat Kohli leads the Indian team out on December 17, albeit only for one match, it will be India’s 13th Test series in Australia and the first since their successful campaign in 2018/19. In 48 completed Tests, India have managed to win just seven, but four of those have come this century, signifying a change of trend from being a weak visiting team to a formidable overseas presence.
While each of them was special in its own way, here’s our ranking of India’s seven Test wins Down Under.
7. Sydney, 1978
India won by an innings and 2 runs
It was a big victory – India’s only innings win on Australian soil – and an overall team effort that levelled the series at 2-2 ahead of the final Test. Batting first, Australia could manage only 131 against India’s rampaging spin duo of BS Chandrasekhar and BS Bedi, who combined to take seven wickets. In response, every Indian batsman barring Mohinder Amarnath and Bedi went into double figures, taking the total to 396. It was enough to bowl Australia out again, with EAS Prasanna, the third spinner, claiming four wickets and taking India to a memorable win.
6. Adelaide, 2018
India won by 31 runs
A victory that set the tone for the series, and was a sign of things to come. Cheteshwar Pujara began his bumper series with a century in the first innings, even when the rest of the batsmen struggled to get going. The bowling unit then combined to keep the lead intact, after which Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane gave Australia a sizeable total to chase: 323. The tail did wag, but not enough to prevent India from winning the opening Test of a series in Australia for the very first time.
5. Melbourne, 1977-78
India won by 222 runs
A historic win on all accounts. Going into the series, the Indian contingent was said to have been welcomed by a hostile Australian media, who were understandably taking a jibe at India’s poor away record. The hosts, in turn, were reeling from the effects of the Packer series, having lost their main stars to the rebel league. India’s batting stars Sunil Gavaskar, Gundappa Viswanath and Mohinder Amarnath kept them one step ahead of Australia, but it was Chandrasekhar and Bedi who combined to create magic in the second innings, picking up all ten wickets between themselves to complete a massive 222-run win.
4. Melbourne, 2018
India won by 137 runs
Some say that it was India’s easiest chance of beating Australia at home, given the absence of David Warner and Steve Smith. Virat Kohli’s team turned the long-awaited dream into reality, riding on Cheteshwar Pujara’s century and Jasprit Bumrah’s six-wicket haul. The other batsmen contributed handsomely in the first innings too, and the bowling attack’s well-rounded effort saw Australia fall way short of the fourth-innings target of 399. The following Sydney Test was drawn, bringing an end to a 72-year wait, and making India just the fifth team to win a series in Australia.
3. Perth, 2008
India won by 72 runs
The circumstances that led to the win made it all the more special. India very nearly walked out of the tour after the controversial Sydney Test, fraught with ‘questionable’ umpiring calls and compounded by the ‘Monkeygate’ incident. Anil Kumble’s side fought back with renewed vigour: vital fifties from Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid edged India ahead, and the pace attack shone brightly in unison. However, it was a fiery spell by 18-year-old Ishant Sharma to Ricky Ponting that made the world sit up and notice, marking a new era of Indian fast bowling that continues to prosper to date.
2. Melbourne, 1981
India won by 59 runs
It was a remarkable turnaround, one that helped India level the series after a crushing innings loss in the opening Test. In the first innings, Viswanath stood tall amid the ruins, tackling a red-hot Dennis Lillee and taking India to a respectable score. Australia took a 182-run lead, but India’s top order responded in kind, shifting the onus back in the second innings. Needing 143 to win the game, Australia stumbled and how. They wilted under sustained pressure by India’s bowlers, who were admirably led by Kapil Dev, braving a thigh strain to take the field on the fifth day, and returning with a five-wicket haul. It wasn’t bereft of controversy though; Sunil Gavaskar’s infamous walkout incident stuck out in a historic win.
1. Adelaide, 2003
India won by four wickets
India’s coming-of-age win, one that marked the end to a meek track record. The India team proved to be a spoilsport in Steve Waugh’s last-ever series, winning the Adelaide Test, their first in Australia after 22 years. Australia racked up 556 in the first innings, easing to a seemingly unbeatable position, but India’s response was equally spectacular, underpinned by Rahul Dravid’s double ton and a fine century by VVS Laxman.
Australia were shot out for 196 in the second innings as Ajit Agarkar rose to the fore with a six-wicket haul, leaving India to score 230 in the final innings, which they did with four wickets to spare. Dravid deservedly hit the winning runs.
