Victory Calling: India’s biggest wins in Test cricket
Over the decades, India has excelled in getting the better of many top teams in various conditions in the longer format. Irrespective of the quality of the opposition, the Indian team has found some victories by huge margins as well. Some exceptional bowling performances backed by strong batting efforts have come to Team India’s aid, helping them become a force to reckon with.
Here are five of India’s biggest victories in Test cricket in terms of winning margin:
5. Innings and 219 runs vs Australia, Kolkata – 1998
India took a 1-0 lead in the 3-match Test series at home against Australia before moving to Kolkata’s Eden Gardens for the 2nd Test. A collective bowling effort from India saw Australia bowl out for 233 on the first day. In reply, India’s openers Navjot Sidhu (97) and VVS Laxman (95) got out in the 90s while Rahul Dravid (86) and Sachin Tendulkar (79) played important knocks as well. India reached 400/4 in just 102 overs before captain Mohammad Azharuddin extended the lead to 400 along with Sourav Ganguly (65).
Azhar smashed an unbeaten 163 off 246 balls before India declared their innings on 633/5. Javagal Srinath picked a couple of early wickets before Anil Kumble ran through the Australian line-up with a 5-wicket haul. The visitors were bowled out for 181 by the end of 4th day. India took a series-winning lead of 2-0 with an innings and 219-run win, which was India’s then biggest innings win in Tests.
4. Innings and 239 runs vs Sri Lanka, Nagpur – 2017
Nagpur hosted the 2nd Test between India and Sri Lanka after the first Test in Kolkata ended in a draw. On a lively track, Ishant Sharma bagged three wickets while Ravi Ashwin and Ravi Jadeja picked four and three wickets respectively to bundle out the visitors to 205. After the early dismissal of KL Rahul, the other opener Murali Vijay (128) and Cheteshwar Pujara (143) scored centuries and added 209 runs for the 2nd wicket. Pujara later was involved in a 183-run stand for the 3rd wicket which was dominated by Virat Kohli.
The Indian captain scored 213 in 267 balls as he shared a 173-run partnership with Rohit Sharma (102*) in only 40 overs for the 5th wicket. India declared their innings on 610/6 with a lead of 405 runs soon after Rohit completed his hundred. Ashwin picked up yet another 4-wicket haul while Ishant, Jadeja and Umesh Yadav claimed two wickets each. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 166 with Ashwin’s 300th Test wicket as India completed an innings and 239-run win.
3. Innings and 239 runs vs Bangladesh, Dhaka in 2007
The first Test of the 2-match Test series between India and Bangladesh ended in a draw due to rain. The Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka hosted the 2nd Test where the hosts surprisingly elected to bowl first. In hot and humid conditions, the opening pair of Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer kept the scoreboard ticking after surviving dropped chances. India moved to 175/0 in 52.5 overs little before the tea interval when Karthik, batting on 82, began experiencing cramps.
Hence, Rahul Dravid joined Jaffer post the tea break and made the most of a long final session. Jaffer soon brought up his 4th Test century while Dravid kept finding boundaries and added 100 runs with him. India reached 281/0 in 77 overs with Jaffer batting on 138 when he began to suffer from cramps and dehydration. He walked back to pavilion retired ill which brought Sachin Tendulkar to the crease.
4 centuries and a fifty
Sachin didn’t take any risks before stumps but Dravid raced to 88* as India ended the first day on 326 without losing a wicket. Bangladesh got their first wicket on the morning of the 2nd day at the score of 408 when Dravid fell for 129. Karthik returned to the crease to join Tendulkar and completed his hundred. He also scored exactly 129 before getting out at the score of 494/2. Sourav Ganguly got out cheaply but Tendulkar raised his hundred and finished with an unbeaten 122.
MS Dhoni scored a quick-fire fifty and India declared the innings on 610/3 after tea. Zaheer Khan’s 5-wicket haul left Bangladesh all-out for only 118 in their first innings and 10/3 in the second essay. Then began an aggressive batting from Mohammad Ashraful (67 off 41) and Mashrafe Mortaza (70 off 60) as Bangladesh doubled their first innings total and were bowled out for 253.
2. Innings and 262 runs vs Afghanistan, Bangalore – 2018
Afghanistan made their Test debut in 2018 when they faced India in Bangalore straight after the completion of the IPL. India, who elected to bat first, reached 158/0 by lunch, out of which Shikhar Dhawan alone scored 104. Dhawan got out shortly after but it was followed by a 112-run partnership for the 2nd wicket between Vijay and KL Rahul (54) which came in only 23 overs. Vijay made 105 off 153 while Rahul scored a 64-ball 54 before both batsmen got out in the space of three balls.
This began a short collapse for India as they were seven wickets down for only 369 on the board. However, Hardik Pandya scored 71 from 94 balls to help India finish strongly on 474. The inexperienced Afghanistan batters lasted only 27.5 overs as Ravi Ashwin’s 4-wicket haul bundled them out for 109. Hashmatullah Shahidi spent 88 balls for his unbeaten 36 as Afghanistan batted 38.4 overs in the second essay but were all out for only 103.
1. Innings and 272 runs vs West Indies, Rajkot in 2018:
West Indies’ tour of India in 2018 began with a 2-match Test series, the first of which was hosted by Rajkot. The match marked the debut of the 18 year-old Prithvi Shaw (134) who opened the batting with KL Rahul. Rahul got out in the first over but Shaw found support from the local boy Cheteshwar Pujara (86) as the boundaries kept flowing around. The duo added 206 runs for the 2nd wicket in only 42 overs as Prithvi smashed a century on debut in only 99 balls.
Though both Shaw and Pujara got out in quick span, skipper Virat Kohli (139) got support from Ajinkya Rahane (41) and Rishabh Pant (92) with century partnerships. Kohli got out at the score of 534/6 before Ravindra Jadeja’s maiden Test century helped India finish on 649/9. Before stumps on the 2nd day, West Indies lost six wickets for only 94 runs. They eventually got bowled out for 181 which was not possible without Roston Chase (53) and Keemo Paul (47) who collectively scored 100 runs.
Ravichandran Ashwin was the key destructor in West Indies’ first innings with a 4-wicket haul. Kuldeep Yadav stepped up in the second essay with a 5-wicket haul as the Caribbean team could only make 196. Opener Kieran Powell played an attacking knock of 83 which came in only 93 balls. India won the match by an innings and 272 runs, which still stands as the biggest innings margin victory for India in Test cricket.
