The inaugural edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, in 2025, was one of the greatest Test series in the 21st century, but where does it stand when pitted against the others?
Note: Since there is no objective method to classify a “great Test series”, the list and the sequence are based on personal choice and hence subjective. I have left out one-off classics like Sri Lanka v Zimbabwe 2017, Bangladesh v Afghanistan 2019, or the 2023-2025 World Test Championship final.
15. Bangladesh (1) v England (1), 2016/17
Bangladesh fielded three debutants at Mirpur. One of them, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, took 6-80, but Ben Stokes’ (4-26) devastating reverse swing got England a 45-run lead. Chasing 286 after Shakib Al Hasan got 5-85, Bangladesh slumped to 140-5 before Mushfiqur Rahim and Sabbir Rahman added 87. Sabbir (64) kept the chase on, taking Bangladesh to 263-8 before Stokes struck twice in three balls to mop things up. At Mirpur, Tamim Iqbal’s 220 and Mehidy’s 6-82 helped Bangladesh set 273, but England looked largely untroubled at 100-0 at tea on the third day. In the astonishing session that followed, Mehidy (6-77) and Shakib (4-49) bowled them out for 164 long before stumps.
14. Sri Lanka (0) v Australia (3), 2004
It feels bizarre to include a clean-sweep in this list, but then, this was probably the closest clean sweep in the history of Test cricket. Sri Lanka led in the first innings every time (though the lead kept reducing, from 161 runs in the first Test to 91 in the second to six in the third), but through exceptional batting against spin – they hit six third-innings hundreds in the series – Australia overcame the deficit every time to put up sizeable targets that turned out to be beyond the scope of the hosts. Muttiah Muralidaran (28 wickets) pipped Shane Warne (26) in the end, but the performances of their teammates tilted the series in the tourists’ favour.
13. Australia (0) v New Zealand (0), 2001/02
Sometimes you do not need a result to produce a great contest – or two. Four days into the Brisbane Test, a draw seemed the only possible result. But Stephen Fleming declared 199 behind on the last morning, and Steve Waugh took up the challenge, setting the tourists 284 in 57 overs. New Zealand stayed in the hunt until the end, pacing the chase brilliantly with an eye on the clock even after they became 51-3. In the end, it took Glenn McGrath’s metronomic precision to keep them at 274-6.
The second Test was hit by rain, but at Perth, four New Zealanders smashed hundreds. The tables turned, and this time they set a target of 440 and took out Justin Langer for a duck. But Australia went for the chase and, as the runs came, Ian Robinson turned down two extremely close appeals that might have turned the course of the Test. They eventually finished on 381-7. New Zealand did not end Australia’s home streak, they came close to beating a full-strength Australia in Australia.
12. Pakistan (1) v New Zealand (2), 2018/19
New Zealand’s first away (neutral, technically) series win against Pakistan since 1969/70 began with a cliffhanger. Chasing 176, Pakistan seemed safe at 130-3 before Neil Wagner had Asad Shafiq caught behind with an uncharacteristic pitched-up ball. That triggered a collapse, and Pakistan needed 12 when last man Mohammad Abbas joined Azhar Ali. Then followed an agonising phase, where Azhar managed a single (and nothing more) off seven consecutive overs. In the eighth, Ajaz Patel trapped him LBW: Azhar reviewed, but was given out on umpire’s call.
Yasir Shah hit back with 14-224 in the second Test to help Pakistan win by an innings. In the third, Pakistan secured a 74-run lead and had New Zealand at 60-4, but Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls got hundreds to help them set a target of 280. Pakistan caved in.
11. West Indies (1) v Sri Lanka (1), 2018
The West Indies won the first Test by 226 runs, but it was from the second Test that things began to happen. Sri Lanka captain Dinesh Chandimal made a first-innings unbeaten hundred before being accused of ball-tampering. Sri Lanka refused to take field and Chandimal pleaded not guilty, but was banned for a Test. Amidst all this, Shannon Gabriel returned 13-121, the best match figures by a fast bowler since 2001. Chasing 296, the West Indies became 64-4 when Shai Hope, having retired hurt, returned to resist for nearly two hours alongside Kraigg Brathwaite. The wasted time, combined with rain in the final session, stopped Sri Lanka in their tracks when they needed only five wickets.
But the series was far from over. The hosts prised out a 50-run lead in the decider, but spearheaded by stand-in captain Suranga Lakmal, Sri Lanka bowled them out for 93. Jason Holder (5-41) then reduced Sri Lanka to 81-6 before the Pereras – Dilruwan and Kusal – saw them through.
10. South Africa (1) v England (2), 2004/05
The inaugural edition of the Basil D’Oliveira Trophy marked England’s first Test series win in South Africa in 40 years. Coming off a streak of seven consecutive wins at home, England won the first Test easily after Andrew Strauss made 126 and an unbeaten 94. In the next game, they had a remarkable turnaround in the second game, overcoming a 193-run lead to set a target of 378 as three men got hundreds. Their bowlers – the quintet would help them regain the Ashes in a few months’ time – got the seventh wicket with nine overs left before tea, but could strike only once more.
Buoyed by the draw, South Africa won the third Test by 196 runs to square the series. Strauss and Marcus Trescothick both got hundreds, but the star of England’s 77-run triumph was Matthew Hoggard: he followed a marathon 34-2-144-5 in the first innings with 7-61 to seal a 77-run win. In the fifth, South Africa left the declaration for too late: despite being 31-4, England comfortably played out time.
9. India (2) v Australia (1), 2016/17
It took twin 6-38s by Steve O’Keefe and a masterclass of a hundred by Steve Smith for Australia to thrash India by 333 runs on a rank turner at Pune in less than three days. At Bengaluru, too, Australia got a 87-run lead. Then, chasing 188, they reached 67-2 before R Ashwin ran through them with 6-41 to square the series.
But Australia were not done. On a slow turner at Ranchi, they reached 451 and had India at 328-6 before hundreds from Cheteshwar Pujara and Wriddhiman Saha pushed India to safety. It was India’s turn to push for a win, but they never accelerated in time, and could pick up only four wickets in the third innings. The teams were separated by only 32 runs in the decider at Dharamshala, but once Umesh Yadav was done with his early blows, Australia simply caved in against Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja and lost by eight wickets.
8. South Africa (1) v Australia (1), 2011/12
Like several other two-Test classics on this list, this one left us yearning for more. We probably remember the first Test more, largely because of the second day when all four innings were played. Resuming on 214-8, Australia stretched their first innings to 284 largely due to Michael Clarke’s 151. Ryan Harris (4-33) and Shane Watson (5-17) then shot out the hosts for 96, but Australia themselves fell apart against a debutant Vernon Philander (5-15): they “recovered” from 21-9 to reach 47. South Africa lost an early wicket, but Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla’s hundreds made 236 look like an easy target.
At Johannesburg, Australia got a 30-run lead, but Amla scored another hundred as a teenage debutant called Pat Cummins took 6-79. Chasing 310, Australia became 165-5, but Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson kept them in the hunt. Walking out at No.10 with 18 runs to get, Cummins played his part in the chase, sealing the Test with his second hit to the fence.
7. Bangladesh (0) v West Indies (2), 2020/21
Yet another clean sweep. Yet another two-Test series. Yet another largely forgotten contest. As the world struggled amidst another wave of Covid-19, the teams played out two Tests, each of which can rank among the greatest of all time. Bangladesh began on expected lines as Mehidy hit 103 and took 4-58 to get them a 171-run lead. Mominul Haque then made 115 before setting the tourists an improbable 395, which seemed justified when Mehidy (4-113) reduced them to 59-3. Kyle Mayers (210 not out) then turned the Test on its head, adding 216 with fellow debutant Nkrumah Bonner (86) before launching a counterattack. The West Indies eventually won by three wickets.
The tables turned at Mirpur, where the West Indies got a 113-run lead. The Bangladesh spinners, however, rose to the challenge and bowled them out for 117 before Tamim Iqbal blazed away to a 46-ball 50. But Rahkeem Cornwall (4-105 to go with his first-innings 5-74) kept striking, and the hosts needed another 68 when only two wickets remained. But Nayeem Hasan helped Mehidy put on 25 and, after Nayeem fell, Abu Jayed hung around. Another 25 were added... but that was all Bangladesh could muster. The West Indies became the first non-Asian team to win a Test series in Bangladesh since 2012/13.
6. England (0) v Sri Lanka (1), 2014
Yet another of those annoyingly short two-Test series that makes you wonder why they could not have another match. In this case, both Tests were decided in the final over. In the first, Joe Root made a double ton but Angelo Mathews got a hundred, and England set 390 on the final day. Opting to play out time, Sri Lanka reached 123-1 and 159-2 before James Anderson and Stuart Broad took turns to strike. The sixth wicket fell in the 79th over; the seventh, in the 84th; the eighth, in the 87th; and the ninth, with five balls to go. Out walked Nuwan Pradeep, who had been hilariously out hit wicket in the first innings. He survived three balls from Broad but was given out off the fourth: he reviewed and overturned the decision. Pradeep then edged the last ball to second slip... but it had bounced before that.
Mathews’ hundred in the second Test helped him set England 350, and Dhammika Prasad (5-50) reduced England to 57-5 by stumps on the fourth day. The Test seemed all but over once Root fell on the final morning, but Moeen Ali (108 not out) resisted, and support came from Matt Prior, Chris Jordan, and Broad. More than 20 overs remained when the ninth wicket fell. Moeen did not try to retain strike, and Anderson repaid his faith by taking the Test to the last over. But after surviving the first four balls, he could only fend a bouncer from Shaminda Eranga to square leg.
5. England (2) v India (2), 2025
The series that triggered this list does have its rightful place in the top five – but only just, as cricket, like every other sport, keeps getting more competitive over time. India collapsed twice and dropped a plethora of catches at Headingley to throw away a Test they should have won, but came back strongly despite Jasprit Bumrah’s absence to level the series at Edgbaston. Then, chasing 193 in the low-scoring third Test at Lord’s, India recovered from 82-7 but fell 22 runs short to produce the first close contest of the tour.
At Old Trafford, England amassed a 311-run lead and India became 0-2 five balls into the innings, but once their batters dug deep, it became evident that the wicket had lost its sting, and the Test fizzled out to a draw. The perfect finale came at The Oval, a Test that kept swinging over the course of the four innings. From 83-2, India slipped to 153-6 before going to 218-6 and then collapsing to 224. Then, from 92-0, England were bowled out for 247. India reached 177-2 in the third innings, but all they could manage from there was 396. Chasing 374, England recovered from 106-3 to 301-3 and even 332-4... before Mohammed Siraj (5-104) and Prasidh Krishna (4-126) shot them out for 367.
4. England (2) v Australia (2), 2023
It is unfortunate that, despite the quality of the cricket and England’s comeback from being two Tests down, the lasting memory of this timeless classic remains the response to Alex Carey’s perfectly legal stumping of Jonny Bairstow. Stokes declared on 393-8 on the first day at Edgbaston, but his bowlers could secure a lead of only seven. Chasing 281, Australia were reduced to 227-8 before Cummins and Nathan Lyon saw them home. Smith’s brilliant hundred helped Australia set England 371 at Lord’s. From 45-4, Stokes’ violent 155 took them to 327 in the absence of Lyon, who had picked up an injury earlier in the Test. Unfortunately, Stokes’ brilliance was overshadowed by the stumping mentioned above.
Returning to the XI at Headingley, Mark Wood (5-34) bowled out Australia for 263 despite Mitchell Marsh’s brutal 118. The teams ran very close to each other over the course of the Test. England needed 21 when the seventh wicket fell, but Chris Woakes and Wood helped reduce the deficit. Rain came to Australia’s aid at Old Trafford, where less than three full days was possible: when stumps was called, the tourists needed 61 to avoid the innings defeat with five wickets in hand. Broad then bowed out at The Oval with a six and wicket off his final balls in each role in a Test England won by 47 runs and no one got a hundred or a five-for.
3. India (2) v Australia (1), 2000/01
It is not everyday that you win a Test after following on to stop a team that has won a world record 16 Tests in a row. After being bowled out for 176 at Mumbai, India had Australia at 99-5 before Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist smashed hundreds, and the visitors won by 10 wickets. At Kolkata, despite Harbhajan Singh’s 7-123, Australia got a 283-run lead and asked India to bat again. At 232-4, India were still in arrears... but VVS Laxman (281, a national record) and Rahul Dravid (180) turned things around with a 376-run stand. India’s declaration seemed to be too late, but Harbhajan (6-73) rose to the task to seal a win minutes before close.
Hayden got a double hundred and Harbhajan 7-133 at Chennai, but Sachin Tendulkar’s 126 got India a 110-run lead. Yet again Harbhajan wrecked Australia, this time with a career-best 8-84, but the game was far from over. Chasing 155, India were 75-1 before collapsing to 151-8 against some persistent bowling and an all-time great catch by Mark Waugh, but debutant Sameer Dighe and, for one final time, Harbhajan saw India home to pull off one of the greatest comebacks.
2. England (2) v Australia (1), 2005
This one ended a streak of 16 as well, for England regained the Ashes 16 years after they had lost it. Just like the previous entry, this began with an Australian win as well, after McGrath (5-53 and 4-29) helped them stretch a 35-run first-innings lead to a 239-run triumph at Lord’s. This was followed by a “GOAT” Test contender at Edgbaston in the injured McGrath’s absence. England hammered 407 on the first day at 5.13 an over before Hoggard, Steve Harmison, Andrew Flintoff, and Simon Jones delivered in their respective styles to secure a 99-run lead. Chasing 282, Australia became 137-7, then 175-8, even 220-9, but Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz dragged them to 279. The Test also produced two of the most famous balls of the century: Warne’s ripper to clean up Strauss, and Harmison’s slower ball to deceive Clarke, and Flintoff’s incredible over to Ricky Ponting.
Ponting’s seven-hour 156 in the fourth innings bailed Australia at Old Trafford, but Lee and McGrath still had to keep out the final four overs to save the Test. After following on at Headingley, Australia set England 129. In the nervy chase, where England collapsed to 57-4, recovered to 103-4, and again became 116-7. Amidst the madness, Ashley Giles and Hoggard kept their calm, stuck to Duncan Fletcher’s advice of not taking risks against Warne, and sealed the win.
Trailing by 32 at The Oval, England became 67-3 and then 199-7: but Kevin Pietersen, who had debuted in the series, took advantage of Warne’s drop to make 158 and bat Australia out of the Test and the Ashes. Warne finished the series with 40 wickets, but he – and McGrath – left England for the final time after relinquishing the Ashes.
Note: It is a testimony to Australia’s sustained brilliance that the top three series were all hard-fought contests where Australia lost. It was difficult to pick a winner: in the end, I went with the one where the touring side won.
1. Australia (1) v India (2), 2020/21
The odds India overcame on this tour are perhaps without a parallel in the history of Test cricket – and this is not even taking into account the continued quarantine that was a feature of the times.
Without the Sharmas, Ishant and Rohit, India were bowled out for 36 in the first Test at Adelaide to lose after securing a 53-run lead. Virat Kohli left after the Test, as did the injured Mohammed Shami. Unperturbed, India replaced Kohli with an extra bowler in Jadeja. Some excellent bowling, much-improved fielding, and a hundred from stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane helped them square the series at Melbourne.
Asked to chase 407 at Sydney (Rohit had returned by now), India were 102-3 when Pujara and Rishabh Pant added 148 in their contrasting, complementing styles. The chase would have been on even after both batters fell, but Hanuma Vihari pulled a hamstring, while Ashwin’s bad back prevented him from bending. Between them, they batted for more than three hours to secure a draw as Jadeja waited in the pavilion with a broken thumb.
With Jadeja and Ashwin (and Bumrah and Vihari) ruled out, India found it difficult to build an XI at the decider at Brisbane. They had little option but to pick Washington Sundar and T Natarajan, both of whom had been with the squad as net bowlers, and recall Shardul Thakur after more than two years. To compound things, Navdeep Saini got injured during this Test. Yet, India bowled out Australia for 369, and reached 336 from 186-6. Siraj (5-73) and Thakur (4-61) then kept India’s target to 328. Resuming the final session at 183-3, India went for it, Pant leading the charge with an unbeaten 89. They won by three wickets.
