India have played 405 Tests since June 25, 1932, winning 90. On India's 75th anniversary in Test cricket, we look back on ten of its best matches.
- v England, 5th Test at Madras: 6,8,9,10 Feb 1952 (Captain: Vijay Hazare). Series result: 1-1.
A sentimental pick being India's maiden victory in Test cricket after 20 years of trying. The English side however was a second-rate team with the best players staying home. Left-arm spinner Vinoo Mankad with batsmen Pankaj Roy and Polly Umirgar were the heroes for India.
Brief scores: England 266 (Robertson 77, Mankad 8 - 55) and 183 (Robertson 56, Mankad 4-53) lost to India 457 for 9 wickets declared (Roy 111, Umrigar 130 n.o.) by an innings and 8 runs.
- v West Indies, 2nd Test Port-of- Spain: 6,7,9,10 March 1971 (Captain: Ajit Wadekar). Series: 1-0.
In his maiden series as captain Wadekar led India to their first ever-win against the mighty West Indies. Debutant opener Sunil Gavaskar scored half-centuries in both innings and went on to have a memorable series.
Brief scores: West Indies 214 (Davis 71 n.o., Prasanna 4-54) and 261 (Fredericks 80, Venkataraghavan 5-95) lost to India 352 (Sardesai 112, Noreiga 9-95) and 125 for 3 (Gavaskar 65 n.o.) by 7 wickets.
- v England, 3rd Test at the Oval: 19,20,21,23,24 August 1971 (Captain: Ajit Wadekar). Series: 1-0.
After 39 years, India recorded their first win on English soil to cap a famous year for Indian cricket. Leg spinner Chandrasekhar destroyed England's batting in the second innings to set up the victory and seal the series against the unofficial 'world champions' of Test cricket.
Brief scores: England 355 (Knott 90) and 101 (Chandrasekhar 6-38) lost to India 284 (Engineer 59, Illingworth 5-70) and 174 for 6 (Wadekar 45) by 4 wickets.
- v West Indies, 3rd Test at Port of Spain: 7,8,10, 11,12 April 1976 (Captain: Bishan Singh Bedi). Series: 1-2.
Clive Lloyd's declaration in the second innings resulted in a shock defeat as India chased down a then-world record winning total. It led to the West Indies shunning spin bowling and going in for an all-pace attack for the next 20 years. India lost the series after being controversially beaten in the fourth and final Test.
Brief scores: West Indies 359 (Richard 177, Chandrasekhar 6-120) and 271 for 6 wickets declared (Kallicharan 103 n.o.) lost to India 228 (Madan Lal 42, Holding 6-65) and 406 for 4 (Gavaskar 102, Viswawath 112) by 6 wickets.
- v Australia, 3rd Test at Melbourne: 7-11 Feb. 1981 (Captain: Sunil Gavaskar). Series: 1-1.
After barely hanging on for a draw in the second Test at Adelaide, an injured Kapil Dev bowled India to victory on the final day to help them draw a series for the first time in Australia. The Test was almost conceded by skipper Gavaskar after his dismissal in the second innings.
Brief scores: India 237 (Viswanath 114) and 324 (Chauhan 85) beat Australia 419 (Border 124) and 83 (Kapil Dev 5-28) by 59 runs.
- v Australia, 2nd Test at Kolkata: 11-15 March 2001 (Captain: Sourav Ganguly). Series: 2-1.
For only the third time in Test cricket history, a team came back to win after being forced to follow on. Laxman's epic innings was the highest Test score by an Indian at the time and he and Dravid batted out the whole of the fourth day. Harbhajan Singh made it even more memorable by becoming the first Indian bowler to capture a Test hat-cricket.
Brief scores: Australia 445 (SR Waugh 110, Harbhajan Singh 7-123) and 212 (Hayden 67, Harbhajan 6-73) lost to India 171 (Laxman 59) and (following-on) 657 for 7 wickets declared (Laxman 281, Dravid 180) by 171 runs.
- v England, 3rd Test at Leeds: 22-26 August 2002 (Captain: Sourav Ganguly). Series: 1-1.
A bold decision to bat first after winning the toss paid off as India piled up a huge first innings total and then recorded an innings victory for the first time in England. It remains the only occasion in which the three batting stalwarts of the Indian team -- Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly -- all scored centuries in the same innings.
Brief scores: India 628 for 8 wickets declared (Dravid 148, Tendulkar 193, Ganguly 128) beat England 273 (Stewart 78 n.o.) and 309 (Hussain 110) by an innings and 46 runs.
- v Australia, 2nd Test at Adelaide: 12-16 December 2003 (Captain: Sourav Ganguly). Series: 1-1.
Dravid's batting was the highlight for India as they came back after conceding a mammoth first innings total to Australia. Laxman too once again proved to be the scourge of the Aussies. India lost the next Test at Melbourne and had the better of a draw in the fourth and final Test at Sydney to narrowly miss winning a series for the first time Down Under.
Brief scores: Australia 556 (Ponting 242, Kumble 5-154) and 196 (Agarkar 6-41) lost to India 523 (Dravid 223, Laxman 148) and 233 for 6 (Dravid 72 n.o.) by 4 wickets.
- v Pakistan, 1st Test at Multan: 28-31 March, 1 April 2004 (Captain: Rahul Dravid). Series: 2-1.
It was the first time India had won a Test on Pakistan soil after nearly 50 years. Dravid was the stand-in captain as Ganguly was injured. Sehwag became the first Indian batsman to score a Test triple-century. After losing the second Test, India came back to win the third and seal their first series win in Pakistan.
Brief scores: India 675 for 5 wickets declared (Sehwag 309, Tendulkar 194 n.o.) beat Pakistan 407 (Yasir Hameed 91) and 216 (Youhana 112, Kumble 6-72) by an innings and 52 runs.
- v South Africa, 1st Test at Johannesburg: 15-18 December 2006 (Captain: Rahul Dravid). Series: 1-2.
With Ganguly making a successful comeback and opening bowler Sreesanth picking up eight wickets, India recorded their first victory in South Africa. It meant they had now won a Test match in each of the Test-playing nations. But a series win continued to elude them.
Brief scores: India 249 (Ganguly 51 n.o.) and 236 (Laxman 73) beat South Africa 84 (Sreesanth 5-40) and 278 (Prince 97) by 123 runs.