India’s fortress at Feroz Shah Kotla: 14 Tests unbeaten over 32 years

Feroz Shah Kotla remains one of the most unlikely venues for India’s longest unbeaten streak in Test cricket. With their seven-wicket win over the West Indies on October 14, India have now gone 14 Tests without a loss at the venue — a run that began in March 1993.

Over these 32 years, India have defeated Zimbabwe, Australia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies, and South Africa in the national capital. The last time India lost a Test match in Delhi was in November 1987, to the West Indies.

Delhi now surpasses Mohali (from 1997 to present) and Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai (1948–65), where India have each registered 13 consecutive wins. Mohali, however, still has a chance to draw level.

With this latest victory, India’s tally in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) has risen to 52 points, with percentage points improving to 61.90. Despite this, the team remains third in the standings, behind Australia (100 percentage points) and Sri Lanka (66.67 percentage points). The two top teams at the end of the 2025-27 WTC cycle will contest the final.

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DDCA mess continues

It is ironic that the body responsible for organising international matches in Delhi — the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) — remains mired in dysfunction. The start of the ongoing 2025-26 domestic season has been no exception.

For instance, the state association has failed to appoint a chairman for its three-member senior men’s selection committee, reportedly to ‘balance’ interests within the coalition in power.

When the DDCA eventually announced the appointment of coaching and support staff for its various teams, it added to the confusion by merely stating that “the senior-most player as per rules shall be the chairperson” — without explaining what those rules were. As a result, the panel remains headless.

A happy hunting ground

Despite the administrative shenanigans, the Kotla has been a happy hunting ground for Team India. Since 1948, India have played 36 Tests here, winning 15, losing six, and drawing the rest.

Among individual performances, local hero Virat Kohli holds the record for the highest score at the venue. He struck 243 — his second-highest career knock — against Sri Lanka in December 2017 and added a 50 in the second innings. That match, which he also captained, ended in a draw.

In bowling, leg-spinner Anil Kumble owns both the best innings and match figures at the ground. After taking four wickets in the first innings, he famously claimed all ten wickets in the second, finishing with 14 for 149 as India beat Pakistan by 212 runs to level the two-Test series 1-1 in 1999.

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Kumble’s reflection

“It has been a good venue for Team India. It has been tough for bowlers and sort of slow. Even for batters, the bounce has been low, so you have to adjust. So perhaps that could be the point for the overseas teams that come and play at this venue. You have to adjust to the pace of the surface. I guess that could probably be the real reason why India dominated this match,” said Kumble, who was present at the Kotla as a TV commentator, after the match.

During the Test, countless memories must have resurfaced for Kumble as he walked up to the pitch where, on a cloudy afternoon on February 7, 1999, he single-handedly demolished Pakistan’s batting line-up. While that feat remains etched in cricketing history, few know that on his under-19 ‘Test’ debut against Pakistan in 1990, Kumble had scored a century at No.7. It was also at this very venue that he announced his retirement from Test cricket in 2008.