A Victory After Ages, Indian Win The ODI Series

Finally, it has been a long time waiting. It has taken decades for the team to achieve this. Following India's demolition job of England in Edgbaston, they secured a bilateral ODI series win in England after a gap of 24 years. In another continent, Zimbabwe finally broke their 31-year hoodoo when they defeated Australia in an ODI. When a team wins a series or a match against a particular opponent after a massive time gap, the victory is remembered fondly and it tastes sweeter. Gocricket.com takes a look at other instances when teams have won a series in both Tests and ODIs after a huge gap. The time period taken into consideration is 20 years or more.

Click here for Full Scorecard and Commentary.

1. India in New Zealand 2009 (ODIs 3-1, Tests 1-0)

India had found New Zealand a tough nut to crack in for most part of 80s and 90s. They had last won a Test series in 1967/68 when they won the series 3-1 while they had never won an ODI series in the country. On their previous tour in 2002, India were hammered 2-0 in Tests and 5-2 in the ODIs. However, they corrected the anomaly and secured their first ODI series win in New Zealand by winning the series 3-1. They went one better in the Tests by winning at Hamilton by 10 wickets before drawing in Napier and Wellington to achieve a Test series win after 41 years.

2. India in Pakistan 2004 (ODIs 3-2, Tests 2-1)

The neighbours across the border were proving to be a very difficult opponent on their home turf. Politics ensured that both nations did not play much of each other in the 90s but the ice was broken in 2004 when India embarked on a full tour to Pakistan after 15 years. They won the first ODI but lost the second and third. India held their nerve to win the fourth ODI and won the fifth to clinch a series for the first time. In the Tests, Virender Sehwag's triple-century helped India win a Test in Pakistan for the first time in 52 years, the first time they started playing each other. After losing in Lahore, they achieved history when they won a series in Pakistan for the first time with victory in Rawalpindi.

3. Australia in India 2004 (Tests 2-1)

Australia had always struggled on the turning tracks of the sub-continent. They had last won a series in India in 1969 but it had come amidst a lot of unrest off the field in India. Australia were confounded by some brilliant individual moments in the course of their travels to India. In 1986, they played out the second ever tied Test in Chennai while VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid stole the show in a spectacular partnership at Eden Gardens in 2001 to secure one of the great wins. In 2004, Australia went all out and conquered the final frontier after 35 years with wins in Bangalore and Nagpur as they clinched the series.

4. England in India 2012 (Tests 2-1)

Much like Australia, England had their heads in a spin when touring the subcontinent. They had struggled to cope with spin on Indian dustbowls and after their victory in 1984, they had gone without a victory in Tests. All that changed in 2012. After suffering a heavy loss in Ahmedabad, they turned the tables on a rank turner in Mumbai as they won the match by 10 wickets. They put in a fantastic show in Kolkata to secure their first series win in India after a gap of 28 years. A whole generation of England supporters had waited for this moment.

5. India winning a Test in Australia (Tests 1-1)

Australia had been the most difficult place to tour for any side. India had their moments in 1977/78 and in 80/81 when they ran Australia close. However, they failed to challenge Australia in the coming years and it seemed that the land 'Down Under' would be insurmountable. However, Rahul Dravid's epic 233 and 72 helped India break the mojo after 22 years as they won the Adelaide match by four wickets. Although they lost at the MCG and failed to push for the win in Sydney, the win in Adelaide established the pinnacle of India's overseas wins in the modern era.