1968-2019: A chronicle of India’s away Test series milestones

We look at India’s first away Test series wins by country.

Abid Ali celebrates the wicket of B.A.G. Murray on the opening day of the second Test match at Christchurch in February 1968. India won the four-match series 3-1.

A first win is always special and when it comes away from your comfort zone, it is extra special.

As Virat Kohli and his men decimated Australia for India's first series win Down Under, Sportstar looks at India’s first away Test series wins by country.

New Zealand (1968)

The series against New Zealand was special as it was India’s first away series win. Under Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi's captaincy, India won the four-match series 3-1.

Ajit Wadekar was the best batsman with 328 runs while Erappalli Prasanna was the highest wicket-taker for India with 24 scalps.

India won the first Test at Dunedin by five wickets, lost the second by six wickets and won the last two Tests by eight wickets and 272 runs respectively to emerge victorious.

A new chapter in Indian cricket was opened.

Sunil Gavaskar of India drives West Indies bowler Noreiga through the covers for four runs in the third Test match at Georgetown, Guyana on March 25, 1971. India won the five-match series 1-0.

 

West Indies (1971)

Three years after India's first away series win, Ajit Wadekar-led India beat West Indies 1-0 in a five-match series. It would also be remembered for the debut of Sunil Gavaskar.

The batting talisman scored four centuries and a double century in the series and emerged as the highest run-getter with 774 runs.

Related: Series win in Australia my biggest achievement, says Virat Kohli

The spin troika of Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna stood out with 22, 15 and 11 wickets respectively.

The second Test at Port of Spain was won by India with the other four ending in a stalemate.

Bishan Singh Bedi, India's versatile spinner smiles as Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain shakes his hand at Lord's cricket ground. India won the three-Test series 1-0.

 

England (1971)

After winning in West Indies, Ajit Wadekar led India to another away series win, this time in England.

India won the Test series 1-0 after winning the third Test. The first and second Tests at Lord’s and Old Trafford ended in a draw.

India won the third Test at The Oval by four wickets.

Wadekar was the highest run-getter with 204 runs and Srinivas Venkatraghavan sizzled with the ball with 13 wickets.

Sachin Tendulkar scored his sixth century, first against Sri Lanka (104 not out), at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, on day four of the Second Test match on July 31, 1993. India won the three-Test series 1-0.

 

Sri Lanka (1993)

For more than two decades, India's away Test series win drew a blank. It all changed under Mohammed Azharuddin when India beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in a three-match series.

Vinod Kambli scored two centuries and emerged the highest run-getter (249) while Anil Kumble spun a web around the host with 13 wickets to his name.

Rain played spoilsport in the first Test allowing just 49 minutes of play over five-days and the match made its entry into the record books as the shortest-ever Test match, then.

India's first overseas win in seven years was achieved when it won the second Test by 235 runs and with the third Test ending in a draw, India achieved its first Test series win in the island nation.

An aerial view of Bangabandhu stadium in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, where Bangaldesh played its first Test match against India in November 2000. India won the Test by nine wickets.

 

Bangladesh (2000)

India played Bangladesh's first Test match and the tour consisted of just the one Test. India beat the host by nine wickets with Sunil Joshi taking a five-for in the first innings and scoring 92 with the bat.

In Pictures:  From an early fumble to the maiden series win Down Under

India then bowled Bangladesh out for 91 and chased the 64-run target with nine wickets to spare.

Joshi was the man-of-the-match.

The series also saw the debuts of Shiv Sundar Das, Saba Karim and Zaheer Khan.

India's Virender Sehwag celebrates with team-mate Sachin Tendulkar,(right) after completing his triple century on the second day of the first Test match between India and Pakistan at the Multan Cricket Stadium, on March 29, 2004. India won the three-match series 2-1.

 

Pakistan (2004)

India's first series win against the arch-rival came in 2004, under Sourav Ganguly.

The series is best remembered for Virender Sehwag's assault with the bat, becoming the country's first ever triple centurion in Tests.

India won the first Test by an innings and 52 runs, largely contributed by Sehwag's 309 and Anil Kumble's 6/72.

Pakistan drew level in the second Test, winning by nine wickets but Rahul Dravid's 270 and L. Balaji and Kumble's four-wicket hauls helped India win the third Test and pocket a series in Pakistan for the first time.

India skipper Sourav Ganguly poses with the trophy during the presentation ceremony at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe on September 22, 2005. India beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the two-Test Series.

  Zimbabwe (2005)

Under Sourav Ganguly, India won its first series in Zimbabwe in four attempts. The series was also Zimbabwe's last before it was suspended from Test cricket by its board and ICC due to a political decline and a player exodus.

India won the first Test by an innings an 90 runs with Irfan Pathan taking a match haul of nine wickets and V.V.S. Laxman scoring 140.

Pathan then decimated the Zimbabwe line-up with a 12 wicket haul in the second Test (seven in the first innings and five in the second) as India coasted to a 10-wicket win.

Related: Sunil Gavaskar: Kohli’s team raised the bar by winning the series

Rahul Dravid was the highest run-getter with 175 runs and Pathan took 21 wickets in the series.

Australia (2019)

Virat Kohli's men emerged as one of the best touring sides after winning the Test series 2-1 in Australia for the first time. India, thus, became the first Asian side to win a series Down Under.

India won the first Test in Adelaide by 31 runs, lost the second in Perth by 146 runs, won the third at Melbourne by 137 runs to retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

India's captain Virat Kohli celebrates with team-mates after retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by clinching the Test series 2-1 in Sydney on Monday.

 

 

The fourth Test in Sydney was rained out and ended in a draw as India won its first Test series in Australia.

Chetehswar Pujara amassed 521 runs to emerge as the highest run-getter while Jasprit Bumrah took 21 wickets in the Test series.

Pujara scored 123 in Adelaide, 106 in Melbourne and 193 in Sydney.

India is yet to win in South Africa and yet to play in Afghanistan.