RANCHI: December 17, 2012 might not be a date registered in every Indian cricket fan's memory. After all, it was the last day of a dull draw in a Test match between India and England. However, that date holds a lot more significance now. It was the last time India had suffered a Test series defeat at home.
Yes, it has been 11 years, two months and 11 days — or 4090 days — since India lost a Test series at home. To put this number into context, among the nine teams taking part in the World Test Championship 2023-25, New Zealand comes the closest to India. The Black Caps' last home Test series defeat came in 2017. England lost in 2022, Australia in 2021 and South Africa in 2019. Even the ten consecutive home Test series wins by the invincible Australians of 1994-2000 and 2004-2008 does not come close to the 17 victories India have etched in this period.
What would you call a team that has such a record? How would you describe a team that, irrespective of who comes in or who is available, continues to win Test series at home? What is the adjective to express the dominance against every team that has turned up on the India shores? Invincible? No. India have not been invincible and there are obviously more tangible factors involved. Yes, conditions play a part. There have been series where teams were welcomed with the ball turning square on Day One. In 2021, too, India resorted to such pitches after losing to England in the first Test.
This time, in the ongoing series against England which India have sealed 3-1, pitches have remained a constant talking point. However, that is not to say that this series has been played on rank turners. Even England captain Ben Stokes admitted as much after the Ranchi loss. "I think all four wickets have been really, really good Test match wickets. So, no complaints whatsoever about any pitches that have been produced," Stokes said.
Which brings the question back to how did this Indian team that did not have certified stars like Virat Kohli or Mohammed Shami, that lost KL Rahul due to injury, that missed Ravindra Jadeja for a match, that lost the first Test and let England take 1-0 lead, came to Visakhapatnam and turned a new leaf to win three on the trot? When they sealed the series in Ranchi, the Test cap ratio between England and India's playing XIs was 2.27.
If this is not invincible, what is, you may ask? Invincible is just too simple a term to define what India have achieved in this series. First up, they were caught off guard in Hyderabad. They needed the genius of Jasprit Bumrah and Yashasvi Jaiswal in Visakhapatnam. And even in Rajkot, after two days, it seemed like England were in a better position to take a 2-1 lead.
But here is the thing with all those sessions and phases of dominance by the visiting team — where it might seem like India are losing their plot. Every time they were in such a situation, there was one person who knew what to do and take up the job. Mohammed Siraj’s reverse swing followed by Jaiswal's double in Rajkot. And then, R Ashwin, who had left for a personal emergency, came back and contributed to the team's win.
At Ranchi, on a pitch that seemed like evil, but played out without many demons in it, Dhruv Jurel and Kuldeep Yadav played with purpose before the genius of Ashwin came to the fore. Rohit Sharma and India have found solutions during such testing moments.
These are elite athletes who are very much aware of the dominance their team possesses at home. And having played a part in it, they know how much it means and what they need to do to prolong the legacy. Their desire to contribute and the high they get from a Test series win is almost addictive. Jurel, who missed his first Test hundred, did not blink twice before saying, "I want to lift the trophy first." There is a tradition of debutants lifting the trophy. And these athletes are more skilled in these conditions than anyone visiting. They can adapt on the go, like Ashwin did in Ranchi, and still continue to outplay opponents without even giving them a chance.
More than anything else, they are also aware of what is at stake. The last time they lost a series at home, there were calls for a captaincy change. "…if you win at home, not a lot is spoken about, 'oh no India is supposed to win at home'. If you don't, then I know what happens as well but yeah...clearly every series win, whichever team you play against, whenever you play, Test series win is a Test series win no matter the conditions or the country you play in," Rohit would say before explaining why this one was sweeter because of the youngsters who are part of this team.
There is still one more game to go in Dharamsala, and there is a chance that England might actually win that match. No one is saying that India cannot lose a Test match at home. However, what one can say for sure is that no team is coming to India and beating them over a course of a three or more Test match series. And if any team manages to do that in this decade, that would go down as one of the greatest achievements of this century.