Best Test Series: Team India boasts a long and successful history of winning test matches on a thrilling note, particularly by outsmarting stronger and tougher opposition.
The Indian test side has experienced a transition over these years from the days of great cricketers like Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and Rahul Dravid. Then came MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and now Shubman Gill. Each of them possesses different leadership styles and has experienced ups and downs in their careers.
Despite all the struggles, the Indian cricket team has triumphed on several occasions, with the Anderson Tendulkar Trophy being the latest addition to the list.
Here are those five most competitive and challenging test series where the Indian men’s cricket team narrowly survived a defeat to secure thrilling victories and draws.
1. India Tour of Australia 2020: 4th Test at The Gabba, Brisbane
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in 2020 stands as one of the best series in cricket history, where Team India overcame several obstacles to seal the series with a 2-1 victory against Australia.
India’s opening test at the Adelaide Oval started on a sour note by registering their lowest ever test total of 36/9. Despite the regular skipper Virat Kohli’s absence, the team led by the stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane silently shifted the momentum towards India’s favor and thrashed the Aussies in their backyard.
Especially, in the series decider fourth test match at the Gabba, India secured a thrilling 3-wicket victory riding on Cheteshwar Pujara’s composed 56-run knock and Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 138-ball-89 runs (including 9 fours and 1 six).
2. India Tour of Sri Lanka 2015: 3rd Test at SSC, Colombo
The 3-match test series against Sri Lanka marked a new era for the Indian test team under Virat Kohli’s captaincy back in 2015.
Despite India taking a 192-run lead in the opening test at the Galle Stadium, Sri Lanka left the visitors shocked by defeating Kohli and his men by 63 runs.
However, Virat showed his fearlessness as a captain in the next two tests in Colombo at the P Sara Oval and the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) by securing dominating victories by 278 and 117 runs respectively to triumph the series by 2-1.
3. Pakistan Tour of India 1999: 2nd Test at Arun Jaitley Stadium
Back in 1999, Pakistan toured India for the 2-match test series. In the first test, the visitors achieved a 12-run victory over the hosts at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
But Mohammad Azharruddin’s brilliant captaincy in the second test match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi guided India to a massive victory by 212 runs. It includes Anil Kumble’s historic 10-wicket haul in the last innings that bowled out Pakistan to 207 in 60.3 overs.
Kumble single-handedly helped India defend a 420-run target. As a result, the hosts levelled the series with Pakistan by a 1-1 margin.
4. India Tour of South Africa 2023-24: 2nd Test at Newlands, Cape Town
The 2-match test series on South African soil from 26th December 2023 to 07th January 2024 featured the three legendary cricketers, namely Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravichandran Ashwin, who have retired from the longest format a few months back.
Following an insulting loss by an innings and 32 runs loss, the Rohit Sharma-led side returned stronger to win the Cape Town test by 7 wickets in a low-scoring thriller. This was indeed the shortest test match for India that wrapped up in just four and a half sessions as the pitch completely assisted the pacers, which made the batters struggle a lot to compile runs.
Also, this victory not only concluded India’s winless streak in tests at this venue, but also levelled the series by 1-1 under Rohit’s captaincy.
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5. India Tour of England 2025: 5th Test at The Oval, London
The recently completed Anderson Tendulkar Trophy 2025 in England stands as one of the best India has ever played in the history of test cricket.
After England won the opening test match at Headingley, Team India bounced back. Riding on the captain Shubman Gill’s maiden double century and 166-run knock in both innings, India secured a massive 336-run victory in the second test at Edgbaston.
However, India lost the third test at the Lord’s by a narrow 22-run margin. But Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar’s centuries helped India secure a hard-fought draw in the fourth test at Old Trafford.
The series remained in England’s favor with a lead of 2-1 before heading into the fifth test at the Oval. Indian pacers Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna’s valiant show with the ball in the last innings not only entertained fans with a complete thriller but also helped India win by just six runs. As a result, India was able to draw the 5-match test series with England by a 2-2 scoreline.
