India hosted a five-Test series 29 years back. Pakistan toured them in 1987 and the series was won by the visitors. Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe are yet to play a five-Test series.
India is all set to host a five-Test series after 29 long years. India and England are going to play five Tests with the opening match scheduled to be played at Rajkot, starting November 9.
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Pakistan toured India for a five-Test series in 1987. The series was won by the visitors 1-0 after a fighting 16-run win in the final match at Bengaluru. That game also witnessed the last of Sunil Gavaskar in the whites.
Since then, India have hosted a maximum of four Tests in a series. That has happened on six occasions so far. They played West Indies in 1987-88, Australia in 2004, 2008 and 2013, England in 2012 and most recently South Africa in 2015 at home.
The last time when India played an away five-Test series was in 2012 when they toured England. It was a forgettable series where Dhoni and Co faced a 1-3 drubbing.
That tour was India's first five-Test series since their 2002 tour of West Indies.
Before 1987, five and six-Test series were standard when compared to 1990s onwards. India had hosted 18 series of at least five Tests, starting from the 1948-49 tour of West Indies.
However, the likes of Australia, England and South Africa have stuck to the trend of five-Test series for almost more than two decades. The famous rivalry of Ashes still comprises of five Tests.
Apart from Ashes, England have featured in a five-Test series on eight occasions (in last 20 years) to Australia's one (in a decade).
West Indies have played seven five-Test series and South Africa have played one less than them.
It has been 45 years since New Zealand played a five-Test series. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh are yet to play in a five-Test series.
