NEW DELHI: The Indian men’s cricket team has achieved a new milestone in Test cricket by defeating Bangladesh by 280 runs in Chennai on Sunday.
This victory means India now have for the first time more wins than losses in their 92-year Test history. They achieved this grand milestone with 179 wins, which is one more than their 178 losses in Test matches.
This positions India among the few elite teams in the world who have ever accomplished this feat.
In Test cricket’s 147-year history, only seven teams have ever had more wins than losses at some point. Currently, only five teams have this record.
Apart from India, these teams are Australia, England, South Africa and Pakistan. Australia’s record is particularly strong with 414 wins and 232 losses. England follow with a record of 397 wins against 325 losses. South Africa boast 179 wins against 161 losses, and Pakistan have 148 wins compared to 144 losses.
Despite achieving this milestone, India took quite a long time to get there. They played 580 matches to reach this unique record, making them the slowest among the seven teams that have done it at least once. In contrast, Australia’s dominant record was established much faster as they achieved it after winning the first-ever Test match against England in 1877.
Two teams which had at one point had more wins than defeats in their Test cricket history are Afghanistan and West Indies.
Five Test-playing nations have yet to achieve a winning record over losses. These countries are New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and Ireland. Their journey in Test cricket continues, and they strive to join the elite club of teams with more wins than defeats.
