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

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’