Rahul Dravid's reluctance in enforcing the follow-on in Oval Test might have robbed India of a great victory, but his 'safety-first' approach made him the first Indian captain to win a Test series in England in 21 years. India has always been a formidable side at home, but somehow it could not transform the potential it had into wins while playing abroad. That India registered its first Test victory overseas after almost 35 years is a disgrace in itself.
But things are changing now and there is a distinct shift in India's fortunes while playing abroad in this decade. The number of series wins abroad in these 8 years is in fact more than what India has managed to achieve in first 67 years (from 1932 to 1999) !
Not only the series wins, the Test victories by India in this short period far outnumber the victories registered in first 67 years.
This is after 21 years India registered a series win in England, the other two occasions were – in 1971 and 1986.
But things are changing now and there is a distinct shift in India's fortunes while playing abroad in this decade. The number of series wins abroad in these 8 years is in fact more than what India has managed to achieve in first 67 years (from 1932 to 1999) !
Summary of India's series-wins abroad
Mts Won Lost Drawn Won%
From 1932 to 1999 46 5 31 10 10.86
2000 onwards 16 7 6 3 43.75
Not only the series wins, the Test victories by India in this short period far outnumber the victories registered in first 67 years.
Summary of India's Test-wins abroad
Mts Won Lost Drawn Won%
From 1932 to 1999 155 13 69 73 8.38
2000 onwards 46 16 15 15 34.78
This is after 21 years India registered a series win in England, the other two occasions were – in 1971 and 1986.
India's series wins in England
Season Mts Result Captain
1971 3 1-0 Ajit Wadekar
1986 3 2-0 Kapil Dev
2007 3 1-0 Rahul Dravid
Mohammad Azharuddin is the most successful Indian captain at home soil with 13 wins and just 4 losses, but his overseas record is pretty ordinary with just one win out of 27 games. When it comes to lead the side away from the comforts of the home, Sourav Ganguly towers over the rest with 11 wins out of 28 games. Ganguly also holds the distinction of winning most series for India on foreign soil, though Rahul Dravid is not very far behind. In fact Ganguly's series tally includes the series against Pakistan in 2003-04, in which Rahul Dravid captained the side in first two Tests winning one and losing one. Ganguly then returned in the third Test to take the series.
Most series wins for Indian captains on foreign soil
Sourav Ganguly 4
R Dravid 3
Ajit Wadekar 2
Nawab of Pataudi,jr 1
Kapil Dev 1
M Azharuddin 1
Most Test wins for Indian captains on foreign soil
Captain Mts Won Lost Drawn Won%
Sourav Ganguly 28 11 10 7 39.28
Rahul Dravid 17 5 4 8 29.41
Nawab of Pataudi,jr 13 3 10 0 23.07
Bishan Singh Bedi 14 3 8 3 21.42
Ajit Wadekar 11 2 3 6 18.18
Kapil Dev 14 2 3 9 14.28
Sunil Gavaskar 18 2 6 10 11.11
M Azharuddin 27 1 10 16 3.70
Rahul Dravid has been the most prolific scorer in the matches won by India overseas, but Tendulkar has the highest average and also the most hundreds to his name.
Most successful batsmen in overseas Test wins
(Min. Qualification: 500 runs)
Player Mts Runs Avg 100s 50s
R Dravid 16 1729 86.45 5 7
SR Tendulkar 13 1359 97.07 6 2
SC Ganguly 14 972 64.80 2 8
VVS Laxman 13 873 51.35 2 5
SM Gavaskar 9 756 50.40 3 3
V Sehwag 10 577 44.38 1 0
GR Viswanath 6 533 53.30 2 3
Anil Kumble has taken most wickets in overseas victories, but Erapally Prasanna has the best average and then there is Irfan Pathan with 6-fivers and two 10-wicket match hauls !
Most successful bowlers in overseas Test wins
(Min.Qualification: 25 wickets)
Bowler Mts Wkts Avg SR 5WI 10WM
A Kumble 13 71 21.42 42.14 4 0
Zaheer Khan 13 57 23.46 43.19 2 0
IK Pathan 7 49 16.76 30.39 6 2
BS Chandrasekhar 5 42 17.14 38.38 5 1
EAS Prasanna 7 42 16.50 48.86 3 1
BS Bedi 8 32 25.91 64.81 0 0
Harbhajan Singh 9 26 31.42 67.15 1 0
