India will look to extend their 10-year unbeaten run at the Melbourne Cricket Ground when they take on hosts Australia in the fourth Test of the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy, beginning December 26.
The traditional Boxing Day Test in the Australian summer will be India’s fourth since 2014, and the visitors haven’t been defeated in the previous three matches.
In 2014, India drew the match under the captaincy of MS Dhoni, and then registered a 137-run win under Virat Kohli’s leadership in 2018. That victory also ended India’s 33-year winless run at the venue since 1985. The 2018-19 tour became more historic as India went on to win the series — their first on Australian soil.
In 2020, when captain Kohli left the tour after the first Test for the birth of his child, Ajinkya Rahane stood in as skipper and led the team to an eight-wicket win in Melbourne. India won the series on that tour as well to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
Overall, India have played 14 Tests so far in Melbourne, starting from 1948, and won 4 of those matches while losing 8. The remaining 2 matches ended as drawn affairs.
Only two captains have led India twice at the venue: Lala Amarnath against Don Bradman’s team during the 1948 tour and Dhoni during the 2011-12 and 2014-15 tours.
Since the inception of the BGT in 1996, the two teams have contested in 7 Tests, with India winning 2 and losing 4 matches, while one game ended in a draw. It was also the year that marked the beginning of drop-in pitches used at the venue.
Before 1985, India played five Tests in Melbourne but none of those began on Boxing Day.
From 1985 to now, all 9 Tests began on Boxing Day, with India winning 2 and losing 5. Two matches ended in draws.
There have been only two instances when India have won a Melbourne Test on two consecutive tours – in 1977 and 1981 & in 2018 and 2020. If India win the upcoming fourth Test of the ongoing series, it will be the first instance of victories in Melbourne on three consecutive tours.
Here’s a look at all of those 14 matches and the result:
| START DATE | RESULT |
| January 1 , 1948 | India lost by 233 runs |
| February 6, 1948 | India lost by an innings & 177 runs |
| December 30, 1967 | India lost by an innings and 4 runs |
| December.30, 1977 | India won by 222 runs |
| February 7, 1981 | India won by 59 runs |
| December 26, 1985 | Drawn |
| December 26, 1991 | India lost by 8 wickets |
| December 26, 1999 | India lost by 180 runs |
| December 26, 2003 | India lost by 9 wickets |
| December 26, 2007 | India lost by 337 runs |
| December 26, 2011 | India lost by 122 runs |
| December 26, 2014 | Drawn |
| December 26, 2018 | India won by 137 runs |
| December 26, 2020 | India won by 8 wickets |
Over the years, the 22-yard strip at the 95,000-seating-capacity MCG has had something in it for both bowlers and batters. The early freshness assists the fast bowlers, but batters come into play as the track goes through wear and tear during the course of the match. The spinners haven’t had a big role to play on the MCG playing surface, which doesn’t normally offer any appreciable turn.
The two teams will enter the fourth Test of the five-Test series locked at 1-1.
India won the first Test in Perth by 295 runs to take the lead, but Australia equalised with a 10-wicket win in the pink-ball match at Adelaide. The third Test in Brisbane ended in a draw.
(Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar)
