Five wins in 36 Tests, and in search of their maiden series triumph. India's mission on their 11th tour of Australia will be somewhat of a daunting task considering that it has not been achieved in as many as 64 years.
India are yet to topple Australia in a Test series Down Under since the two sides took each other on for the first time in 1947. Here's a look at how the Indians have fared on the ten occasions that they have clashed with the Aussies in their backyard.
1947-48: Those were the days when India were perceived as the whipping boys of international cricket and they fully lived up to their reputation by going down 0-4 in the five match series.
Apart from a draw at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) in the second game, the Indians were humbled in every other fixture against a side led by none other than the greatest of them all, Don Bradman. Later in the year Bradman and his men were given the title of 'Invincibles' as a result of their amazing unbeaten run in England during the Ashes series.
1967-68: There might have been a gap of 20 years before the Indian cricket team set foot on Australian shores again, but there was no change in their fortunes whatsoever. What was different this time around was that it was a four-match series, and the Indians came up second best each time against the hosts who were led by the legendary Bobby Simpson.
1977-78: In one of the most memorable series - from an Indian point of view - the Australians very nearly found themselves on the wrong end of the stick at the end of the five-match affair.
Having narrowly missed out on wins in the first two games in Brisbane and Perth, the Indians under the leadership of Bishan Singh Bedi butchered the Australians in Melbourne by 222 runs, and in Sydney by an innings and two runs, notching up their first ever Test victory on Australian soil in the process.
However, it was the Australians who had the last laugh by clinching the decider in Adelaide by 47 runs, after a chase of 493 required for a win proved to be just out of reach of the Indians.
1980-81: By skittling out the home team for 83 in the third and final Test, thereby registering a 59-run win, India made history by drawing a series in Australia for the very first time.
Having lost in Sydney and drawn in Adelaide, and then setting the hosts a measly target of 143 in the fourth innings of the third and final Test in Melbourne, the writing seemed to very, very much on the wall for the visitors.
But Kapil Dev bowling with pain-killing injections, turned in one of his most inspiring performances with the ball, taking 5 fpr 28 as Greg Chappell’s men were made to eat humble pie. The low point of the match - which could have very well gone out of hand - occurred during India’s second innings when captain Sunil Gavaskar, furious at being ‘wrongly’ adjudged lbw, took non-striker Chetan Chauhan along with him towards the dressing room, and it was only when members of the team management at the boundary intervened that sanity prevailed and the matter brought under control.
1985-86: In a series totally and completely dominated by the Indians, the 1983 World Cup winner did just about everything right other than getting that all-important win. In a cruel twist of fate, the team led by Kapil saw victory snatched away from them when the fifth and final day of the second Test in Melbourne was washed out without a ball being ball. Chasing 125 to win, India were 59 for 2 at the end of the fourth day’s play. All the three Tests of the series ended in draws.
1991-92: India, under Mohammad Azharuddin, were no match for the home team, and lost the five-match series 4-0. The result could however been a lot closer had the umpires got their act together and not had a detrimental effect on the touring side.
Having been denied a win in the third match of the series in Sydney because of inclement weather, India were making a real fist of their target of 372 in the following Test in Adelaide till a series of contentious lbw decisions ruined the chase. A disgusted Gavaskar, who was commentating for one of the television channels, could barely hide his frustration.
After the verdict against Sachin Tendulkar, the former Indian captain was at his sarcastic best, stating that he was not sure about the middle stump but that the delivery would certainly have missed the off and leg stumps. India went on to lose the contest by 38 runs.
1999-2000: India had nothing to complain about this time around and were not only beaten fair and square but battered into submission in each of the three Tests of the series. The margins of defeat were a whopping 285 runs (Adelaide), 180 runs (Melbourne) and an innings and 141 runs (Sydney).
2003-04: The highlight of the series, at least from an Indian perspective, which ended in a 1-1 draw, was the 303-run partnership between Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman which enabled the Sourav Ganguly-led side to script a fairy-tale recovery from being 85 for 4 in their first innings. This was after the Australians had piled up 556 in their first essay.
2007-08: Unarguably the most controversial series between the two sides eventually ended up going the Australian way 2-1. India even threatened to pull out of the series after the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ episode at the SCG in the second of four Tests led to the banning of Harbhajan Singh for three matches after he was alleged to have racially abused Andrew Symonds, by match referee Mike Procter. The punishment for Harbhajan was later reduced to a 50% fine.
As many as six decisions went against the Indians, three of which went in Symonds' favour who went on to smash an unbeaten 162 in Australia’s first innings. Michael Clarke took three wickets in an over during the dying moments of the match to give the hosts a dramatic victory by 122 runs.
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