Following an 184-run defeat in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, India will turn up at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the fifth and last match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25.
Australia are leading the five-match series 2-1 going into the Sydney Test. It will be important for India to win the match to draw the series, though, their record at the SCG hasn’t been impressive.
The SCG has proved to be a challenging venue for the Indian team since they first played here back in 1947. As India brace themselves for yet another challenging match, here’s the team’s Test record at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
India’s Test Record at SCG
| Span | 1947-2021 |
| Matches Played | 13 |
| Won | 1 |
| Lost | 5 |
| Draw | 7 |
The Men in Blue have played 13 Tests at the SCG thus far, winning only one match. That victory also came in 1978, when none of the players from the current squad were even born!
India’s Only Win at the SCG
During the 1978 Sydney Test, India wrapped up the hosts for a mere 131 runs in the first innings. The spin trio of Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (4), Bishan Bedi (3), and Erapalli Prasanna (1) shared eight wickets between them.
Then India’s batters put up a collective effort, right from the openers to the lower-order batters. Gundappa Viswanath top scored with a 79-run knock, while Karsan Ghavri was the other batter to score a fifty.
India declared their innings on 396 for eight, taking a 265-run lead, which was to bundle the Aussies once more. Gary Cosier (68) and Peter Toohey (85) led Australia’s fightback but fell short of surpassing India’s lead by two runs.
The spin trio again racked up eight wickets between them, with Prasanna taking four, while Bedi and Chandrasekhar grabbed two each. India’s supreme bowling effort meant India won the Sydney Test by an innings and two runs.
India’s Recent Record at the SCG
Apart from their only win, India have lost five Tests and managed to draw seven. The overall record isn’t noteworthy, but India haven’t lost a Sydney Test since 2015.
The Indian team has managed to pull out draws in 2015, 2019, and the most recent being 2021, where Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari saved the day.
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Will India register their second win at the SCG?
As we are moving closer to the Sydney Test, it will be interesting to see if India manage to break the winless jinx since 1978. After a crushing loss in Melbourne, the Indian team will look to turn the tables, giving their all to win the match and level the series.
