India plays 500th Test: Quantity is great, but quality?

India have won only 129 of the 499 Tests played till the Kanpur Test, an ordinary success percentage of 25.85, which puts them at the seventh position out of 10 teams

India on Thursday (Sept 22) took on New Zealand in their 500th Test match – at the Green Park in Kanpur. A great occasion no doubt for India became only the fourth side after England (976), Australia (791) and the West Indies (517) to achieve this feat in the 119-year history of the longest format of the game.

India are being led in the match, the first of a three-game series, by Virat Kohli, the new Test skipper who is yet to lose a series. It couldn’t have been a more perfect tribute and given India’s current form in Tests, a win over the Kiwis in the historic match is also not unlikely.

As an 84-year-old Test team, India’s success figures as a team are not great

But despite the successful run of Kohli’s brigade and the rise of India as a decent Test side (they are currently ranked No. 2 and won the last series away, in the West Indies), one question cannot be overlooked: Have India really been a successful Test side historically? Are we celebrating quantity over quality?

Parallel to the fact that India played 499 Tests till the beginning of the Kanpur game, it is also a fact that they have won just 129 of those, lost 157 and drawn a whopping 212! One Test was tied against Australia in 1986.

The success rate is, thus, only 25.85 percent, which puts India at the seventh position out of 10 countries – just above New Zealand, the current opponents and Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The six countries that have succeeded more than India in Tests are – Australia (47.02%), South Africa (36.31%), England (35.86%), Pakistan (32.08%), West Indies (31.72%) and Sri Lanka (31.07%).

As a country which is playing for over eight decades now and has produced some world famous cricketers, this isn’t exactly a record to feel proud of.

A whopping 212 number of drawn games!

The ordinary success rate has more to do with India’s drawn games than the victories or losses. India are ranked fifth among 10 Test-playing countries both in terms of wins and losses. They have, in fact, won more games than Pakistan and Sri Lanka who are ahead in terms of the success percentage. But it is the massive number of drawn games that have really ruined India’s figures.

Only England, with almost 1000 Tests, have drawn more games

India’s number of drawn matches (212) is second in the list – just after England (342) though the latter has played almost the twice the number of matches than India. Australia, who have also played almost 300 matches more than India, have lesser number of drawn games (206) but won matches almost three-times more.

The Caribbeans, a pale shadow of their past, also have more wins and less draws in Tests than India. Arch-rivals Pakistan, who have played 100 Tests less than India, have won just one game less. Pakistan have lost 44 games less than India.

India’s first Test victory came 20 years after debut

And to complete the story, India’s first victory in Tests came two decades after they started playing which shows how slow they have been in starting their run. Even a lowly Zimbabwe took just six years to register their first Test win since making debut in 1992.

India against all opponents

In terms of winning against opponents and success rate, India have the most number of games against Australia. They have beaten the Aussies 24 times in Tests although they have played each other 90 times (success percent 26.66). But how many of those 24 victories have come Down Under? Just five, to be precise.

Ordinary success rate against Eng, Pak, WI

India’s winning percentages against other top teams like England, Pakistan and West Indies (considering they were once a side everybody feared) are just 18.75, 15.25 and 19.14, respectively.

India’s best winning record in Tests is against Bangladesh who they have beaten six out of eight times with no losses (75%). India’s next favourite opponents are Zimbabwe (63.63%), Sri Lanka (42.10%), New Zealand (33.33% till the Kanpur Test) and South Africa (30.30%; the 3-0 hammering of the Proteas in the 2015 series did the average wonders).

In terms of drawn games, India have happily negotiated 48 times with England, 46 times with West Indies and 38 times with Pakistan. The number is significantly less with Australia (25) and that is perhaps because the Aussies are known to play for wins.

These numbers speak volumes about India’s Test-playing style. There was a time when Indian captains prayed that Sir Don Bradman would slam his 100th century against their side as that would mean a great achievement for the fielding side as well.

Since then to the days of Sourav Gangulys, MS Dhonis and Kohlis – the world of Indian cricket has undergone a sea change no doubt, But the record book doesn’t change so fast and gives a true reflection of history.

Indians never thought it big and were happy not to lose

That India did not know to think big even after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had given us the first away series victory in 1968 was also evident during the captaincies of Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, Krish Srikkanth, Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar.

Their individual accomplishments were never under doubt but as captains, their records are too ordinary. The five gentlemen had led India in 157 Tests overall and of those, India could win just 31, and too mostly at home. They drew in 38 matches, one match was tied and guess what? They saw their men drawing on 87 occasions!

Drawing was a logical conclusion in the Indian cricketing psyche those days either because India did not want to lose or they did not have the firepower to dismiss the opponents twice. So, despite feats of several individual brilliance, India remained by far an underachiever in Test cricket.

Since Ganguly’s takeover, India’s success has been over 40%

Things only started to change since Ganguly had taken over from Tendulkar in 2000. In 167 Tests played since then, India have won 68 games under six captains, lost in 47 and drew in 53 (success percentage 40.7%). This means in the 332 matches played between 1932-2000, India could win a paltry 61 games, lost 110 and drew 159 (success percentage 18.3%). Of those 61 wins, 32 came under the captaincies of Azharuddin (14), Pataudi and Gavaskar (9 each). And the remaining 29 victories came under as many as 22 captains!

First 61 wins in 68 years; next 68 wins in 16 years

However, the 21st century has been a happy time for India’s Test fortune. In the last 16 years, India have won in 68 games (the previous 61 wins came in 68 years) and there is a clear change in the attitude India take the field nowadays.

The aggression which was imported by Ganguly and followed later by the likes of Dhoni and Kohli has perhaps made possible by the phenomenal rise of individual cricketers from the country, like the Gavaskars, Tendulkars and Anil Kumbles (India’s highest wicket-taker in Tests) and also by a deepening democratization of the game of cricket.

Drawing a series in Australia or winning a series in Pakistan or making series victories in the West Indies a habit is definitely some high points of India’s recent Test history.

But still a lot has to be done

But having said that, as one of the oldest teams in the circuit, India are yet to beat Australia and South Africa in their own den and also haven’t beaten New Zealand on their soil since 1968. Even beating a resurgent England in Tests at their home is easier said than done.

So, these are the areas where the sky is the limit for India. Even as Kohli leads India in their 500th Test, serious students of India’s Test history will be hoping for a better future and seeing India’s success rate among the top teams. Can Kohli meet their expectations?

Also read – India’s greatest Test XI