The 16th edition of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – the bilateral Test series between India and Australia got a name only in 1995/96 – began at the Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium in Jamtha, Nagpur, on February 9.

Nagpur hosted Test cricket way back in 1969/70, but that was at the old VCA Ground. The new VCA Stadium, a state-of-the-art venue with a colossal playing area, hosted a Test in the series decider of the 2008/09 India-Australia series. Jason Krejza claimed 12 wickets on debut, but India won by 172 runs in what was V.V.S. Laxman’s 100th match as well as Sourav Ganguly’s last appearance.

The next winter (February 2010), India lost their only Test match at the venue, largely because of South Africa's Hashim Amla’s double hundred and Dale Steyn’s blistering spell. India beat New Zealand the next season (November 20-23, 2010), and drew against England (in Joe Root and Ravindra Jadeja’s debut Test match) in December 2012. India have subsequently beaten South Africa (R. Ashwin claimed 12 wickets in November 2015) and Sri Lanka (Virat Kohli got a double-hundred in November 2017) here.

New Delhi

India next play at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. In 1948/49, it became the fourth Indian venue to host a Test match – after the Bombay Gymkhana (Mumbai); the Eden Gardens (Kolkata); and the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk (Chennai) – though it used to be called the Feroz Shah Kotla back then. The venue is set to surpass Chepauk’s tally of 34 Test matches during the India-Australia series: among Indian grounds, only the Eden Gardens (42) has hosted more.

Being located at the national capital comes with its perks. The ground hosted the West Indies’ tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI in 1966/67. This was the first cricket match to be telecast live in India. Three seasons later, the 1969/70 Delhi Test against Australia was the first Test match to have that honour. Back then, only Delhi citizens could watch the cricket live.

India’s track record here is a story in two parts. Until 1986/87, they had won three Tests at the venue, drawn 13, and lost six. Since then, they have won 10, drawn two, and lost – not a single match.

Also read: Border-Gavaskar Trophy: From Kolkata to Gabba, a look back at IND vs AUS epics

It is not a coincidence that the period began with the rise of a man with the most ridiculous figures on the ground. Anil Kumble is India’s leading wicket-taker, but his figures at Kotla – 58 wickets (9 percent of his career haul) at 16.79 apiece – are absurd even by his standards, more so because an injury prevented him from being at his best in the 2007/08 Test against Australia. Kumble had been leading in that Test match: having realised that he had had enough, he announced at tea on the final day that he would not play for India again.

Kumble’s most famous feat here was, of course, his 10-74 against Pakistan in 1998/99 – the second time a bowler took all ten in a Test innings. But there were other great spells too: 4-63 and 5-67 against Australia in 1995/96 in the first ever Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test; 6-72 and 4-85 against Sri Lanka in 2005/06; and, as captain, 4-38 and 3-68 against Pakistan in 2007/08.

Dharamsala

This is going to be the second Test match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala, after the 2016/17 Border-Gavaskar Trophy decider. The Himalayas in the background makes it one of the prettiest cricket venues in the world.

With Virat Kohli injured, Ajinkya Rahane made his debut as captain here in 2016, while Kuldeep Yadav debuted for India. Australia rode on Steve Smith’s 111 to post 300 before Nathan Lyon (5-92) restricted India to a 32-run lead. In the second innings, Australia collapsed to 137 against Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep, each of whom claimed three wickets. India claimed the series.

Ahmedabad

With a capacity of 132,000, the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad is the largest cricket stadium in the world. The venue has been renamed several times, with the Gujarat Stadium and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium being older names. The other ground in Ahmedabad, the Sardar Patel Stadium, hosted the first ODI on Indian soil, back in 1981/82.India lost the first ever Test match here, against the mighty West Indians in 1982/83, though Sunil Gavaskar broke Geoff Boycott’s then record of most runs in Test cricket. Since then, they have won seven times here and lost only once more, drawing the remaining six.

The venue has a knack for historical moments. Against Pakistan, four years after going past Boycott, Gavaskar became the first ever batter to score 10,000 Test runs. In 1994/95, Kapil Dev surpassed Richard Hadlee’s to become the leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.

Two winters later, Javagal Srinath took 6-21 (in Laxman’s debut Test) to help India beat South Africa for the first time. In 1999/2000, Sachin Tendulkar scored 217 against New Zealand, his first double-hundred in Test cricket.

India batted first in the 2008 Test match against South Africa – and were bowled out for 76 in 20 overs: this is still the shortest Test innings on Asian soil, where the wicket is traditionally the easiest to begin with. By lunch on the first day, South Africa had already been batting (they would win by an innings).

And the day-night Test against England, in 2020/21, got over inside two days. At 842 balls, this remains the seventh-shortest Test match of all time, the shortest since the World Wars, and the shortest in Asia. The match also witnessed Ishant Sharma’s 100th appearance and Ashwin’s 400th Test wicket.

It is almost as if the venue was destined to become a statistician’s delight.