India's 5 Best Test Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era

India’s 5 Best Test Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era. India’s last match in the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 against Namibia on Monday was special in many ways. It was the last time when Virat Kohli led the Indian Cricket Team in T20 internationals. Add to that, it was also marked the end of Ravi Shastri’s tenure as India’s head coach.

The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri era has had many highs and lows during the memorable 7-year partnership. There is no denying that the partnership transformed Indian Cricket for good.

Ravi Shastri-Virat Kohli combination at the helm of affairs enjoyed massive success in Test Cricket. They might have failed to win an ICC Trophy but reached great heights when it comes to the longest format of the game.

On that note, here’s a look at India’s 5 best Test Series wins in the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era.

India’s 5 Best Test Series Wins In The Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri Era

Border-Gavaskar Series win (2018-19)

Under the Virat Kohli-Ravi Shastri reign, India wrote history after becoming the first subcontinent team to win a Test series against Australia in their own backyard. India stunned Australia after winning the very first Test by 31 runs to take the early lead in the series.

Australia, however, exhibited a brilliant performance to level the series 1-1. A strong Indian unit then went on to win the next game by a big margin of 137 runs. The fourth Test resulted in a draw and thus India won the series by a 2-1 margin.

Cheteshwar Pujara was the standout batsman for the side and was also the Player of the Series. He scored 521 runs in 4 matches at an average of 74.43. Jasprit Bumrah finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series, picking 21 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 17.

Border-Gavaskar Series (2020-21)

To let everyone know that the 2018-19 Border Gavaskar Series was not just a fluke, the Men in Blue, once again, beat Australia in Australia in the 2020-21 Border Gavaskar Series.

Regular skipper, Virat Kohli went back home after the first Test. However, India played admirably even in his absence. Under the leadership of stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane, India won the series by a margin of 2-1.

India were bundled out for just 36 runs in the very first Test and lost the game by 8 wickets. However, the Men in Blue made a remarkable comeback to win two out of the next three Tests.

Rishabh Pant led the way with the bat, scoring 274 runs in 3 matches at an average of 68.50. Playing his first Test series in Australia, Mohammed Siraj claimed the most wickets for India. He finished with 13 wickets in 3 Tests at an average of 29.54.

England tour of India 2021

England came to India for a four-match Test series in February 2021. Once again, India started off poorly, having lost the first Test by a big margin of 227 runs.

However, India bounced back strongly and won all the remaining three Tests in the series. Rohit Sharma was the standout batsman for India. The Indian opener bailed the team out whenever they were in trouble. He scored 345 runs in 4 matches at an average of 57.50, including a hundred.

Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel was integral to India’s success in the series. Ashwin claimed as many as 32 wickets in 4 matches in the series at an average of 14.72. Axar Patel, on the other hand, picked 27 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 10.59.

India’s tour of West Indies 2019

India began their World Test Championship campaign with a two-match Test series against West Indies in 2019. The first match, though, wasn’t part of the World Test Championship. India won both the first and second Test by big margins of 318 and 257 runs respectively.

Ajinkya Rahane and Jasprit Bumrah were at the heart of India’s victories. Rahane scored 271 runs in 2 matches at an average of 90.33. Jasprit Bumrah claimed 13 wickets in 2 matches at an average of under 10.

South Africa tour of India 2019

After winning the two Tests in West Indies, India were due to play a three-match Test series against South Africa. India had a tough ask in hand in the form of South Africa. India, however, made a mockery of them. The Men in Blue outclassed South Africa in all three matches of the series.

Rohit Sharma, making his comeback in Tests, scored consecutive centuries in the first Test. He went on to score 529 runs in the series at a staggering average of 132.25. Mayank Agarwal too was terrific as he managed to score 340 runs in 3 matches at an average of 85.00.

Ravichandran Ashwin led the way with the ball, picking 15 wickets in 3 matches at an average of 25.27. India beat South Africa in all three Tests and thus whitewashed them 3-0.