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A visiting side is not known to elect to bowl after
winning the toss, firstly because they are not
expected to be familiar with the conditions, and
secondly as it would mean that they would have to
bat last on a deteriorating wicket. However, Rahul
Dravid chose to go against this principle in the
ongoing Test versus Pakistan.
It was the 36th instance of an Indian captain
inviting the opposition to bat after winning the
toss on foreign soil. Result-wise, the picture is
gloomy, as India managed to win just five of those
matches, lost as many as dozen tests and drew the
remaining 18 encounters. This gives India a poor
winning quotient of 14.29.
Listed below are the five matches wherein India
emerged victorious. All Indian fans will hope that
the Karachi Test will be the sixth.
| Season |
Venue |
India's captain |
Score |
Winning margin |
| 1986 |
Lord's |
Kapil Dev |
England ( 294 & 180) v
India ( 341 & 136-5) |
5 wickets |
| 2001 |
Kandy |
Sourav Ganguly |
Sri Lanka (274 & 221) v
India (232 & 264-3) |
7 wickets |
| 2003-04 |
Rawalpindi |
Sourav Ganguly |
Pakistan ( 224 & 245)
v
India (600) |
Innings &
131 runs |
| 2004-05 |
Dhaka |
Sourav Ganguly |
Bangladesh (184 & 202) v
India (526) |
Innings &
140 runs |
| 2005-06 |
Harare |
Sourav Ganguly |
Zimbabwe (161 & 223) v
India ( 366 & 19-0) |
10 wickets |
Ironically, Sourav Ganguly, who is struggling to find a
place in the Test squad and has been omitted from the ODI team, led India in
four of these Tests!
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