The title of this blog may seem inaccurate given the current dominance of India and the rapid slide of the Windies, but it was not always thus. From their first Test meeting at Delhi in November 1948 until 1971, India failed to win a single Test, let alone any of the five series. While they could boast genuine stars such as Vijay Hazare, Farokh Engineer and Polly Umrigar, they were constantly outgunned by classy Caribbean units featuring the likes of Walcott, Weekes, Sobers, Kanhai, Hall, Gibbs and Ramadhin. The nadir came in the tour of 1962, when the home side whitewashed the Asian visitors 5-0.
By the early 1970s, however, the worm began to turn. The First Test in February 1971 was drawn but the second saw the debut of a short opening batsman called Sunil Gavaskar. Almost single-handedly he reversed his nation's cricketing fortunes, amassing an incredible 774 runs in only four matches, including 124 and 220 in the final Test at Port of Spain. India could by now also call upon batsman Gundappa Visranath and their brilliant spin quartet of Bedi, Venkataraghavan, Chandrasehkar and Prasanna, making them competitive on the world stage for the first time.
The 1974-5 encounters in India were classics. The Windies went 2-0 up, then the home team spun their way to level the series. The decider in Mumbai went to Clive Lloyd's men, thanks largely to the captain's unbeaten 242 and Van Holder's second innings 6-39. The following winter, the series again went to the wire. After losing the opener, India had memorably chased down a world record target of 403 in the Trinidad Test. However, they were undone in Jamaica, where no fewer than five players were absent hurt in the second innings, and lost the series 2-1. In 1978-9, Gavaskar was skipper and a young all-rounder Kapil Dev had recently stepped onto the international stage. Only one of the six Tests saw a result, and it was a narrow three-wicket victory for India.
In the Eighties, India experienced the retirement of Gavaskar and also the fabulous, fearsome fast bowlers such as Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose and were humbled in three series, whilst managing a 1-1 draw in 1987-88 thanks to Narendra Hirwani's sensational 16-wicket debut in Madras. Sadly his leg-spin career faded quickly and it was a few more years before Mr Warne appeared and made that art form fashionable once more.
In the Nineties, the nations were generally well matched, as India introduced world-class players including Tendulkar, Azharuddin, Kumble and Srinath, then in early 2002, their side took on a look that remains strangely familiar today. Tendulkar, Dravid, Laxman, Zaheer Khan and Harbajhan Singh were all playing, and their opponents featured Gayle, Chanderpaul and Sarwan, whilst Lara and Hooper were nearing the end of their respective careers. The Windies won that series 2-1 but India gained revenge on home territory later that year, taking the rubber 2-0, this time featuring the batting fireworks of Virender Sehwag. Since then it has been one-way traffic as Caribbean cricket has spiralled downwards and India has surged to the summit. The 2006 summer contests were fairly even until Harbhajan and Kumble spun Lara's men out in Jamaica and now the Windies seem to be struggling desperately to make an impact. India have rubbed in their dominance by affording to rest Tendulkar, Dhoni et al whilst continuing their winning streak. Fortunes have indeed reversed from those early days.
