“India wins only in India.”

You know a good critic when the magic words are uttered. Every series that India wins at home is usually accompanied by a generous dose of sarcasm that points out ‘the pitiful away record’ with unabandoned glee.

The initial statement is often followed by another rhetorical question: “So how many wins do we have overseas?”

Any talk of Virat Kohli’s record as skipper often brings more such arguments to the surface. There is no end to it really – no end to how India’s dominance at home is scoffed at.

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While the away record is indeed important because it proves that the team can win in all conditions, it isn’t the sole marker of greatness. Indeed, it can never be.

The question that perhaps takes precedence here is a slightly different one: can one have a good away record without having a good home record?

Most great teams build on a good home record and then take that confidence to the home of the opposition. The wins at home allow players to trust their abilities more, to become mentally stronger and to have belief in the abilities of the group as a whole. One might even argue that across sport, a good home record is the base upon which great dynasties are built.

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Cricket, like so many other sports, is all about the mind games. You may have all the skills in the world but if you keep losing all the time, it is going to affect your game too.

So a good home record is vital if a team is really looking to take things up to the next level.

It is interesting to look at the home records of Test playing nations over the years. In the early years, only England, Australia and South Africa played a decent amount of cricket. There wasn’t much to write home about. Tours were long, home seasons were longer.

Home records: from 1877 to 1950

Team Span Mat Won Lost Tied Draw W/L
Australia 1877-1950 104 63 36 0 5 1.750
England 1880-1950 127 46 24 0 57 1.916
South Africa 1889-1950 64 11 33 0 20 0.333
West Indies 1930-1948 12 5 2 0 5 2.500
India 1933-1949 8 0 3 0 5 0.000
New Zealand 1930-1947 10 0 4 0 6 0.000

Between 1950 and 1990, other countries started playing a lot more cricket. But success for India, even at home, was difficult to come by. India did win but they also lost a fair bit. And when they didn’t lose, they drew quite a few games.

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India drew almost as many matches as Australia, who played almost seventy matches more. The era was characterised by a safety-first approach, which would often see India prioritise not losing over winning. A bit dour but it was also the period in which the country just about started to find its feet in Test cricket.

There were defeats but there were also some memorable triumphs. New Zealand in 1967. West Indies in 1971. England in 1971... the initial wins gave great confidence to India; confidence that they too could compete.

On the other hand, Pakistan were nearly unbeatable at home. Some said it was due to the umpiring which had a ‘home bias’ but reverse swing was a huge part of the equation too.

From 1950 to 1990

Team Span Mat Won Lost Tied Draw W/L
England 1950-1989 204 79 50 0 75 1.580
Australia 1950-1989 153 68 41 1 43 1.658
West Indies 1953-1989 104 39 17 0 48 2.294
India 1951-1988 137 31 32 1 73 0.968
Pakistan 1955-1989 85 28 7 0 50 4.000
New Zealand 1951-1989 82 16 26 0 40 0.615
South Africa 1950-1970 37 15 11 0 11 1.363
Sri Lanka 1982-1987 12 2 5 0 5 0.400

It was only after 1990 that India truly began to dominate at home. Under Mohammad Azharuddin, India would often play three spinners and the rise of Anil Kumble truly helped. The batting, with the emergence of Sachin Tendulkar, started to come along as well.

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And after that India didn’t look back. They became incredibly difficult to beat at home. Still, they weren’t the most difficult to beat at home – that honour belonged to Australia. India have been very good but Australia have been even better.

It’s also worth noticing that almost every decent Test team started to win more than they lost at home during this period. Some say it is a sign of the decline in standards, others point to the influence of new formats.

From 1990 to present

Team Span Mat Won Lost Tied Draw W/L
Australia 1990-2020 171 117 22 0 32 5.318
England 1990-2019 194 96 51 0 47 1.882
South Africa 1992-2020 141 82 33 0 26 2.484
India 1990-2019 127 75 17 0 35 4.411
Sri Lanka 1992-2019 129 59 34 0 36 1.735
New Zealand 1990-2020 124 48 34 0 42 1.411
West Indies 1990-2019 134 46 46 0 42 1.000
Pakistan 1990-2020 69 30 15 0 24 2.000
Bangladesh 2000-2020 63 10 40 0 13 0.250
Zimbabwe 1992-2020 60 9 33 0 18 0.272
Ireland 2018-2018 1 0 1 0 0 0.000

However, India would have been far behind Australia but for the gains they have made in the last decade. In fact, India’s winning run at home is unprecedented. No one wins so often at home.

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Virat Kohli’s Indian team has an astounding record of 33 wins in the 55 matches they have played. Of those 33 wins, an incredible 20 have come in 26 Tests at home.

Last decade

Team Span Mat Won Lost Tied Draw W/L
England 2010-2019 67 41 16 0 10 2.562
Australia 2010-2020 54 36 9 0 9 4.000
India 2010-2019 48 36 3 0 9 12.000
South Africa 2010-2020 49 30 14 0 5 2.142
New Zealand 2011-2020 39 21 5 0 13 4.200
Sri Lanka 2010-2019 46 19 17 0 10 1.117
West Indies 2010-2019 42 15 19 0 8 0.789
Bangladesh 2011-2020 30 9 12 0 9 0.750
Zimbabwe 2011-2020 16 3 11 0 2 0.272
Pakistan 2019-2020 3 2 0 0 1 -
Ireland 2018-2018 1 0 1 0 0 0.000

Ever since Kohli first became captain, he has spoken about wanting to change the overseas record. Perhaps, they were just words at first – a statement of intent.

Now, however, India have reached the point where their home record should start having a positive impact on their away record too. But even if it doesn’t, one can’t deny, it’s been a good run. Nay, it’s been a great run.

Home and away is a way to measure success but at the end of the day, a win is a win... is a win.