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Best Asian test team of all time?


Best Asian test team of all time  

13 members have voted

  1. 1. Which was the best Asian test team of all time?

    • Pakistan 1987-89
      0
    • Pakistan 1976-79
    • Pakistan 1996-99
      0
    • Pakistan 2016
      0
    • India 1971-73
      0
    • India 2018-2019
    • India 2003-04
    • India 2020-21
    • Pakistan 1982-83
      0
    • India in 2010-11


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14 hours ago, Harsh Thakor said:

Whatever the great achievements of Indian cricket in recent times I still maintain that the best ever Asian teams were the Pakistani teams of 1977-79,1987-1992 and 1996-99.India at it's best may have defeated Pakistan but overall it has not had as impressive test record overseas .True Pakistan did not win in Australia but remember the number of times it conquered England on their soil or drew with them in England.Morally it was Pakistan that won the test world championship title in the Carribean in 1988,when dubious umpiring decisions robbed them of a historic series victory.India has never beaten as powerful an English side as Pakistan did in 1987 or 1992 in England nor drawn a series with as good or beaten as strong a side in the Carribaen as Pakistan came so close to in 1988.I agree India drew with a powerful Aussie team down under in 2003-04 but it's bowling attack was not at it's best with Glen Mcgrath absent for 2 tests .In 1976-77 Pakistan drew with Australia at home and bad umpiring cost them a drawn rubber with West Indies.In 1992 and 1996 Pakistan beat strong Englsih teams with contempt and in 1998 drew a series agaisnt a powerful South African side away.Man to man Pakistan of 1999 was arguably even stronger than past top Pakistani teams.

 

Even at home I give Pakistan the marginal edge,even if India performed best ever by an team at home when beating Australia in 2001 and South Africa in 1996.

 

 

India's bowling was at it's best in 2018 in Australia followed by in Australia in 2007-08 or in England in 2014.Overall in terms of team balance India of 2002-2004 was the best ever Indian team.It's batting was very strong in terms of pure class or talent but still I feel the best Pakistani teams had more depth in 1977-79 and 1987-89.In terms of bowling attack even India's best did not match Pakistan in 1996-99 or 1986-88.The likes of Wasim-waqar-Saqlain or Wasim -Imran -Qadir made the Pakistani bowling attack one of the most potent of all time.Still India's batting depth of 1986-89 was in the same league as posessed by  any Pakistani batting line up.

 

No Asian team had the collective middle order bating strength as India in 2003-04 with the likes of Tendulkar,Dravid,Laxman, Ganguly and Sehwag or in 1994-98 with Tendulkar,Azhar,Sidhu,Ganguly and Dravid.

 

 

In terms of pure achievement India has not equalled Pakistan's achievements under Mushtaq Muhammad from 1976-79 or under Imran Khan from 1986-89.India won formal world championship status when top sides like Australia or South Africa wee in decline .Pakistan's 2-1 loss in the Carribean in 1976-77morally to me surpassed India at it's best in Australia and Pakistan in 2003-04.

 

In 1971 India reached status of unofficial test champions when most teams were in state of decline.Nevertheless did posess the most potent spin attack of all time and produced some truly cavalier performances.By a margin of a whisker I rate the Pakistan team of that era ahead led by Inthikab Alam.

 

 

If I had a gun on my head I would vote for Pakistan under Mushtaq Muhammad to be the best Asian team of all time.Just a whisker below would be Imran led leam of 1986-90 and a notch below Indian team of 2003-04.Imagine a combination of Majid,Zaheer,Sadiq,Asif,Mushtaq ,Raja and Imran with the likes of Wasim Bari batting last.I would rank this team ahead of Australia led by Greg Chappell later or maybe even South Africa under Grame Smith..The 1987 team blending the classical reverse swing of Imran and Wasim with the magical spin of Qadir.With Wasim and Waqar together .The 1987 -88 Pak team had the likes of Abdul Qadir batting last.In Javed Miandada and Salim Malik it had two of the best batsman ever in a crisis and in Imran it had close to the best ever skipper and all-rounder.Pakistan posessed a more deadly duo than Lillee-Thomson.

 

India had explosive talent in Zaheer Khan,Ishant Sharma,Jasprit Bhumra,Srinath,Kapil Dev,Bhuvanesh Kumar etc amongst pace bowlers but collectively it could never compare with Pakistan attack at it's best.What gave the bets Pakistani tames the cutting edge was the poise of their bowling attack,which propelled them to many a famous win.No doubt India's bowling attack of modern times is comparable to the best of all.

 

India never had as many genuine all-rounders as Pakistan in 1997 in the time of Azhar Mehmood.Abdur Razzaq and Wasim Akram.

 

Even at it's pinnacle India's batting in recent years comprising  of the likes of Kohli,Rahane Pujara,Rahul,Pant etc does not match taht of yesteryear's.Infact with the bowlers of today the 1987 Indian team could have given the best Paksiatn teams a run for their money.

 

 

 

My list in order of merit.

 

1.Pakistan of 1976-79

 

2.Pakistan 1987-89

 

3.Pakistan 1996-99

 

4.India 2003-04

 

5.Pakistan 1982-83

 

6.India 2018-2019

 

7.India 2010-11

 

8.Pakistan 1971-74

 

9.India 1971-74

 

10.India 1986-89

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t be modest by ranking a couple of Indian teams above a couple of Pakistan teams. Just put all Pakistan teams on top- but also give due recognition to Pakistan’s patriotic umpires. Please recognize the fine work done by Khizr Hayat and Shakoor Rana. Be proud. Flex that 5 inch chest..

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Pakistan team of 1976 to 1979 in Test matches  ....

 

 

 

Win Loss Ratio ....  1.14

 

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=won;spanmax1=31+Dec+1979;spanmin1=01+Jan+1976;spanval1=span;team=7;template=results;type=team

 

 

 

Only Away series Win against NZ  ( the only big player in that team was Hadlee)

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/series_results.html?class=1;id=7;type=team

 

 

 

Just 2 batsmen averaging 40 or more.


Just 1 bowler averaging 27 or less  

 

 

Edited by express bowling
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India Team of 2015 to 2021 in test matches ----

 

 

Win Loss Ratio ....  3.08

 

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/stats/index.html?class=1;spanmin1=01+Jan+2015;spanval1=span;team=6;template=results;type=team

 

 

 

 

Away series wins ....

 

6 away series wins

 

Including 2 test series wins in Australia 

 

https://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/team/series_results.html?class=1;id=6;type=team

 

 

 

8 batsmen averaging 40+

 

5 bowlers averaging 27 or less

 

 

 

 

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22 hours ago, Gollum said:

Opened a separate thread as tribute to red meat paaaawarhouse but let me anyway post it here just for the lulz

 

  

Test

0-14 in Australia :hysterical::hysterical::hysterical:

0-7 in RSA....may it surpass their 14 match ODI losing streak against same opponent in 90s 

0-4 in NZ....also had a long ODI losing streak against them, 0-12 :cantstop: before they won a match in the recent UAE ODI series :phehe:

In Southern Hemisphere 0-15, can't even make a draw :aetsch:

73 years, ZERO test series wins in Australia

ZERO drawn test series in Australia since 1978-79...42 years

29 years, ZERO test series wins in RSA

ZERO drawn test series in RSA since 1997-98...23 years

ZERO test series wins in England since 1996

 

ODIs, T20s

0-7 in WCs against Baap

0-5 in WT20s against Baap

0-3 across formats in Asia Cup against Baap

WC drought since 1992...slightly off topic but that was also the last year they won an Olympic medal, largest country to win zero medals in 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, 2004 Athens, 2008 Beijing, 2012 London and 2016 Rio....sporting paawerhouse, beef eating monsters with best genes in the world :adore::adore::adore: 

 

Dil Dil Pakistan

 

giphy.gif

 

To Resident Troll

 

Cc: 

 

1. Pakistan of 1976-79

 

2. Pakistan 1987-89

 

3. Pakistan 1996-99

 

5. Pakistan 1982-83

 

8. Pakistan 1971-74

 

Angry Eric Cartman GIF by South Park

 

Regards

Universe

 

Gollum back in form

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India 2003-04 for me.

 

India 2017-2021:

Bumrah has not peaked yet, Shami may be at his peak and also Ishant is at peak. Ashwin is past his peak but top class, Jaddu is at his peak, Siraj just debuted. Batting ok ok, but gritty characters, let's see how consistent they will be.

 

India 2001-2004:

Sachin was past his peak but still top class, Sehwag was at his mini peak in 2004, he hit actual peak in 2008-2010, Ganguly was okayish, VVS Laxman at his peak and Dravid was in god mode till 2006.

Irfan Pathan peaked and was very good till 2005/06, Kumble was top class, Zaheer Khan declined in form and Bhajji was ok ok.

 

I am taking 2001-2004 side over 2017-2021 side by a tiny margin

The reason being that our batting line up in 2004 was best in the world and on par with Australia, they played Warne and Macgill as part time spinners, and also looked relaxed against Akhtar's pace in 2004 Pakistan tour.

Edited by MechEng
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Pakistan produced quality test teams in 80s and 90s, but I never felt a sense of reliability or solidity whenever I watched them play.

 

They could pull off wins against top sides on occassions due to their bowling, but always unpredictable.

 

Nothing from Asia beats the solidity of the Indian batting line up in early to mid 2000s. Sri Lanka had their share of run machines, but scored mostly at home only. 

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Just now, zen said:

SL of 1996-1998 not on the list ... its batting was beastly with Jayasuriya, DeSilva, Ranatunga, Jayawardene, Tilakratne, etc 

 


bowling minus Murali and Vaas was very ordinary I guess, very 2 dimensional like India in the 90’s, either out bat teams at home or roll them over with spin.

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1 minute ago, maniac said:


bowling minus Murali and Vaas was very ordinary I guess, very 2 dimensional like India in the 90’s, either out bat teams at home or roll them over with spin.


won tests in Eng too (2000?) iirc ... smashed Pak bowlers, scored 900 runs v Ind, ....

Edited by zen
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12 hours ago, MechEng said:

India 2003-04 for me.

 

India 2017-2021:

Bumrah has not peaked yet, Shami may be at his peak and also Ishant is at peak. Ashwin is past his peak but top class, Jaddu is at his peak, Siraj just debuted. Batting ok ok, but gritty characters, let's see how consistent they will be.

 

India 2001-2004:

Sachin was past his peak but still top class, Sehwag was at his mini peak in 2004, he hit actual peak in 2008-2010, Ganguly was okayish, VVS Laxman at his peak and Dravid was in god mode till 2006.

Irfan Pathan peaked and was very good till 2005/06, Kumble was top class, Zaheer Khan declined in form and Bhajji was ok ok.

 

I am taking 2001-2004 side over 2017-2021 side by a tiny margin

The reason being that our batting line up in 2004 was best in the world and on par with Australia, they played Warne and Macgill as part time spinners, and also looked relaxed against Akhtar's pace in 2004 Pakistan tour.

 

ind 07-11 right? (basically between the two world cups) - world no 1. series wins in eng, nz. draw in sa,sl.

 

sachin 2nd peak

sehwag peak

gambhir peak

dhoni peak

zaheer peak

laxman near peak

 

dravid bhajji ishant were below par but still decentish

 

01-04 was the setup for this team

 

actually if you take 03-11 (between wc 03 and wc 11) india managed to draw/win at least one series away with every country.

 

03 aus draw

04 pak win

06 wi win

07 eng win

09 wnz win

10 sl draw

10 sa draw

 

even when they lost series they would win matches (06 sa, 07 aus, 08 sl).

 

home record wasn't as good as it is now though and they lost a home series and drew a few. also used to draw matches a lot.

 

current team (after 15wc with kohli as full time captain) have not lost/drawn a series at home and won 2 each in wi/sl/aus. there are still 3-4 years left in this team. let's see what happens.

 

 

 

Edited by deathmonger
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11 hours ago, deathmonger said:

 

ind 07-11 right? (basically between the two world cups) - world no 1. series wins in eng, nz. draw in sa,sl.

 

sachin 2nd peak

sehwag peak

gambhir peak

dhoni peak

zaheer peak

laxman near peak

 

dravid bhajji ishant were below par but still decentish

 

01-04 was the setup for this team

 

actually if you take 03-11 (between wc 03 and wc 11) india managed to draw/win at least one series away with every country.

 

03 aus draw

04 pak win

06 wi win

07 eng win

09 wnz win

10 sl draw

10 sa draw

 

even when they lost series they would win matches (06 sa, 07 aus, 08 sl).

 

home record wasn't as good as it is now though and they lost a home series and drew a few. also used to draw matches a lot.

 

current team (after 15wc with kohli as full time captain) have not lost/drawn a series at home and won 2 each in wi/sl/aus. there are still 3-4 years left in this team. let's see what happens.

 

 

 

 

The current team has a scary home record but I'm yet to rate them above the 2001-2004 side. Our bowling is top class but our batting is unpredictable.

 

The  2007-11 side was awesome and probably had much better bowling than 2001-04 side, but still nowhere as assured in the batting department.

 

The 2001-04 side scored 700+ runs in SCG, truckloads of runs in England when the ball was swinging like a banana in 2002, and runfest in Pakistan. Our batting was full of accumulators frustrating the patience of the bowlers.

 

2017-21 side has more number of wins than the 2001-04 side both home and away, but the batting is still unpredictable. 

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If we compare:

 

2001-04:

ATG batting line up / average bowling 

 

2007-11:

ATG but ageing batting line up / decent bowling 

 

2015-2021:

Okayish batting line up / Superb bowling attack and potentially ATG.

 

Who would you choose?

 

I'd go for 2001-04.

 

 

 

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39 minutes ago, MechEng said:

If we compare:

 

2001-04:

ATG batting line up / average bowling 

 

2007-11:

ATG but ageing batting line up / decent bowling 

 

2015-2021:

Okayish batting line up / Superb bowling attack and potentially ATG.

 

Who would you choose?

 

I'd go for 2001-04.

 

 

 

 

 

I would choose 2015 to 2021 because test matches are actually won by getting the opposition out twice.

 

With the introduction of Gill and rejuvenation of Pant and Jadeja ... our batting is looking good in 2021.

 

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