5 Largest Innings Victories by India in Test Cricket

Team India registered a comprehensive victory against Afghanistan in the one-off Test by an innings and 262 runs. It was always going to a tough match for the debutants. However not many would have expected to receive a hounding at hands of the home team. However, it is just their start and they will only improve with more experience. Meanwhile, the victory was India’s biggest innings victories in Test cricket.

Now without wasting any time let us have a look at 5 largest victories for India by an innings in Test cricket

India vs New Zealand- India won by an innings and 198 runs in Nagpur, November 20, 2010

The match was held in Nagpur way back in 2010. India was playing New Zealand in a Test series. The home team was at their dominant best and thumped New Zealand by a huge margin. New Zealand after batting first could only make 193 in their 1^st innings.

The hosts replied in a brilliant manner and scored a mammoth 566 on the board. The score was largely possible due to a brilliant 191 by Rahul Dravid. Captain MS Dhoni missed out on a century by just two runs. New Zealand was against bowled out for a paltry 175 in their 2^nd essay, thus handing India a huge victory. Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh bagged 3 wickets each.

India vs Australia- India won by an innings and 219 runs in Kolkata, March 18, 1998

It was one of the most comprehensive performances by India in the 20h century. India had a very strong team back then and was a very difficult team to beat in home conditions. It was the Eden Gardens in Kolkata where India thrashed the might Aussies by an innings and 21 runs. After batting first Australia was bowled out for just 233. Javagal Srinath, Anil Kumble and Sourav Ganguly bagged 3 wickets each.

India responded with a huge 633 in their innings. Skipper Mohammad Azharudding smashed a sensational 163. Openers Navjot Sidhu and VVS Laxman missed out on centuries quite narrowly. India again bowled Australia out for a meagre 181 in their Test. For the hosts, Anil Kumble bagged a 5 wicket haul.

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India vs Sri Lanka- India won by an innings and 239 runs in Nagpur, November 24, 2017

The home team was going through a purple patch in home conditions and was simply winning everything which came their way. In this particular match in Nagpur, Sri Lanka was skittled out for a paltry 205 runs. The spin-duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja bagged 7 wickets among them while Ishant Sharma finished with 3.

India responded in the best possible manner and piled on 610/6 in their 1^st innings. Captain Virat Kohli scored a scintillating double century while Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara also chipped in with useful centuries. Rohit Sharma was the 4^th centurion of the innings as he remained unbeaten on 102. Again Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin bowled well and bagged 6 wickets between them. Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma also bagged a couple of wickets each as India bowled them out for 166.

India vs Bangladesh- India won by an innings and 239 runs in Dhaka, May 25, 2007

After batting first India posted a gigantic 610/3 on the board before the declaration came. All the first four batsmen in the team scored centuries. Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik smashed brilliant centuries. Jaffer had to head back to the pavilion after some illness. Meanwhile, Rahul and Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar also scored centuries as India registered a massive score on the board.

Bangladesh was again pretty ordinary in the 2^nd innings and was shot out for a paltry 118. Zaheer Khan was the wrecker-in-chief for India bagging 5 wickets while Anil Kumble also chipped in with 3. This was India’s highest innings victory until the win against Afghanistan.

India vs Afghanistan- India won by an innings and 262 runs in Bengaluru, June 14, 2018

It was the debut Test for Afghanistan and they were completely rolled over by the No 1 Test team in the world. It was Shikhar Dhawan who smashed a stunning century inside lunch of the opening day. He also became the 1^st Indian batsman to achieve the feat. Murali Vijay also scored a century as India posted 474 on the board.

India then bowled out Afghanistan twice in a single day. They were left clueless in front of a top class bowling attack. Ashwin bagged 4 in the 1^st innings while it was his partner Jadeja who turned the favours in the 2^nd innings.

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