Probably, the umpires used to be as bad as Pakistan's (see 2001 Kolkata "hattrick" and the fact the whenever India look like losing a series at home the massive bunsen burner pitch comes out and India manage to draw the series. If India take a lead in the series then out come the road like tracks.

These are a couple of the reasons why India is so hard to beat at home.

Other reasons are a terrific batting line up, great spinners and the only teams to really challenge India come from the pace bowling nations (SA and Aus).

Yeah I would say so. Not neccesserily to do with the quality of the team but the conditions, atmosphere and other factors. Quite daunting. Sri Lanka also especially in in limited overs games.

I guess you can say dat duncan. Some of the pitches which have been draws have been pathetic, and its only good to ruin the bowlers average. But I would like to say that the pitches in the previous 4-5 years have improved alot. there are some which have no hope for bowlers, but most pitches have shown gd sign for both spinners, abit for pacers and batsman.
indian players dont get the pitches they want. i have seen MS mourning so many times. you have to agree that if all pitches were rank turners India would be winning most if not all. But for some reoson that hasnt been the case. But anyway I would like more pitches to be like the one we saw at Hydrabad in the ongoing test series. Its not a rank turner, and is gd for both spinners and batsman. And also helps swing bowlers. maybe (pace bowlers as well).

Thats one helluva record!
One series defeat every 8 year.
And i think Australia has similar records(the 2 of 3 defeat in recent transitional phase?
That makes beating India in india all the more special.
However i dont like people whining over pitches.
Great teams dont do so.
The great australian still won over there which infact only highlight how great they were.

I am a proud aussie fan though, and unlike other team who looks mediocre over there(bar sa), australia are always competitive over there(the last series was down to the last balls)
i hope with some luck, Australia may defeat India in coming April.
All the best Australia.
On the side note, i cant help but feel sorry for england who will be no tougher task to india than nz over there.

And yes, they are the best team at home.

Well you cannot beat Pakistan's record. Forget about series. We haven't lost a single game in Pakistan since 2009. Our secret? Don't play at home.

yh I agree bir. I remember the last series could have easily been 1-1 but because laxman and ishant batted till the end we won. Australia and SA have been 2 very competitive teams in India in the recent past.
im really looking foward to a 4 test series, cause we barely play those many at home.

adot hahah.

Oh how nice to have such short memories. Suddenly India and Australia are the best teams in the world again

The only chance Australia have of beating South Africa is if South Africa find it difficult to build up enough interest to compete properly against their weak opponents.

Against us, they had no problems preparing themselves for the ultimate test

South Africa 1
England 2
and the rest of you follow and I am not interested in which order although Pakistan would be my third choice.

I love the way Bir Gokwan calls himself an Aussie but only ever talks about India

Adot, you were hilarious, loved it.
And you know what no nation other than afghanistan has a chance to break that record, And afghanistan has long way to achieve that.

Give it a rest maksi .Your showponies are done.I think you'll see the raw talent emerge from India is a sign of things to come.India just won the U19 WC.

maksi this article is not about which country is better or who deserves no.1. This is just a record I came up with and I was amazed to see that. Before when people talked about how good india is at home, I just thought they were gd because they havent lost many series in the past couple of years. But infact it goes way back in 90s or 80s. Its an achievement to be proud of.

Also not to forget major test series in the next one year will be in India, so I thought this was the right time to talk about this. Results in the next 1 year will firmly place gaps between teams, and we will get a clear view on what the rankings will be in the next 1-2 years.
It all revolves around India imo. 8 tests against Eng and Aus, and then straight away 3/4 against SA in SA

Hey Maksi, last two times Australia played South Africa we won 1 and drew the other.

How did England get on?

ofcourse not to forget the ashes and SA vs Aus. 4 teams, India, Aus, SA, and Eng will battle it out for no.1 in the next 1.5 years.

PS: No one said Australia were the best.

Its funny. Even though Eng, Aus, and India have had really bad series, they all can potentially get back to no.1 in the next 1.5 years. Its just because all these teams will be playing so many test between themselves.

duncan spot on. This article has nothing to do with who is the best, yet Maksi found something in it which suggest ow.

How did England get on?
--

We murdered you by an innings THREE times in your own back yard Forgot that?

We lost to south africa but won't have any problems against you, and neither will they.

Patience

@ viru, agreed I went off thread but some people need a reminder that their team isn't as good as south africa. No panic.

Your boys are excellent at home and we have loads of exciting cricket to look forward to this year.

In all seriousness I cannot believe Pakistan are 4th in the rankings.

I remember on the old 606 days when Pakistan were getting mauled by teams, the ICC came out with the plan that they're going to stage this Test Championship for the top 4 nations....

At that time Pakistan were pretty low down, and I don't know who it was who said that by the time the Test Championship come a long, a lot could've changed for Pakistan. And, that has proved it. Whether we are there or not come the Test Championships whenever it is. A big improvement from Pakistan.

A lot of people back then thought Pakistan had no chance of even making the top 4 of the rankings, and that Aus, RSA, Eng, Ind even SL were by far run away winners for those Championships.

I even remember someone saying Pakistan should be in a second tier. Well, well, well...

Maksi, stop living in the past as you love to say. England being the best team is in the past. And you were number 1 for an entire year, congratulations!

Pakistan are only 4th because they won 3-0 against England and other teams around them have been losing. The ranking is influenced by other teams. The only reason India are below pakistan at the moment is because until last week, they hadn't played a test since January. In no universe is pakistan better than India.

Amir don't be so negative about Pakistan as the reason why they are 4th was because they went 2 years unbeaten in tests while another nation was getting whitewashed from one side of the globe to the other

pine not really. pak have been consistent because they have played gd cricket, even though most of it was in subcontinent. I guess we r not far away from them. We have 1 year of home tests to get back our no.1 rankings(if we play gd cricket) so no need to take credit away from other team.
After all most teams are home track bullies

Thats right Viru,
And India has started that journey back to number one with NZ and then Eng matches in India.