Former Australian Coach and player Justin Langer once said to "never underestimate the Indians."
The statement is valid in all its senses. The Indian cricket team has had many historic test wins, all of which came when the odds were stacked against them.
The Indian team has registered big Test wins against significant opposition like Australia, England and the all-mighty West Indies both home and abroad.
Major test series wins have come against Australia and England, leaving them high and dry after the series.
But what are the top five?
5. India vs Australia - Border Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21
The recent test series win came in the 2020-21 Australian summer, where the Indian team ripped apart Australia, bamboozling them after a historic run chase in the fourth Test at the Gabba.
The Indian team clinched the series 2-1 after a massive setback where they were rolled for just 36 in the first Test, played in Adelaide. The game at one point looked as if it would set the tone for the summer, particularly when Indian captain Virat Kohli and quick bowler Mohammad Shami were ruled out of the following Test due to paternity leave and injury respectively.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane was the stand-in captain. He led the young and experienced bunch of players to the most significant Test series win in the nation's history.
The tone was set after the second test match in Melbourne, where Rahane hit a magnificent century against the odds. He had support from bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin and young Mohammad Siraj, who ripped apart the Australian batting line-up in both innings for a score of 200, leading the Indian team to an eight-wicket win.
After levelling the series at one Test a piece, the Indian team faced another setback, with Umesh Yadav out with injury after the second test. The team was losing players like dominoes.
The third test in Sydney was one of the memorable matches, filled with courage, resilience, grittiness and drama.
The Test started on a positive note for the Indian team. They had Rohit Sharma coming into the team and managed to get rid of David Warner early on. However, they didn't anticipate the counterattack from Australian middle order duo Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith, as they wore down the Indian bowling line-up, and Smith went on to make three figures.
Cheteshwar Pujara and Shubman Gill kept India in the game. However, Australia's second innings score of 312 put the Indian team in a spot of bother as the visitors needed 406 to win. However, Pujara's grittiness, Rishabh Pant's counterattack, and Ashwin and Vihari's resilience in the fourth innings helped the Indian team to pull out a historic draw.
After drawing the third test in Sydney, Australia was shocked but overconfident as they were undefeated at The Gabba for the last 32 years. However, they did not expect the breach in the fortress to happen by a relatively young Indian side.
The Indian team were without their full-strength squad in the last test of the Border-Gavaskar series. They had to bring net bowler T. Natarajan and standby player Washington Sundar into the side to replace injured experienced players Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin.
Marnus Labuschagne hit a blazing century on his home ground and former Australian captain Tim Paine stood with him, also notching up a fifty. Contributions from Cameron Green and Matthew Wade helped the hosts to a big score of 369 runs.
In reply to the Aussies, the visitors showed some batting depth despite the inexperience. Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar scored swashbuckling fifties against a feisty Australian bowling line-up, scoring 334. The hosts were ahead with a slight lead of 35 runs but were brought undone by Mohammad Siraj, who scalped his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket. The hosts were all-out for a competitive score of 294, and the target was set at 327 runs.
For the record, no team was able to beat Australia in Brisbane. Indian batsmen showed something special on Day 5 of the last Test thought despite early wickets.
A modern Indian wall, Pujara walked into this match, did his duty to the full extent of his abilities, took on the Australian bowlers, and was hit again and again but refused to break. Pujara's innings played a significant role in India's victory at the Gabba. He faced more than 200 balls and was supported by Shubman Gill on the other side. Shubman Gill missed his maiden Test century by nine runs.
However, there was a long way to go, and Rishabh Pant was adamant that India win. His innings of 89 will remain in every Indian's memory as India pulled off a miraculous run chase.
