Ravi Shastri becomes Team India's most successful coach in Test cricket ahead of WTC final

Ravi Shastri is making the most of his second stint as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team, especially in red-ball cricket. Shastri was re-appointed as India's head coach by the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) in August 2019 for a period of two years despite the Men In Blues' World Cup semi-final exit a month earlier. 

19 months into his second stint as coach, and he has achieved a unique feat in Test cricket which none of his predecessors have managed to achieve so far. 

Ravi Shastri achieves a unique feat after the England Test series triumph

The year 2021 has been outstanding for both Ravi Shastri and Team India so far as they registered a historic series win against Australia Down Under in January. However, it is the home Test series win against England that has taken the former all-rounder to a different level.

The ex-cricketer has now topped the list of India's most successful coaches as the national team has registered 28 victories from 46 matches in the longest format of the game under Shastri's coaching stint with a winning percentage of  60.87%. Meanwhile, this also the first time that the Indian team has qualified for the final of an ICC tournament under Ravi Shastri's stint. The Virat Kohli-led side would now be hoping to go all the way and end their eight-year quest for major silverware by clinching the ICC World Test Championship. 

India and the Kane Williamson-led New Zealand will fight it out for the biggest prize in Test cricket in a one-off Test match that will be contested at the Ageas Rose Bowl in Southampton between June 18-22.

How have Shastri's predecessors fared in Test cricket?

While Ravi Shastri leads the charts as Team India's coach in red-ball cricket, only one of his predecessors has managed to coach India to over 20 Test wins and that happens to be John Wright (2000-2005) who also takes the second spot with 21 wins from 52 Tests, the pioneer of India's 2011 World Cup win, Gary Kirsten (2008-2011) takes the third position with 16 wins from 32 games. 

Duncan Fletcher (2011-2015) occupies the fourth position as he had led the Men In Blue to 13 victories from 39 outings. Spin legend Anil Kumble (2016-2017) grabs the fifth spot as he had ushered the Indian team to 12 wins from 17 matches during his short stint as the national team's head coach.

Meanwhile, the controversial Greg Chappell (2005-2007) could only succeed in coaching India to seven victories from 18 outings.