 "India beat Bangladesh in Chennai for their 179th Test win. Image: AP")
India’s 280-run win over Bangladesh in the first Test on Sunday not only gave the hosts a 1-0 lead in the series but also marked the first time in history that the Indian cricket team has more wins than defeats in Tests. The victory at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai was India’s 179th Test win in 580 matches, with 178 losses so far.
This 179th Test win for India ended a 92-year wait for a positive Test win-loss ratio. India played their first Test match in 1932 under the captaincy of CK Naidu, losing that match to England at Lord’s by 158 runs. Since then, they have always had more losses than wins in Test match cricket.
Incredibly, 118 out of 179 Test wins for India have come since the start of the year 2000. They have won a whopping 118 matches out of 250 since the turn of the century.
India’s record in Tests:
Matches: 580
Wins: 179 *
Losses: 178
Draws: 222
Tied: 1
Teams with more wins than losses in Tests:
Australia: Wins 414; Loss 232
England: Wins 397; Loss 325]
South Africa: Wins 179; Loss 161
India: Wins 179; Loss 178
Pakistan: Wins 148; Loss 144
For India, it was Ravichandran Ashwin who was the star player in the win at his home ground as he scored his sixth Test century and also took six wickets. All his six wickets came in the fourth innings of the match. He now has the most wickets for India in the fourth innings which shows his match-winning capabilities.
Most wickets in fourth innings for India
99 wickets: R Ashwin
94 wickets: Anil Kumble
60 wickets: Bishan Bedi
54 wickets: Ishant Sharma/ Ravindra Jadeja
The five-wicket haul for Ashwin in the match was his 37th in Test cricket as he matched the great Shane Warne’s record for second-highest fifer in the longest format of the game. Only Muttiah Muralidaran with 67 five-wicket hauls is ahead of Ashwin.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAshwin’s knock of 113 in the first innings also made him the first-ever to register a total of 20 fifty-plus scores and 30 five-wicket hauls in Tests.
Pant’s record-equalling return
Rishabh Pant, meanwhile, announced his return to Test cricket by blasting his sixth hundred in India’s second innings. With his latest Test century, Pant equalled MS Dhoni’s record for the most centuries by an Indian wicketkeeper in Test cricket.
Jasprit Bumrah took five wickets in the match as he completed 400 international wickets across formats. He is the sixth Indian pacer to take 400 international wickets and the third-quickest after Kapil Dev and Mohammed Shami. Bumrah took 227 innings to cross the 400-wicket milestone, while Kapil Dev took 220 innings and Shami reached there in 224 innings.
Ashwin is the fastest Indian to 400 wickets, in just 216 innings.