Cricket's Greatest Test Series of the 2000s

The 2001 Border-Gavaskar Trophy

Australia arrived in India in February 2001 on a 16-match Test winning streak, ranked as the greatest Test team in history. They won the first Test comfortably. India followed on in the second Test in Kolkata — 274 runs behind. VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid then batted for two days: Laxman making 281, Dravid 180, sharing a 376-run partnership that remains one of the greatest in Test history. India set Australia 384 to win; Harbhajan Singh took 6 wickets. India won by 171 runs. The third Test in Chennai went to the last day, Harbhajan Singh taking his second five-wicket haul, India winning 2–1. Australia's invincibility was over. The series remains the greatest comeback story in Test cricket.

The 2005 Ashes: England's Greatest Series

The 2005 Ashes between England and Australia is widely cited as the greatest Test series ever played. Australia came as holders of the Ashes since 1989 — 16 consecutive Ashes series unbeaten. England won at Edgbaston by two runs after one of the most dramatic final days in cricket history. Australia won Lord's. Headingley was another classic — Andrew Flintoff's hundred and critical wickets with the old ball. Old Trafford's draw, the Steve Harmison-Marcus Trescothick opening spell. The decider at The Oval — Kevin Pietersen's 158, one of the greatest Ashes innings — secured the draw and England won the series 2–1. Shane Warne took 40 wickets in losing cause; Glenn McGrath took 19; Flintoff was Man of the Series. England's Ashes victory in 2005 was the first since 1985 and produced a national celebration almost unprecedented for a cricket series.

India in Australia 2003–04

India's tour of Australia in 2003–04 produced a drawn series — 1–1 with two draws — and remains remarkable for what it represented. India had not drawn a series in Australia since 1985; they had never won there. The tour featured Rahul Dravid at his absolute peak: he scored 619 runs in the series at 61.9, underpinning every innings India played. VVS Laxman averaged 56. Anil Kumble took 24 wickets. Sachin Tendulkar made a century at Melbourne. Australia won the first Test comfortably; India responded with an innings victory at Adelaide — still their only Test win in Adelaide. The series ended 1–1. It was the confirmation that India had arrived as a genuine touring team capable of competing in all conditions.

South Africa vs England 2004–05

South Africa's home series against England in 2004–05 was a five-Test contest of exceptional quality. England arrived as a team building toward Ashes contention; South Africa, under Graeme Smith, were asserting their own ascendancy. The series ended 2–1 to England — their first series win in South Africa since 1964–65. The key moment: a 3,000+ run series from both teams' batting orders, with Marcus Trescothick's opening combination with Andrew Strauss setting England's template. South Africa's Dale Steyn — in his debut series — bowled with pace and hostility that suggested the dominant fast bowler of the decade to come. The series confirmed England's revival trajectory and South Africa's as the best team in the world outside Australia.

Pakistan vs India 2004: The Peace Series

India's tour of Pakistan in 2004 — the first India-Pakistan Test series played in Pakistan since 1989 — carried diplomatic weight beyond cricket. The series was played against a background of renewed India-Pakistan peace process under President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee. India won 2–1, their first series win on Pakistani soil. Virender Sehwag made 309 at Multan — the third triple century in Test history and the first by an Indian. Rahul Dravid averaged 84 in the series. Shoaib Akhtar bowled with terrifying pace at Rawalpindi. The series was peaceful, brilliantly contested, and watched by hundreds of millions across both nations — a reminder that India-Pakistan Test cricket generates the largest television audience of any bilateral sporting contest.