India’s dominance in Test cricket on home soil has transcended a decade, and deserves to be celebrated, not taken for granted, writes Abhishek Mukherjee.
India last lost a Test series at home in 2012/13, against England. Over this period, they have won all 17 Test series on Indian soil, and lost a sum total of four Test matches.
The West Indies bettered this at their peak. There was a decade-long phase between April 1978 and April 1988, when they did not lose a single Test at home – but they hosted only 25 games over that period. That great side won 15 matches and drew 10 of their home games – in other words, they won 60 percent. For this India side, that number reads 78.4 percent (40 out of 51).
That number has also been bettered by Australia’s 83 percent (44 wins, two defeats in 53 home Tests) between 1999 and 2007 – but their period of dominance lasted less than a decade.
While parameters to determine the most dominant side on home soil can be debated, it cannot be denied that the current India side belongs to the league of elite teams in history on that count.
And yet, it is not their longest undefeated streak. Between March 17, 1987 and February 23, 2000 – in other words, less than a month shy of 13 years – no touring team won a bilateral Test series in India.
Between these two was a third phase, of 13 years, where India lost three series at home – against South Africa in 1999/00, against Australia in 2004/05, and against England in 2012/13. While a reasonable run, it looks ordinary when pitted against the two eras that sandwich it.
In all, India have now lost three series at home in 37 years. Since 1960, no fortress in the world has been as difficult to breach over a period this long.
The year 1960 is not chosen arbitrarily. The 1960s was the decade when Test cricket first grew beyond an Anglo-Australian rivalry. The West Indies of the first half of the decade were an excellent unit, as were South Africa in the second half. Both teams had had their moments until then, but they did not have sustained success against full-strength sides.
Over the same 37-year period between 1986/87 and 2023/24, Australia have lost eight series at home. In 32 years since their readmission, South Africa have lost nine.
Of course, this unprecedented dominance comes with a caveat, of India using their home conditions to the fullest to aid their spinners.
India used spin to success during their other streak, from 1986/87 to 1999/00, but over that period, they won one Test match away from home – against Sri Lanka in 1993.
You can see why. India rarely had two world-class fast bowlers at the same time back then – Javagal Srinath’s early days coincided with the twilight of Kapil Dev’s career – and therefore had little chance to win outside Asia. At home, they exacted revenge with an army of spinners – Arshad Ayub, Narendra Hirwani, Venkatapathy Raju, Rajesh Chauhan, and most significantly, Anil Kumble.
Barring the odd counterexample like Ahmedabad 1996/97, India played out cricket’s own version of the Fable of the Fox and the Heron for 13 years. They won 20 Tests during this period and lost only seven, but they also drew 10: their win percentage stood at a barely impressive 54.
The current era is nothing like that. India have been utterly dominant at home, but at the same time they have swept series in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh; won their only two series in Australia – their first triumphs in the country as well as the only ones by any side since 2017/18; and drew their last series in England and, for the second time in their history, South Africa.
India have heavily relied on spin before. In the 1960s and 1970s, pacers used to bowl “token” overs, even overseas, before the spinners would bowl long spells. Things improved in the 1990s, but at home they invariably relied on spin.
During their current dominant era, India relied on spin at home despite boasting of a dangerous pace attack. They consistently field four fast bowlers in ‘SENA’ countries, and rely on spin at home because they have more world-class spinners than the rest of the world put together.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja – we shall return to them – have been automatic choices, leaving room for at most one other spinner. Ashwin and Jadeja are bona-fide all-rounders as well, as is Axar Patel. Of the spinners who made fleeting appearances, Jayant Yadav made a Test hundred and Washington Sundar came close to emulating him. And of late, Kuldeep Yadav has demonstrated the ability to stick around like a limpet.
It is important to understand the significance of this. Not only were the Indian spinners superior to their touring counterparts but they also guaranteed runs down the order, enabling India to play three of them and still have room for two men for short bursts of fast reverse swing.
Add to that world-class batters; devastating fast bowlers; and talismanic wicketkeepers, and you can see why visiting teams seldom got respite. India have trailed in three home series over this period, but in two of them they had killed the rubber before the last match began. Australia and England have won two Tests each, but that count is outweighed by India’s triumphs.
Yet, that golden generation is on their way out. Ashwin is 37, Jadeja 35, Virat Kohli 35, Rohit Sharma 36, Mohammed Shami 33 and injury-prone. Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Axar are past 30, while Mohammed Siraj is almost there. Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Wriddhiman Saha are all active cricketers, but none of them seems to be in Test cricket contention anymore.
The transition has begun, and as it happened with great teams of the past, there will be an ebb. The next generation of batters, perhaps even fast bowlers, have shown promise, but there will be a point when Ashwin and Jadeja will be gone, and India will be forced to choose between batting depth and quality of spinners.
Perhaps that is when the streak will be broken by a side that shows up with an exceptional bowling attack of their own. Until then, fans need to celebrate this phase of near-unprecedented home dominance.
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