With the 1-0 Test series victory against Sri Lanka, India has equalled the record for the most consecutive Test series wins in the history of cricket.
They have won nine back-to-back Test series since August 2015 with six at home and three away. The only other team to do so are Australia from 2005 to 2008. Although, the total number of wins is the same, India have beaten more teams than Australia in their run: seven against Australia’s six (not including ICC World XI).
Charting the top series winning streaks in Tests with at least six wins, India and Australia lead with nine consecutive wins each. Other teams that feature at the top are England, West Indies and South Africa. Australia have been the most successful, with five such streaks and are the only team to have more away series wins in a winning streak.
Some streaks are quicker than others. India’s nine wins came in just two years from 2015-2017, while Australia’s took three. The slowest is England’s eight win streak beating Australia and South Africa. It took six years, running from 1884 to 1890. This is better explained by the higher number of Test matches being played now: 47 in 2016 to four in 1884. This is also the oldest streak in the list with the next one coming more than 60 years later when Australia won seven series between 1946 and 1951. The fastest streak is six series wins in almost one year by Australia from 2004 to 2005.
Eight of these 12 streaks have come after 2000.
India’s streak is commendable but its most recent wins have come against relatively weaker Test sides like Sri Lanka and West Indies. So as they prepare to travel to South Africa, history favours the Proteas because India have never won a Test series in South Africa.