From Crushing South Africa to Dominating Australia: A look into Team India's Seven largest innings wins

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Team India established themselves as a formidable force in Test cricket over the years by notching up several resounding victories. They are currently on top of the World Test Championship (WTC) points table.

Ever since the championship began in 2019, they remained consistent but lacked the killer instinct to come out on top in two finals as they lost to New Zealand and Australia in WTC 2019 and 2023 finals respectively.

Cut to the chase, India have perfected the art of registering wins by largest margins, particularly by an innings. In this listicle, let's delve deep into some of India's biggest wins by innings in red-ball cricket.

1. India vs West Indies - innings and 272 Runs (Rajkot, 2018): Team India's most convincing win in terms of an innings came against the West Indies in Rajkot on October 4, 2018. In this match, India recorded a mammoth total of 649/9 (declared), with Prithvi Shaw (134), Virat Kohli (139) and Ravindra Jadeja (100*) making impactful contributions.

The West Indies were completely outclassed in the game as they were bowled out for 181 and 196 in their two innings. India won by an innings and 272 runs, which is by far their biggest ever Test win in terms of innings.

2. India vs Afghanistan - Innings and 262 Runs (Bengaluru, 2018): Afghanistan's historic debut Test match turned out to be a nightmare as the Indians handed them quite a tough lesson in the purest format of the game. Batting first, India put up a total of 474 runs, with Shikhar Dhawan (107) and Murali Vijay (105) leading the attack by example.

On the other hand, the Afghans were skittled out for 109 and 103 in their two innings, courtesy of Ravindra Jadeja (6 wickets) and Ravichandran Ashwin (5 wickets) as India claimed victory by an innings and 262 runs, which marked their second biggest win in terms of innings.

3. India vs Bangladesh - Innings and 239 Runs (Mirpur, 2007): India registered their third-biggest win in terms of innings with a massive victory against Bangladesh in Mirpur as they won by innings and 239 runs. Batting first, posted 610/3 declared, with the help of Dinesh Karthik (129), Wasim Jaffer (138), Rahul Dravid (129) and Sachin Tendulkar (122).

On the contrary, Bangladesh managed 118 and 253 in their two innings, falling well short of India's total. Zaheer Khan drew plaudits for his bowling spell as he registered 5/34 and 2/54 in the first and second innings.

4. India vs Sri Lanka - Innings and 239 Runs (Nagpur, 2017): India matched their earlier record versus Bangladesh with another winning result in the same margin, this time against Sri Lanka in Nagpur in November 2017.

India posted 610/6 (declared), with the help of Virat Kohli (213), Cheteshwar Pujara (143) and Murali Vijay (128). Sri Lanka struggled to respond as they managed only 205 and 166 in their two innings as India registered a huge victory by an innings and 239 runs.

5. India vs Sri Lanka - Innings and 222 Runs (Mohali, 2022): India once again overwhelmed Sri Lanka, this time in Mohali, by an innings and 222 runs to mark their fifth biggest win in terms of innings. Batting first, India posted a dominant total of 574/8 (declared) as Ravindra Jadeja (175*) and Rishabh Pant (96) lead the attack by example.

Sri Lanka fell prey to India's bowling attack as they were bowled out for 174 and 178. Ravindra Jadeja played a substantial role with the ball as well, taking a fifer in the first innings followed by four wickets in the second innings.

6. India vs Australia - Innings and 219 Runs (Eden Gardens, 1998): India have registered many memorable wins against Australia in the longest format. One of India's most famous victories came against them at the iconic Eden Gardens in 1998, where India defeated Australia by an innings and 219 runs, which was their biggest win against Australia in terms of innings.

India posted a massive total of 633/5 (declared), courtesy of Mohammad Azharuddin scoring a brilliant 163 and Navjot Siddu contributing with 97 runs. Australia managed to score 233 and 181 in the first and second innings, with Anil Kumble (8 wickets) and Javagal Srinath (6 wickets) leading the bowling unit.

7. India vs South Africa - Innings and 202 Runs (Ranchi, 2019): India notched up a crushing victory against South Africa in Ranchi by an innings and 202 runs, which was their biggest ever win against the Proteas in terms of innings.

India declared their first innings at 497/9, with Rohit Sharma leading the attack with a brilliant 212 and Ajinkya Rahane chipping in with 115. South Africa could only manage 162 and 133 in their two innings. Indian pacers namely Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami picked up five wickets apiece across two innings.