First, Sunil Gavaskar called the Indians a bunch of chokers; Imran Khan echoed this statement. Then Pakistan's Rashid Latif called them 'underachievers.' Such criticism for a team that drew a Test series in Australia, even going one-up in the series, a first for any team in Australia in more than a decade, and frightened the daylights out of the Kangaroos on home turf.
But it is also true that a team should benchmark itself not just against its lacklustre past but against others as well. So let us see where India stands in comparison with other countries, especially Australia.
First, a look at the performances of all Test teams since January 1, 2001:
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Winning % |
| Australia | 38 | 26 | 7 | 5 | 68.42 |
| England | 40 | 15 | 16 | 9 | 37.50 |
| India | 35 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 34.29 |
| New Zealand | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 31.82 |
| Pakistan | 26 | 15 | 8 | 3 | 57.69 |
| South Africa | 36 | 20 | 9 | 7 | 55.56 |
| Sri Lanka | 30 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 46.67 |
| West Indies | 37 | 9 | 18 | 10 | 24.32 |
| Zimbabwe | 24 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 17.39 |
| Bangladesh | 26 | 0 | 25 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 314 | 123 | 123 | 68 |
India has had the maximum number of draws and hence the dismal winning percentage of just 34.29% behind Australia, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and England.
But of its 12 victories, five have come overseas and another two against Australia in India. In contrast, most of Sri Lanka's victories have come at home with a lone victory against Pakistan in Lahore in the final of the Asian Test Championship in 2002.
As many as eight of Pakistan's 15 victories have come against minnows Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.
In the same period, South Africa won seven Tests overseas -- two each against the West Indies, England, and Bangladesh and one against Zimbabwe.
New Zealand, the new powerhouse in world cricket, has had a single overseas Test win in the West Indies during this period.
Now, take a look at the performance of each team against Australia in Tests since January 1, 2001:
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | Drawn | Winning % |
| England | 10 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 20.00 |
| India | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 42.86 |
| New Zealand | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| Pakistan | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| South Africa | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Sri Lanka | 0 | - | - | - | 0 |
| West Indies | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 20.00 |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 38 | 7 | 26 | 5 |
Clearly, India is miles ahead of the rest of the pack. What's more, all the other teams that have won Tests against Australia did so only after the series had been decided -- the well-known dead-rubber syndrome. India, on the other hand, came back from a 0-1 deficit to win the home series 2-1 with successive victories in Kolkata and Chennai. And its third win came in Adelaide last December, putting India 1-0 up in the four-Test series Down Under.
Let us now turn our attention to One-Day Internationals.
First, a look at the performance of all teams in ODIs since January 1, 2001:
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | NR | Tied | Winning % |
| Australia | 97 | 76 | 18 | 2 | 1 | 78.35 |
| Bangladesh | 41 | 0 | 39 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Canada | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16.67 |
| England | 63 | 29 | 32 | 2 | 0 | 46.03 |
| India | 97 | 52 | 40 | 5 | 0 | 53.61 |
| Kenya | 30 | 5 | 24 | 1 | 0 | 16.67 |
| Namibia | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Netherlands | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| New Zealand | 91 | 38 | 51 | 2 | 0 | 41.76 |
| Pakistan | 97 | 59 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 60.82 |
| South Africa | 90 | 56 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 62.22 |
| Sri Lanka | 94 | 51 | 40 | 2 | 1 | 54.26 |
| West Indies | 79 | 36 | 39 | 4 | 0 | 45.57 |
| Zimbabwe | 83 | 21 | 58 | 4 | 0 | 25.30 |
| TOTAL | 882 | 425 | 425 | 28 | 4 |
In terms of winning percentage, India is fifth in the list. But if you break down the wins into home and away, it shows up a startling fact.
It is conventional wisdom that winning abroad is the benchmark for quality. And after Australia, it is India that has the finest record with an away wins percentage of 56.5%.
Thus, though South Africa (62.22%), Pakistan (60.82%) and Sri Lanka (54.26%) are ahead of India (53.61%) overall, India comes out shining when you take a closer look at the home and away games records.
South Africa's away winning percentage is 55.91%, Sri Lanka's is 45.31%, and Pakistan's is 54.43%.
So can you really classify the Indians as underachievers?
Finally, a look at the performances against Australia in ODIs since January 1, 2001:
| Team | Played | Won | Lost | NR | Tied | Winning % |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Canada | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| England | 10 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| India | 17 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 23.53 |
| Kenya | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Namibia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| New Zealand | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Pakistan | 10 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 30.00 |
| South Africa | 11 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 18.18 |
| Sri Lanka | 9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| West Indies | 13 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 23.08 |
| Zimbabwe | 9 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0.00 |
| TOTAL | 97 | 18 | 76 | 2 | 1 |
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