Team India’s incredible home record across ages suggests that it is the rarest of rare events for them to lose both the Test and ODI series against a visiting nation as part of a tour. However, they are at risk of repeating the unfortunate instance after 38 years if they lose the upcoming third ODI against South Africa, after recently losing the two-match Test series as well.
The Men in Blue lost both Tests against the visiting Proteas side, and also lost the second ODI against them to take the three-match ODI series into a decider. While India have recorded the odd series losses at home across formats over time, they have not lost multiple series against the same opposition.
The last time something of the sort happened was during Pakistan’s tour of India in 1986-87. The Imran Khan-led side won the five-match Test series by a 1-0 margin, then went on to win the six-match ODI series by a 5-1 scoreline.
In recent history, India have only lost three home series. The losses against Australia and New Zealand in 2004 and 2024, respectively, included only red-ball matches during the tour. Although England won a Test series in India in 2012 by a 2-1 margin, they could not seal the ODI series along with it after losing by a 3-2 margin.
India to face South Africa in the series decider in Vizag
The KL Rahul-led side took an early series lead in Ranchi after a comprehensive display, but succumbed to defeat in the second ODI in Raipur. The South African side chased down a historic 359-run target to come back into the series with a game to spare.
The series decider is set to be hosted by the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vishakapatnam. Since the 2019 ODI World Cup, India have lost only one home ODI series, which was against Australia in 2023.
Edited by Gokul Nair
