Stats: Team India's record in series deciders

A tame draw at Ranchi ensured Dharamsala’s maiden Test will be a decider of the 4-match Test series between India and Australia, which has seen spicing the things off the field as well. Both the teams will lock horns for the 7th time in a series decider in Test cricket during the 4th Test match starting on Saturday. The record in those games has been equal for both the teams as they won one each and the remaining 4 games ended as draw.

The last such encounters between the two sides came during India’s down under tour in 2003/04, where a draw in the 4th and final Test ensured India retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy as they won the previous series in 2001 in India, which was also incidentally decided in the final Test after both the teams won one game each in first two Tests.

Similarly, any other than an India win at Dharamsala will see Australia retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India’s record in series deciders in Test cricket:

Overall, this will be India’s 37th instance where they will feature in a final game of a Test series with the series’ scoreline equal after both the teams winning the same number of games or none. Out of the 36 so far, India won 11 and lost 10 decider games and the remaining 15 ended in a draw. Last such instance for India was during their 3-match series in 2015 in Sri Lanka where India lost the first Test and won the next two to take the series. On Indian soil, though, the last decider Test was during India’s home series vs New Zealand in 2010 where the first two of the three games ended as draw and India won the all-important game to win the series. Here is the list of series deciders India has played in Test cricket so far.

List of series deciders India played in Test cricket: (Excluding one-off Tests)

(Stats as on 24th March 2017)