Border-Gavaskar Trophy: How India fared in their last Test at Delhi 'fortress'

Add as a preferred source on Google

The Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2022-23 is set to enter round two and hosts India would look to go for another win and retain the coveted trophy. A win also take India a step closer to the World Test Championship (WTC) final which will be played at Kennigton Oval in June.

The teams have already landed in New Delhi - the venue for the second Test - and are already sweating out hard at Arun Jaitley Stadium (formerly known as Feroz Shah Kotla). Given that India are eyeing multiple goals with a single win - there could be no better venue than Delhi. They haven't lost a single Test match at the venue since 1987. The period has seen them win 10 out of the 12 Test matches. Overall, the second ranked team in the world has played 34 matches, winning 13 and losing six.

What's new for India since the last Test in Delhi?

The match which kicks off from Friday (February 17) will be the first of its kind since the name of the stadium was changed in 2019. There is a stand named after Virat Kohli now, however, he is no longer the captain. Rohit Sharma was part of the second Test but as a middle-order batter whose red-ball career had not at all taken shape. The wicket-keeper has changed, but sadly the new and preferred one would not feature due to a horrible car crash injury. The only thing which has not changed is the magical spin combination of Ravichandran Aswina and Ravindra Jadeja. Another turning track can see them wreak havoc once again. But let's not go that far. Instead let's leap back five years back, and see what transcended when India last played a Test match in Delhi.

India's last Test match in Delhi: December 2 to 6

India's last Test opponent in Delhi: Sri Lanka

How India fared in their last Delhi Test?

After winning the toss and electing to bat first, India piled up 536/7 before declaring. The first innings saw Murali Vijay and then captain Kohli score 155 and 243 runs respectively. Rohit, who walked in at six, scored 65 off 102 balls. left-arm spinner Lakshan Sandakan emerged as the highest wicket-taker for his team, scalping four wickets for 167 runs in 33.5 overs.

In reply, hundreds from Angelo Matthews (111) and Dinesh Chandimal (164) helped Sri Lanka post 373 runs. Ishant Sharma and Ashwin picked three wicketsapiece. Mohammed Shami and Jadeja also managed to hunt down a couple of batters each.

In the second innings, Shikhar Dhawan, Kohli and Rohit hit fifties for India. Cheteshwar Pujara, who will be playing his 100th Test in the upcoming match, scored 49 runs. India declared at 246/5 and asked the visitors to bat in the final 16 overs of Day 4. Shami struck once and Jadeja twice as India managed three wickets in the final session to put them on top.

On the fifth and final day. India needed just seven wickets to seal the series 2-0. Jadeja's fourth early on Day 5 came in the form of Matthews. However, a century partnership (122 off 199) between Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva took the game away from India. The next two partnerships also accounted for unbeaten 58 and 94 runs respectively. De Silva played through pain and scored 119 runs before retiring himself due to a thigh injury. Roshen Silva (74*) and Niroshan Dickwella (44*) thwarted the threat of India spinners as vehemently and effectively as De Silva, helping their dream salvage a memorable draw. Ashwin bowled as many as 35 overs in the second innings but managed to pick only one wicket for 126 runs.

Last Test in Delhi in numbers

Highest run-scorer for India in last Delhi Test: Virat Kohli (243)

Highest wicket-taker for India in last Delhi Test: Left-arm spinners Jadeja and Sandakan (5 wickets each across two innings)

Number of hundreds scored during last Test in Delhi: 5 (2 from India and 3 from Sri Lanka)

What to expect from India vs Australia 2nd Test?

A slow turner awaits India and Australia in Delhi and spinners would once again be the king-makers. Australia could very well bring a third spinner. Shreyas Iyer would likely replace Suryakumar Yadav. Eyes will be on Pujara who will be playing his 100th Test match, and Kohli - who is in search of his first Test hundred since 2019. The local boy had a stellar outing last time here. Opener KL Rahul is under the line of fire but he is likely a sure shot starter. David Warner's place in the side is under criticism too, however, unlikely to be dropped.

'Spinners Ko Bulaao': Virat Kohli sweats in out in the nets with an aim to tackle Todd Murphy, Nathan Lyon

Cheteshwar Pujara ahead of his 100th Test match: 'No one can question my commitment'