India celebrate with the series trophy after winning the 5th Test Match between India and England (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
India thrashed Bangladesh by 280 runs in the opener of the two-Test series wrapping the Chepauk Test within three and a half days. It was their 41st Test win in 52 matches at home since the start of 2013. Such domination, albeit in home conditions, has seldom been seen in Test cricket history! India has lost just four matches in their own backyard in this time frame. More significantly, they haven’t lost a Test series at home since the 2-1 defeat against England in 2012!
RG looks at a few interesting numbers that define India’s unprecedented domination at home in Test cricket since 2013.
17 – The number of successive home series wins for India
India has won every home series since the start of 2013. These 17 victories include three wins each against Australia and England and two against South Africa. The previous record was held by the great Australian teams of the mid-1990s and 2000s who won 10 home series in a row from 1994-2001 and 2004-2008.
The mighty West Indies team under the leadership of Clive Lloyd won 8 successive home series from 1976-1986.
79% - India’s win-percentage in Test cricket at home since 2013
India has won 41 of the 52 home Tests since the start of 2013. They have lost just four while seven matches have ended in a draw. India’s win percentage at home during this period is 79%. Just for perspective, Australia are at number two with a corresponding win-percentage of 72% during this time-frame. This basically tells us that India in India in this time-frame has been more ruthless than even Australia Down Under!
36 – The number of home Test wins for India by an innings or by a margin of 100+ runs or 8+ wickets since 2013
This is a startling statistic! Nearly 88% of India’s wins at home (36 of 41) since 2013 have either been with an innings to spare or by a margin of 100+ runs or 8+ wickets. This shows the unprecedented scale of India’s domination at home against all opposition units.
15 – Number of Test victories for India at home bowling less than 700 deliveries in the match
India has routed the opposition in less than 700 deliveries (around 117 overs) in a match in as many as 15 wins at home since 2013 (including the 280-run win against Bangladesh in Chennai where India dismissed the opposition twice in 656 deliveries). This basically means that they have, on an average, bowled out the opposition, in approximately 58 overs in each innings – ie in effect they have dismissed the opposition, on an average, in under two sessions in each innings in these nine matches.
7 – The number of series sweeps for India at home since 2013
India has swept as many as 7 home series (two or more Tests) since the start of 2013. These include a 4-0 drubbing of Australia in 2013 and a 3-0 sweep against South Africa in 2019.
There are two other sweeps against West Indies and one each against New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
40.08 vs 21.87 – The batting average of India and the opposition in India since 2013
The Indian batters have outplayed their opposition counterparts at home since 2013. While the combined batting average for India is 40.08, the opposition has averaged a mere 21.87 in this time-frame, ie, a stark difference of 18.21 runs per dismissal!
69 vs 25 – The number of individual hundreds scored by India and the opposition in India since 2013
The Indian batters have scored more than two and a half times the number of hundreds registered by opposition batters in India since 2013. Virat Kohli is at the top of the charts with 12 tons and is followed by Rohit Sharma with 10. Murali Vijay (8) and Cheteshwar Pujara (7) complete the top four. For the opposition, England has 10 individual hundreds while Australia has 7.
22.54 vs 41.34 – The bowling average of India and opposition teams in India since 2013
The difference in the bowling averages is also quite startling. India’s bowlers have a combined bowling average of 22.54 at home since 2013. In contrast, the opposition bowlers have a bowling average of 41.34 in India in this time-frame.
52, 10 vs 25, 3 – Number of fifers/ten-wicket match hauls for India and the opposition in India since 2013
The Indian bowlers have picked as many as 52 fifers and 10 10-wicket match hauls at home since 2013. R Ashwin has bagged 24 fifers and five 10-wicket match hauls in India in this time-frame while his partner, Ravindra Jadeja has accounted for 11 fifers and two 10-wicket hauls. The opposition, on the other hand, has bagged 25 fifers and three 10-wicket hauls in India since 2013.
Nikhil Narain
