What is the reason for India's dominance in Test cricket at home?

[Ab Fan]

The Indian test matches have been so one-sided affair that it has been boring and dull watching these games. Since 2015, India have played a total of 24 tests at home and ended with a win in 18 tests, lost 1 and drew 5 matches. The win/loss ratio is 18.0.

Some of the results have been clear shocking and opposition team have literally shown no fight at all. Barring Australia, no team showed any fight and even Aussies only managed to win first test and then failed to capitalize on it.

Why is it that no team is able to show any fight or finish the tour with atleast some pride on their side rather than losing series 0-3 or 0-4?

This team doesn't have Sehwag, Tendulkar or Laxman who are phenomenal players of high quality spin bowling and yet the performances has been completely spinless from visiting sides.

The likes of Karun Nair, Rohit Sharma and even Shikhar Dhawan or KL Rahul have scored runs for fun at home against the opposition bowling but at the same time, the premier batsmen(let alone newbies or decent batters) from the visiting sides have found it harder to score runs. Has the spin playing ability of visiting sides fell down this much and they have become susceptible against Shami and Ishant's pace bowling in subcontinent itself?

All kinds of views are welcomed here. Discuss!

 

[Khan12]

Custom made pitches.

 

[big_gamer007]

Indian spinners are too good and barring Smith no other batsman is good against spin.

 

[subbu]

Custom made pitches.

Becomes Batting friendly when is batting

Turns bowling friendly while India is bowling

Irrespective of Toss..

 

[big_gamer007]

Custom made pitches.

Pitches are fine, the quality of spin playing ability has just declined. Smith showed how it can be done, but he's the only one.

 

[Ab Fan]

Custom made pitches.

What kind of pitches is that Karun Nair or Rohit Sharma are hitting doubles and triples while greats like Joe Root, David Warner, Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson can't hit hundreds to save their life? And at same time, Ishant and Shami Bhai are running through the opposition batting while Rabada, Broad, Philander, Starc and Boult have been clueless in getting the wickets?

Where is their adaptability and this I am talking about world class elite players, I am not even expecting this from other names in the team-sheet?

 

[Boi]

Opposition players want to keep their IPL contracts.

 

[Khan12]

Seems like my comment has roughed up a few. For a start every team will do better at home then away. Custom made pitches is not what i came up with but harbajaban as he said "my and kumble wicket's tally would have if we played on these pitches. I can counter argue with this why is ashwin record dreadful outside SC and west indies. He is elite breaking all sorts of record on these custom made pitches for him. Why doesn't rohit, karun etc don't perform outside other then here. Why can't India win in South Africa or England player to player India are much better, but them players have grown up playing in their conditions hence they do better same with any other country.

 

[Ab Fan]

Seems like my comment has roughed up a few. For a start every team will do better at home then away. Custom made pitches is not what i came up with but harbajaban as he said "my and kumble wicket's tally would have if we played on these pitches. I can counter argue with this why is ashwin record dreadful outside SC and west indies. He is elite breaking all sorts of record on these custom made pitches for him. Why doesn't rohit, karun etc don't perform outside other then here. Why can't India win in South Africa or England player to player India are much better, but them players have grown up playing in their conditions hence they do better same with any other country.

You are missing the context here.

Karun Nair or Rohit Sharma are not elite test batters like Root or Williamson or Warner or Taylor, they have even struggled to make it to Indian playing XI. My point is why no team is even able to compete or show any major fight in India. If Nair or Sharma are hitting double hundreds at home, you expect atleast the elite cricketers like Williamson's or Root's or Taylor's or Warner's to back it up with a brilliant hundred but that's not happening. India atleast compete well away even if they don't win the series but other teams have struggled to salvage any pride when they come to India. A good team like NZ came to India but were thrashed 0-3.

Harbhajan's point considering wickets is not an argument made here and I am not denying Ashwin ain't a HTB but at same time, other teams who had quality pace bowlers and good spinners have struggled to take India's 20 wickets. Indian Pacers have gone on to outperform the overseas pacers in India.

Everyone is better at home than away but 18-1 is a complete domination and that's what the point of debate is. It has become just too boring now. Opposition looks absolutely clueless these days on Indian pitches and on same pitches, Indians are hitting 500-600 on board for fun.

 

[Rana]

India is a very much homely country. At home they feel as if they are a bigger super power than USA and Russia combined. Add the Persian Empire into that as well.

They will do what it takes to make sure they dominate at home, but won’t replicate an ounce of that severe domination outside of India.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

India is a very much homely country. At home they feel as if they are a bigger super power than USA and Russia combined. Add the Persian Empire into that as well.

They will do what it takes to make sure they dominate at home, but won’t replicate an ounce of that severe domination outside of India.

We dominated SL in SL, WI in WI and OZ in OZ. Pity that some teams can't even dream of dominating teams in their own backyard let alone have an away record like ours

 

[subbu]

Indian spinners are too good and barring Smith no other batsman is good against spin.

Need to give indian fast bowlers some credit.. All have excellent avg and strike rates In last 4 years ... ( taking top order wickets)

Even current series 5 wkt haul for Shami in 1st test, and today 1st innings top 5 SA wickets went to Indian Pacers

 

[Titan24]

Reason is pretty simple and that is the conditions. Most of the top teams (SENA) countries struggle to play in spinning conditions and Indian wickets are spinners’ paradise. Further when India wins the toss and obviously bats first it becomes almost impossible for the opposition to bat in last 2-3 days with wickets deteriorating and not being easy for batting especially for the batsmen of other countries who struggle against spin big time including their top batsmen.

 

[Titan24]

Need to give indian fast bowlers some credit.. All have excellent avg and strike rates In last 4 years ... ( taking top order wickets)

Even current series 5 wkt haul for Shami in 1st test, and today 1st innings top 5 SA wickets went to Indian Pacers

Indian seamers are good but you can check the record of last 5 years and even last decade that spinners are by far the top wicket takers in India. Seamers just provide support here as can be seen by the fact that in series against Aus Jadeja and Okeefe were the highest wicket takers for their respective sides. Who would have thought Australian spinner will outperform their pacers but the reason is simple and that is the conditions are paradise for spinners and every spinner around the world will say so.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Paradise for spinners where Saffer spinners are getting destroyed like no tomorrow.

 

[Titan24]

Paradise for spinners where Saffer spinners are getting destroyed like no tomorrow.

Dont be naive, there is a difference between the quality and experience of Jadeja, Ashwin and Maharaj and Muthasamy.

Further as said Indian batsmen are more accomplished against spin the whole world knows.

OP was asking reason of Indian dominance and I was just telling him that. Obviously the difference is the conditions otherwise what else it is? If not the conditions than Indian should be able to beat all full strength top teams away from home as well but we all know it never happened. Again nothing to take away from India they are a top side but obviously at home conditions do play the main role.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Dont be naive, there is a difference between the quality and experience of Jadeja, Ashwin and Maharaj and Muthasamy.

Further as said Indian batsmen are more accomplished against spin the whole world knows.

OP was asking reason of Indian dominance and I was just telling him that. Obviously the difference is the conditions otherwise what else it is? If not the conditions than Indian should be able to beat all full strength top teams away from home as well but we all know it never happened. Again nothing to take away from India they are a top side but obviously at home conditions do play the main role.

Conditions favour the home team everywhere. Other teams are just not good enough or relentless enough to use that to their advantage .

 

[Markhor]

We need to look at cricket as a whole. The massive financial gulf between the wealthier boards and the weaker boards is reflected in the results, rankings and recent World Cup winners.

India is the largest cricket market in the world and generates far more from the sale of its broadcast rights than the lower ranked countries. Rather than simply lining the pockets of execs and players, though they're compensated handsomely, the dividends of the Indian cricket boom has been invested into grassroots, youth coaching (where Indian cricket excels with serious competition at U15/U17/U19 levels) and academies.

This gives enables them to churn out a seemingly neverending assembly line of quality young batsmen, and are now producing some decent seamers.

The strongarm tactics of the Big 3 at ICC level have also meant the wealthier boards have got a bigger slice of the pie.

Meanwhile the financial havenots of cricket whose situations are made worse by weak domestic economies and incompetent cricket administration - Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and South Africa - are falling further and further behind the top teams and lack the financial firepower to attract the best coaches and to invest more in grassroots cricket. South Africa especially struggles to retain its players enticed by overseas leagues.

Therefore in effect India have become the Manchester City of cricket and its hard to see how that gulf will be bridged.

 

[Bhaijaan]

There are two primary reasons :-

First is that India actually is the second greatest cricket nation behind Pakistan. All they needed was a decent amount of money being invested into the game and once that started happening somewhere in the 2000s the gap that existed previously with the world leaders started getting narrower with each passing year.

Second is that obviously if you to win test matches in India you have to crack the style of playing test cricket in India. Merely playing an IPL every year will never prepare you for test cricket in India. Most teams simply lack the skill to win in India.

It is funny guys to see people crying over spin tracks. Stupid, you haven't even seen many rank turners in years. India destroys most teams on perfectly fine batting tracks. Pitches where most yes get bundled out for 100-200 against Ashwin, Younis The Yoni Khan would hit not out triple hundreds on them with one ryye and one arm only.

 

[Mamoon]

Indian bowling attack is the best in the world, but their invincibility at home is because of their consistency with the bat. As a batting unit, they have the best lineup in the world by some distance, and they rarely miss out in home conditions.

You can expect at least three batsmen to go big in every innings which means that 500-600 is the par score for them. It is ridiculous how many times they have scored 600+ in the last few years.

It is very difficult for teams to cope with such scoreboard pressure game after game and innings after innings.

I firmly believe this is the most complete Asian Test team of all time and Kohli is well on his way of becoming the greatest Test captain in history.

He is only 30 and has 5-6 years left as Test captain, and he already has an immense legacy. He is on his way of overtaking G. Smith as the most prolific captain (by number of wins) of all time.

The rate at which his team wins matches, the way he empowers his bowlers especially the pacers, the way he has raised his game as captain - it is a privilege to watch him lead this phenomenal team.

 

[big_gamer007]

Need to give indian fast bowlers some credit.. All have excellent avg and strike rates In last 4 years ... ( taking top order wickets)

Even current series 5 wkt haul for Shami in 1st test, and today 1st innings top 5 SA wickets went to Indian Pacers

Yes of course but spinners play a bigger role at home. The entire team is very good, hopefully in Rohit and Mayank we have found stable openers.

 

[Chrish]

Home sides are too good and away sides have no idea how to play in alien conditions.

 

[Sachin136]

Home sides are too good and away sides have no idea how to play in alien conditions.

Not sure if you have been following tests in the last few years, but that's absolutely not true. Some recent examples are SL beating SA/Pak away, India beating Australia/WI/SL away, England failing to beat Australia at home, etc.

 

[Thomaskutty]

Home record aside, India never losing an overseas test match whenever they've won the toss is an amazing feat too. Toss matters a lot in overseas conditions.

 

[Chrish]

Not sure if you have been following tests in the last few years, but that's absolutely not true. Some recent examples are SL beating SA/Pak away, India beating Australia/WI/SL away, England failing to beat Australia at home, etc.

And India getting thrashed in SA and Eng

We all know why India was able to win in Aus. And their victory in SL is expected. It's like Aus beating NZ in NZ. You don't brag about it. Same thing applies to SL vs Pak. And WI have been crap side for a while now.

Only major upset was SL winning in SA.

 

[barah_admi]

The quality of pitches in India is key. I am all for bowler friendly pitches but when it comes obvious that the pitch is going to break and spin like crazy, then it becomes all too predictable. These Indian pitches have made some ordinary spinners look like world beaters. Monty looked like an ATG, as did that Australian fella.

Credit goes to the odd Indian batsman who can bat well (Kohli, Pujara etc) but even they have been done by some ordinary spinners and spin on those pitches. When an overseas batsman manages to tame those pitches, India end up look pretty ordinary or even below ordinary at times.

 

[BaankeJi]

And India getting thrashed in SA and Eng

We all know why India was able to win in Aus. And their victory in SL is expected. It's like Aus beating NZ in NZ. You don't brag about it. Same thing applies to SL vs Pak. And WI have been crap side for a while now.

Only major upset was SL winning in SA.

So you expected SL to win against Pak in Pak( or UAE)?

 

[BaankeJi]

And India getting thrashed in SA and Eng

We all know why India was able to win in Aus. And their victory in SL is expected. It's like Aus beating NZ in NZ. You don't brag about it. Same thing applies to SL vs Pak. And WI have been crap side for a while now.

Only major upset was SL winning in SA.

India lost to SA 1-2. That is hardly a thrashing. That is minimum margin required to decide a series. 3-0 would have been a thrashing.

India were thrashed in England. No arguments about that.

 

[deep82]

We have been only thrashed in England in Kohli era and even there we won a test and we were in the series after the completion of 3rd test.

Apart from that this Kohli team is unstoppable....

If kohli team can win the test championship ( and hence continue the #1 ranking for 5 straight year till the final), I will rate the achievement bigger than our two ODI world cup, one T20 world cup and two champions trophy triumph.

 

[Chrish]

So you expected SL to win against Pak in Pak( or UAE)?

I didn’t expect them but that doesn’t mean it was an upset. Pak has been a weak team for a while now.

India lost to SA 1-2. That is hardly a thrashing. That is minimum margin required to decide a series. 3-0 would have been a thrashing.

India were thrashed in England. No arguments about that.

Conversely, Aus in India can hardly classified as a thrashing as well considering India had to play out of their skin to win the series.

And SA won first two games. So series was over. So India winning last dead rubber isn’t some sort of achievement.

 

[DRsohail]

Strong 4 days cricket.

 

[deep82]

Conversely, Aus in India can hardly classified as a thrashing as well considering India had to play out of their skin to win the series.

And SA won first two games. So series was over. So India winning last dead rubber isn’t some sort of achievement.

Yes, Australia is the only team that challenged India at home. Need to accept that.

But everybody else got a proper thrashing 3-0, 4-0, 2-0 and most importantly the margin of defeats...

Take for example the current series.....at no point were SA is in the series and troubling India. While during India tour of SA, India were in genuine chance to win the first test and take a lead. Ofcourse they did not and lose the series is different matter. But they were definitely not 'thrashed' like the Saffers are getting right now.

 

[Chrish]

Yes, Australia is the only team that challenged India at home. Need to accept that.

But everybody else got a proper thrashing 3-0, 4-0, 2-0 and most importantly the margin of defeats...

Take for example the current series.....at no point were SA is in the series and troubling India. While during India tour of SA, India were in genuine chance to win the first test and take a lead. Ofcourse they did not and lose the series is different matter. But they were definitely not 'thrashed' like the Saffers are getting right now.

Only thing that matters is winning the series. Moral victories of how close or away you are from winning mean zilch.

 

[Chrish]

And current SA team is weak. They have lost their star players in AB, Amla and Steyn. They are either inexperienced or complete crap. I expect them to receive thrashing against every major test side until they reform their whole side again.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Since January 1st 2013, India is 24-1 at home.

Those talking about quality of pitches, kindly explain this stat.

View attachment 95827

Australia's drop-in-pitches have resulted in mammoth scores (well accepted fact even on PP) but kindly explain how Indian batsmen have been able to almost match that stat despite playing on crazy bowling friendly pitches?

Am I to believe that every single Indian batsman from #1 to #11 is much better than what their batting stats show. Maybe our top 7 are level and bottom 4 level? alone has 6 200s in India in this period, Pujara 3, Dhoni 1, Mayank 1, Karun Nair scored a triple. Another 20 (minimum) individual scores of 150+.

If you want to go 180 and now claim that Indian pitches are batting beauties, explain this.

View attachment 95828

India is second best in batting (behind Australia) as well as bowling (behind SA) when it comes to home record.

Next question, how does an average Indian pitch vary so much and so fast in the minds of critics? Morning session Kohli is batting on a flat highway, post-lunch session when Shami and Ishant are bowling suddenly it is a green mamba or unplayable bounce, post-tea session when Ashwin and Jadeja have the ball it becomes rank turner day 18 pitch. Next day when Kohli and Pujara bat it becomes batting beauty again and the process repeats, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year .

How skilled are our pitch curators ? If they are such masters of soil science, why not aim for Nobel Prize or do something worthwhile for humanity, we can all agree that helping solve the impending global food security crisis is more important than some damn test match which no one attends . Or maybe they have learnt the art of manipulating moisture level on the pitch irrespective of nature's vagaries, what Magneto does with metals maybe our curators replicate with subsurface water. Chennai missed their special powers for sure during the water crisis earlier this year .

Another oft-repeated avenue for annoyance for esteemed critics is toss, batting second in India etc. India has lost the toss 15 times in home matches in this period, won 11 and lost 1. How is India able to overcome the toss disadvantage when the conditions are allegedly unfair? Has BCCI invented time travel as well, when India comes to bat things (even intangibles like pressure, fatigue) automatically shift backwards and when opponents have to bat a decisive shift the other way? This way maybe India has 1 or more chances at 1st innings conditions while whenever opponent plays it is 4th innings, even on day 1 .

View attachment 95829

PS- Pakistan isn't showing because UAE comes under neutral, if someone is interested I can attach those files but last I checked they aren't comparable to India's. Besides this is a general query of mine, nothing Indo-Pak related. I just want to enhance my knowledge about pitch variance by hour in India and associated paradoxes.

 

[geraltofrivia]

And current SA team is weak. They have lost their star players in AB, Amla and Steyn. They are either inexperienced or complete crap. I expect them to receive thrashing against every major test side until they reform their whole side again.

3-0 against Pak haha

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Temba bavuma in today's post match presser said that this pune pitch was more like a Saffer pitch . But some experts here know better of course

 

[Chrish]

3-0 against Pak haha

They would get thrashed if they were playing Pak in UAE.

 

[Chrish]

Well considering Temba hasn’t lasted longer than 10 balls, wonder how he was able to judge the pitch..

 

[geraltofrivia]

They would get thrashed if they were playing Pak in UAE.

Considering that Pak haven't beat SA in UAE ever and Pak has lost against teams like SL and NZ in UAE I find it hard to believe.

 

[Abhilash93]

1. No world class spinner (except maybe Lyon but even he struggles in India) atm in visiting sides to really challenge Indian batsmen who are more than decent against spin.

2. Ashwin & Jadeja are quite formidable at home. In the last few years, even the pacers have stepped up (Umesh & Shami have bowled some match-winning spells).

3. Pacers from visiting sides haven't really mastered playing on Indian pitches and bowling with the SG ball (like what Steyn could do)

4. Most teams have just 1 or 2 batsmen who can play spin well.

 

[Chrish]

Considering that Pak haven't beat SA in UAE ever and Pak has lost against teams like SL and NZ in UAE I find it hard to believe.

Well SA has thrashed India in India as well. And drew many series prior.

Historical performances don’t guarantee future success/ failure.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Temba bavuma in today's post match presser said that this pune pitch was more like a Saffer pitch . But some experts here know better of course

Judging by how he has played on this tour I don't think he's an expert on anything

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Indian batsmen and spinner know the conditions very well. No one can play better than them in those conditions. Also helps that opposition spinners are rarely good enough to challenge them and most non-Asian batsmen crumble against their own spinners and don't have the necessary patience or footwork to thrive in those testing conditions.

 

[Chrish]

In all fairness, India is the most dominant test side at home.

There was a period of time when Mishbah and YK were still playing where Pak could have easily challenged India in India or UAE. But they weren’t playing each other.

 

[geraltofrivia]

Well SA has thrashed India in India as well. And drew many series prior.

Historical performances don’t guarantee future success/ failure.

They lost in 2015 too.

And not like Pak has been winning series at home either.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Ashwin/Jadeja. 7 man of the series award won by Ashwin at home. More than any Indian (more than Tendulkar, Kumble, Dravid, Sehwag). One reason is India uses the SG balls . SG ball has pronounced seam. It retains it shape longer. It helps spinners like Ashwin a lot. Give Ashwin SG ball outside India he will be doing much better what he is doing now.

 

[docteurmanish]

Indian bowling attack is the best in the world, but their invincibility at home is because of their consistency with the bat. As a batting unit, they have the best lineup in the world by some distance, and they rarely miss out in home conditions.

You can expect at least three batsmen to go big in every innings which means that 500-600 is the par score for them. It is ridiculous how many times they have scored 600+ in the last few years.

It is very difficult for teams to cope with such scoreboard pressure game after game and innings after innings.

I firmly believe this is the most complete Asian Test team of all time and Kohli is well on his way of becoming the greatest Test captain in history.

He is only 30 and has 5-6 years left as Test captain, and he already has an immense legacy. He is on his way of overtaking G. Smith as the most prolific captain (by number of wins) of all time.

The rate at which his team wins matches, the way he empowers his bowlers especially the pacers, the way he has raised his game as captain - it is a privilege to watch him lead this phenomenal team.

Think you are also missing two more points

- last 10 years india is blessed with a keeper allrounder like dhoni or Saha or pant who scores well and keeps well
- pace bowling has improved leaps
- batting wise india has found batters - vijay amd now Aggarwal . Shaw shubnam etc waiting their turn
- finally the spin stocks are good but india is blessed that ashwin and jadeja can bat too

These factors have made the team a very very good home team . Toss is almost out of the equation . Only greatness like smith or steyn can cause ripples once in a blue moon . Kohli counteracts with his own greatness

 

[Hasan123]

Their strong bowling attack. Their fast bowlers know where to bowl and Ashwin and Jadeja are brilliant in home conditions. The batters know how to score big and can mostly adjust to the game situation.

An all round good team with a brilliant captain.


I think they are underrated on PP who make unnecessary comparisons to the Australian team of the 2000s and West Indies team of the 70s and 80s. You don't need to match them to be a good team.

This Indian side will be remembered for a long time by Indian fans as they made test cricket more valuable in India and topped the rankings for a while.

 

[Saj]

Simple formula:

Top order puts runs on the board.
Pace bowlers who are decent with the new ball and can reverse it later.
Spinners who will get you wickets when there is assistance for them.
A captain who gets the best out of his players.

 

[azimiqbal]

I think it’s not one factor but a couple

1) finally India have a good pace bowling attack that can take wickets with the new ball and with the old ball.

2) quality of batsman ability to play spin in world cricket is dire! Apart from a handful of players in world cricket.

3) quality of spinners worldwide has degenerated massively. How many world class test spinners are playing in test matches today ? Apart from yasir in home conditions and Indian spinners in home conditions can you think of any ?

4) powerful deep batting line up , which has been the tradition for the Indian team for years.

 

[captain.hansolo]

Simple formula:

Top order puts runs on the board.
Pace bowlers who are decent with the new ball and can reverse it later.
Spinners who will get you wickets when there is assistance for them.
A captain who gets the best out of his players.

I would add that improved level of fitness supersedes all of the above. a fitter player is mentally better prepared for a challenge.

a fitter player can practice longer, prepare harder, and maintain the intensity longer.

 

[Ab Fan]

In all fairness, India is the most dominant test side at home.

There was a period of time when Mishbah and YK were still playing where Pak could have easily challenged India in India or UAE. But they weren’t playing each other.

Yes, currently Pakistan, Sri Lanka and South Africa are weak.On other hand, Windies and BD are still lying at bottom.

New Zealand is a relatively better side than in past but don't see them challenging India in India. England have Root, Stokes and Archer but they all fluctuate in terms of their performance.

Australia is the only team that is strong but to challenge India in India, they need an ATG team which they don't have as none of their batsmen are good barring Smith(who to be fair alone makes up for 2-3 bats).

 

[Chrish]

NZ are actually pretty good side. It's a shame they don't play any Test cricket. Otherwise they are filled with class players who always chip in.

 

[Bhaijaan]

I think no one has addressed it yet but there is also an intimidation factor that comes with a tour of India. Test tour of India remains one of the most mentally challenging experience for most teams. I don't even think many teams come to India expecting to win.

IPl and ODIs are fun cricket. You see many foreign players now enjoying playing those formats in India but the moment they get back to playing tests in India all the smiles are gone.

 

[BalluBalleBaaz]

I think no one has addressed it yet but there is also an intimidation factor that comes with a tour of India. Test tour of India remains one of the most mentally challenging experience for most teams. I don't even think many teams come to India expecting to win.

IPl and ODIs are fun cricket. You see many foreign players now enjoying playing those formats in India but the moment they get back to playing tests in India all the smiles are gone.

No captain would smile after Kaptaan's thrashing!

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India last 11 Test series at home:<br><br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br><br>The last time they lost a Test series at home was in December 2012 versus England<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvsSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvsSA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1183318312815677440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Bhaijaan]

11 consecutive series wins at home

More than the great Windies and the great Aussies now.

This streak at home is now truly etched in history.

Trolls may say whatever it's an official record now
[MENTION=79064]MMHS[/MENTION] [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] @Gurgaon [MENTION=129948]Bilal7[/MENTION] [MENTION=53290]Markhor[/MENTION]

 

[Bhaijaan]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India last 11 Test series at home:<br><br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br>Won<br><br>The last time they lost a Test series at home was in December 2012 versus England<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/INDvsSA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#INDvsSA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1183318312815677440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Since 2000, India has only lost two test series at home.

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India last 46 Tests at home (since February 2010):<br><br>Won 34<br>Drawn 9<br>Lost 3<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1183323243563945986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[BalluBalleBaaz]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">India last 46 Tests at home (since February 2010):<br><br>Won 34<br>Drawn 9<br>Lost 3<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) <a href="https://twitter.com/Saj_PakPassion/status/1183323243563945986?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 13, 2019</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

You can see what Kohli has in mind. A test legacy will produce more fast bowlers for him to play with.

 

[Joseph Gomes]

India is the greatest home side of all time now. 11 consecutive series wins is no joke. All teams lost home series multiple times since 2012.

 

[barah_admi]

A poster here claimed Kohli was changing India's away test performances but has he really?

They had three acid tests last season and were embarrassed in most of them. Some of those losses were not even competitive and that is the problem. The great Windies side, the great Australians, the great South Africans and the great Pakistani sides all had terrific home records but good win against the best opponents away, or at least draw.

India have that moment against Australia but it came against a weakened side, however I do not want to take too much away from that because I do not need to. They rolled over meekly against SA and England and not for the first time. I am not quite sure what is changing exactly?

 

[MP2011]

Since January 1st 2013, India is 24-1 at home.

Those talking about quality of pitches, kindly explain this stat.

View attachment 95827

Australia's drop-in-pitches have resulted in mammoth scores (well accepted fact even on PP) but kindly explain how Indian batsmen have been able to almost match that stat despite playing on crazy bowling friendly pitches?

Am I to believe that every single Indian batsman from #1 to #11 is much better than what their batting stats show. Maybe our top 7 are level and bottom 4 level? alone has 6 200s in India in this period, Pujara 3, Dhoni 1, Mayank 1, Karun Nair scored a triple. Another 20 (minimum) individual scores of 150+.

If you want to go 180 and now claim that Indian pitches are batting beauties, explain this.

View attachment 95828

India is second best in batting (behind Australia) as well as bowling (behind SA) when it comes to home record.

Next question, how does an average Indian pitch vary so much and so fast in the minds of critics? Morning session Kohli is batting on a flat highway, post-lunch session when Shami and Ishant are bowling suddenly it is a green mamba or unplayable bounce, post-tea session when Ashwin and Jadeja have the ball it becomes rank turner day 18 pitch. Next day when Kohli and Pujara bat it becomes batting beauty again and the process repeats, day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year .

How skilled are our pitch curators ? If they are such masters of soil science, why not aim for Nobel Prize or do something worthwhile for humanity, we can all agree that helping solve the impending global food security crisis is more important than some damn test match which no one attends . Or maybe they have learnt the art of manipulating moisture level on the pitch irrespective of nature's vagaries, what Magneto does with metals maybe our curators replicate with subsurface water. Chennai missed their special powers for sure during the water crisis earlier this year .

Another oft-repeated avenue for annoyance for esteemed critics is toss, batting second in India etc. India has lost the toss 15 times in home matches in this period, won 11 and lost 1. How is India able to overcome the toss disadvantage when the conditions are allegedly unfair? Has BCCI invented time travel as well, when India comes to bat things (even intangibles like pressure, fatigue) automatically shift backwards and when opponents have to bat a decisive shift the other way? This way maybe India has 1 or more chances at 1st innings conditions while whenever opponent plays it is 4th innings, even on day 1 .

View attachment 95829

PS- Pakistan isn't showing because UAE comes under neutral, if someone is interested I can attach those files but last I checked they aren't comparable to India's. Besides this is a general query of mine, nothing Indo-Pak related. I just want to enhance my knowledge about pitch variance by hour in India and associated paradoxes.

Well said. Let sooks sook hoarsely, it's their job to sook over any win by India.

 

[MP2011]

And some keyboard warrior saying Kohli hasn't changed anything in the way India plays test cricket. Yeah, 30/50 test wins are joke, any Tom, dick and Harry can have that kind of record as test captain...

 

[MP2011]

Those who are mocking Indian test team are the ones whose test captain will give whatever he has to have that kind of test record. It's that bloody impressive...

 

[Swashbuckler]

And some keyboard warrior saying Kohli hasn't changed anything in the way India plays test cricket. Yeah, 30/50 test wins are joke, any Tom, dick and Harry can have that kind of record as test captain...

Those who are mocking Indian test team are the ones whose test captain will give whatever he has to have that kind of test record. It's that bloody impressive...

Agree bro.

Most consecutive test series wins at home:

11* India (2012-13 to till date)
10 Australia (1994-95 to 2000-01)
10 Australia (2004 to 2008-09)
8 West Indies (1975-76 to 1985-86)

Is this the most frightening home team in the history of cricket? This type of domination is Nadal-French Open territory. Scary part is this domination is set to continue for many more years, core of our team is still in the 28-32 age group.

 

[Titan24]

Temba bavuma in today's post match presser said that this pune pitch was more like a Saffer pitch . But some experts here know better of course

So that is why SA and and India both went with two spinners in both the matches just like they do in SA?

 

[Titan24]

Not sure why my post was deleted so I will re-post it:

A poster here claimed Kohli was changing India's away test performances but has he really?

They had three acid tests last season and were embarrassed in most of them. Some of those losses were not even competitive and that is the problem. The great Windies side, the great Australians, the great South Africans and the great Pakistani sides all had terrific home records but good win against the best opponents away, or at least draw.

India have that moment against Australia but it came against a weakened side, however I do not want to take too much away from that because I do not need to. They rolled over meekly against SA and England and not for the first time. I am not quite sure what is changing exactly?

Well put. Great teams performed both home and away as well. Otherwise in not even the greatest cricketing decade for Pak they were also unbeaten from almost 5-6 years at home under Misbah in UAE and Pak doesn’t play as many test matches otherwise I wouldn’t have been surprised if that team also created some sort of record.

And also before Sarfarz took over Pak was unbeaten at home test arena for more years than India.

 

[Proactive_]

Because the visiting teams just can't get the simple concept of developing test class spinners even if their life depended on it. One team did- Australia 2017, and they pulverized India to near submission, even forcing the captain to have an average of 9 in the series in the process. Funnily, that too when Australia's batting depended on 1 batsman for the entire series.

Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty pretty strong Indian team, easily the most complete Indian team I've seen in my lifetime.. but it's just not that strong a team to justify a 24-1 home record in the past few years and comparison with the greatest teams of the past. Visiting teams are paying for their stubbornness of not honing proper test class spin bowlers in their domestic structure. Good pacers can only get you so far with negligible support, imagine a proper test class spinner like Lyon or Swann turning the screws on the Indian middle order after Rabada and Philander had bowled pretty tight spells with Rabada plucking out the top order for figures of 3-30 at one point.

 

[Abu_Hamza]

Why is the focus always on how weak the opposition is instead of India's dominance while the narrative with the great Australian side was how good they are. I think the world needs to stand-up and acknowledge that India is in fact the most dominant test side of the current era...

 

[Sam99]

Cause India is too good and opposition sides are weak these days. No one plays spin good currently. Even part of FAB four sucks in India against these bowlers. Steve Smith is only exception right now.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Why is the focus always on how weak the opposition is instead of India's dominance while the narrative with the great Australian side was how good they are. I think the world needs to stand-up and acknowledge that India is in fact the most dominant test side of the current era...

When Australia dominated 6 other teams were fielding arguably their greatest generation of cricketers this is why India is still not at that level and perhaps never will be but you can only do what's in front of you

 

[Nikhil_cric]

So that is why SA and and India both went with two spinners in both the matches just like they do in SA?

Our seamers in this series - 21.xx . Saffer seamers - 75.xx There was enough help for the seamers. Unless of course you are suggesting that Indian fast bowlers can take pitch out of the equation better than any other .

 

[tyron_woodley]

Because the visiting teams just can't get the simple concept of developing test class spinners even if their life depended on it. One team did- Australia 2017, and they pulverized India to near submission, even forcing the captain to have an average of 9 in the series in the process. Funnily, that too when Australia's batting depended on 1 batsman for the entire series.

Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty pretty strong Indian team, easily the most complete Indian team I've seen in my lifetime.. but it's just not that strong a team to justify a 24-1 home record in the past few years and comparison with the greatest teams of the past. Visiting teams are paying for their stubbornness of not honing proper test class spin bowlers in their domestic structure. Good pacers can only get you so far with negligible support, imagine a proper test class spinner like Lyon or Swann turning the screws on the Indian middle order after Rabada and Philander had bowled pretty tight spells with Rabada plucking out the top order for figures of 3-30 at one point.

India would sweep them all with little to no effort. Back in 2017 india dint even have bumrah and shami wasn't as fit as he is now.

India would brutally crush any so called GOAT team in home conditions including the cheating scummy Australian team of the 2000 era. With the current bowling attack that india possesses, I would not be surprised at all if india match them away as well.

Kohli is yet to lose a single game when he has won the toss.

 

[tyron_woodley]

Why is the focus always on how weak the opposition is instead of India's dominance while the narrative with the great Australian side was how good they are. I think the world needs to stand-up and acknowledge that India is in fact the most dominant test side of the current era...

south african side under smith would spank that GOAT aussie team rofl. They only dominated cause of favourable decisions, cheating due to no drs and via being fitter. Now that all top teams are fitter and faster and stronger, Australia isn't as intimidating at home as they once were.

This india side is the GOAT team of home conditions and they will still compete well away as well due to the depth in bowling. I still rate the west indies of 80s above this indian side and I would put Smith's s.africa on par with the current indian team. Iran's pakistan would smash the GOAT aussie team as well in my opinion.

I believe cheaters should be excluded and it clearly applies to Australia. No sand paper boys.

 

[jnaveen1980]

If Bumrah, Shami, Ishant are fully fit India will be winning everywhere at this point. Bhuvaneswar Kumar is not even able to find a spot in the side. He took out Elgar, Markram and ABDV cheaply in the last innings he played. India has no "fill in" bowlers anymore. Everybody is a strike force. Kuldeep took a fifer in his last encounter. He can't find a spot in this line up. They are not without kinks. They still have issues knocking off the tail. Once the ball gets older they lose their potency. Even the spinners.

Another key is openers. THey play a vital role in Indian conditions.

 

[jnaveen1980]

India misses one bowler who can polish off the tail like Wasim Akram. Once that is done this will be an even more deadly force. Oflate tailenders, lower order batsmen play better against us. Curran, Philander, Maharaja.

 

[tyron_woodley]

India misses one bowler who can polish off the tail like Wasim Akram. Once that is done this will be an even more deadly force. Oflate tailenders, lower order batsmen play better against us. Curran, Philander, Maharaja.

bumrah can clean up tail quite easily. So can shami. If you notice tail only wagged when spinners are bowling with an old bowl

 

[barah_admi]

Well put. Great teams performed both home and away as well. Otherwise in not even the greatest cricketing decade for Pak they were also unbeaten from almost 5-6 years at home under Misbah in UAE and Pak doesn’t play as many test matches otherwise I wouldn’t have been surprised if that team also created some sort of record.

And also before Sarfarz took over Pak was unbeaten at home test arena for more years than India.

Yep, Pakistan were also unbeaten, home and away from 2010-12, and 2014-16. 7 test series in each period, 14 test series in general, while not beng able to play at home and suffering from a drought of world class players. It was far more monumental an achievement than this.