The Indian cricket team has shown the world that their days of being dominated when they travel abroad are over. In the World Test Championship, India pulled off absolute miracles, including a series win over Australia in Australia.

As India prepares to take on New Zealand in the WTC final on Friday, here is a look at the path Men in Blue took to reach the summit clash.

India vs West Indies

India started their WTC journey in August 2019 with an away series against West Indies. Ishant Sharma’s five-wicket haul (5/43) in the first innings and a century from Ajinkya Rahane saw the visitors set a target of 419, which was always going to be too much to chase down, and Jasprit Bumrah made sure of that by taking 5/7.

Also Read: Will Young misses out on maiden Test ton but New Zealand in driver’s seat vs England

Bumrah was the star of the second game as well, claiming a hat-trick and figures of 6/27. Aided by a ton from Hanuma Vihari, India won that test by 257 runs to clinch the series 2-0 and take all the points for the WTC leaderboard.

India vs South Africa

That same year, India hosted their first home series in the WTC format and it was the Proteas who came up against them.

The first test was a rather vintage affair as we saw a high scoring first innings from both the teams. India managed to win the game thanks to centuries in both innings by Rohit Sharma and a fine second innings performance by Mohammad Shami.

Also Read: I was expecting to lead India in 2007 T20 World Cup, says Yuvraj Singh

Skipper Virat Kohli stepped up in the second test to notch up a double hundred that led to a huge total for the Indians and they blew South Africa out of the water with an innings and 137 run victory.

The third test was on the same script, just that the protagonists were different. This time, it was a double ton from Rohit Sharma that did the trick and India managed to wrap up with a 3-0 series win. 100% record at WTC goes on.

India vs Bangladesh

This series will be most remembered for featuring the first ever day and night test to be played in India. Nothing remarkable in the series though as Virat’s boys notched up another whitewash yo win the series 2-0 and keep their 100% WTC record going.

New Zealand vs India

Kiwis ended India’s perfect record at WTC when the Men in Blue travelled to New Zealand in early 2020.

Virat’s boys were comprehensively beaten in the first test by 10 wickets and though they managed to get a slight lead in the first innings of the second test, they were beaten again. A 2-0 series loss, the first in WTC, meant India’s perfect record was no more perfect.

Australia vs India

India produced a magical series down under in late 2020 in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite losing the first test, captain Kohli flying back home for birth of his daughter and injuries to some core players, India defied expectations and bounced back to win the series 2-1. This included the magic test at GABA, where nobody gave the Men in Blue any chance of winning.

Also Read: Don’t run after Team India selection: When Rahul Dravid motivated Ajinka Rahane

India vs England

The last series before the final started with India requiring to win at least 2 Tests against England. Things looked bleaker after the first test where India suffered a 227 run rout, thanks to a double ton by English skipper Joe Root.

But the Men in Blue bounced back and did it in some style. The team won the next three games to win the series 3-1 and book their place in the WTC final against the Kiwis.