Have Indians cricketers become better tourists in this millennium? If you have a look at the records then in terms of victories itself, the Indians rank 2nd after the Australians.
The table below shows that with the exception of the Australians everyone from the team ranked 2nd to the team ranked 6th seem to be pretty even. (I have included all the test matches played outside the home country, even the matches played at neutral venues.)
| Team | Played (Excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) | Won | % |
| Australia | 39 | 29 | 74.36 |
| England | 42 | 12 | 28.57 |
| Pakistan | 32 | 9 | 28.13 |
| South Africa | 36 | 10 | 27.78 |
| India | 36 | 9 | 25.00 |
| Sri Lanka | 28 | 6 | 21.43 |
| New Zealand | 21 | 1 | 4.76 |
| West Indies | 39 | 1 | 2.56 |
If you add victories against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to the numbers, then India moves to the second position in the table. Albeit, this is an effect of having 7 victories in the 8 tests played against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, but a victory is a victory and in the record books it is counted in the same way as any other victory.
| Team | Played (Including Zimbabwe and Bangladesh) | Won | % |
| Australia | 41 | 31 | 75.61 |
| India | 44 | 16 | 36.36 |
| Pakistan | 36 | 13 | 36.11 |
| South Africa | 40 | 13 | 32.50 |
| England | 44 | 14 | 31.82 |
| Sri Lanka | 32 | 10 | 31.25 |
| New Zealand | 27 | 7 | 25.93 |
| West Indies | 45 | 5 | 11.11 |
Note:
1. England and Australia played only 2 tests against Bangladesh in this period and none against Zimbabwe. So, their record doesn’t improve much.
2. All other teams played 3 or more tests against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
Does this record show that the Indians have improved in this millennium? Of India’s 29 test victories abroad, 16 have come in this period.
| Team India | Played | Won | % |
| Before 31st Dec 1999 | 155 | 13 | 8.39 |
| 1st Jan 2000 onwards | 44 | 16 | 36.36 |
These stats show a marked improvement for India as a touring team. But, they are still some way from the leader and the chasing pack is too close for comfort. But, as a team we shouldn’t be comfortable being No.2. What is the point in being the first losers when it comes to rankings?
Used Cricinfo for all the stats. I don’t know if there are any mistakes in the number of tests played and victories. Please leave a comment if you find any mistake.
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