Ahead of the 100th Test match between the West Indies and India this week in Trinidad, we look back at five memorable Tests between the two cricketing titans.
Since their first meeting in 1948, the West Indies and India have played 99 Test matches against each other, with both teams enjoying extended spells of supremacy.
Early in the match, the Caribbean side had the most of the success, however in recent years, it has been all India, with the West Indies’ most recent series win being in 2002.
Despite their recent success, Rohit Sharma’s side still sits last in the overall scorecard, with the two sides having played out 46 draws throughout the years, with the West Indies leading the way with 30 victories to India’s 23.
Ahead of the two sides’ 100th Test match, we look back at five memorable Tests they’ve played against each other.
1. Fifth Test 1983 (Eden Gardens) - Clive Lloyd trumps Kapil Dev in battle of the star skippers
Before this six-match series, the previous time the West Indies had visited India, they had lost the series 1-0 in 1978/79, so Clive Lloyd’s squad had something to prove.
They won the first Test in Kanpur and the third Test in Ahmedabad with relative ease, but a pair of draws in between these results left the series in doubt when the teams traveled to Eden Gardens for the fifth and deciding Test of a two-month Test tour.
India’s first innings total of 240, aided by Kapil Dev’s quickfire 69, didn’t appear too terrible on paper, but West Indies batsman Lloyd produced an even better innings in reply as the visitors posted 377 and a comfortable 137-run lead.
Pace duo Malcolm Marshall (6/37) and Michael Holding (3/29) must have had plans for the fifth day, as they combined for nine wickets as India were bowled out for 90 in their second innings and West Indies registered yet another comprehensive victory to seal the series.
2. Third Test 1997 (Bridgetown) - India collapse with victory line in sight
India hadn’t won a Test series in the West Indies since 1971, but an inspired performance by pacers Venkatesh Prasad and Abey Kuruvilla on the fourth day of the third Test in Barbados put the Asian side on the verge of a historic victory with just 120 runs to chase down.
With a batting lineup consisting of the young VVS Laxman, the impregnable duo of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, captain Sachin Tendulkar, and the seasoned Mohammad Azharuddin, it should have been a formality, but they didn’t count on the unusually grassy wicket at Kensington Oval giving their batters nightmares.
Ian Bishop (4/22), Curtly Ambrose (3/36) and Franklyn Rose (3/19) ripped through the Indian batting order to the delight of the boisterous Barbadian crowd. Laxman (19) was the only batsman to reach double figures as West Indies recorded a decisive victory that helped them win the series.
3. Fifth Test 2002 (Kingston) - Chanderpaul stands tall as West Indies face end of an era
India hadn’t won a Test series in the West Indies since 1971, but an inspired performance by pacers Venkatesh Prasad and Abey Kuruvilla on the fourth day of the third Test in Barbados put the Asian side on the verge of a historic victory with just 120 runs to chase down.
With a batting lineup consisting of the young VVS Laxman, the impregnable duo of Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly, captain Sachin Tendulkar, and the seasoned Mohammad Azharuddin, it should have been a formality, but they didn’t count on the unusually grassy wicket at Kensington Oval giving their batters nightmares.
Ian Bishop (4/22), Curtly Ambrose (3/36) and Franklyn Rose (3/19) ripped through the Indian batting order to the delight of the boisterous Barbadian crowd. Laxman (19) was the only batsman to reach double figures as West Indies recorded a decisive victory that helped them win the series.
4. Fourth Test 2006 (Kingston) - Kumble fires as India break 35-year drought in style
In 2006, India broke a 35-year drought to win their first series in the Caribbean since 1971 when the Rahul Dravid-led squad prevailed in a three-day contest at Sabina Park in Jamaica.
West Indies required just 269 runs to win the fourth and final Test, which had been dominated by the batsmen, and with Brian Lara still at the crease, the hosts held out hope for a miraculous run chase.
Munaf Patel took the crucial wicket of Lara for 11 and the legendary India spinner Anil Kumble took six wickets as the West Indies fell 49 runs shy of victory, giving the visitors much to celebrate.
5. First Test 2016 (Antigua) - Kohli claims record from Azharuddin
Virat Kohli has accomplished a great deal throughout his lengthy and illustrious career, and one record he still holds is the double century he scored in the first Test against the West Indies as India’s captain in 2016.
Kohli’s innings of 200 remains the highest score made by an India captain in a Test match away from home – eight runs higher than Mohammad Azharuddin’s 192 against New Zealand in Auckland in 1990 – and it helped set the tone for his team’s comfortable Test victory.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s century and 7/83 in the West Indies’ second innings helped India to a comfortable victory by an innings and 92 runs, putting them on the path to a 2-0 series victory.
