India's 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka is among their most dominant ever, across all conditions. They had first-innings leads of more than 300 runs in all three Tests, and their lowest score in a completed innings was a good 101 runs more than Sri Lanka's highest in the series. In general, they outplayed Sri Lanka in all facets of the game. So, where does this rank among India's clean sweeps over the years? We take a look based on a simple statistical measure - the difference between their batting and bowling average over a series of three or more matches.
A rare drubbing in an away series
India beat Sri Lanka 3-0, 2017
As much as this was written was on the wall at the start of the series, the achievement is put in perspective in the fact that this is India's first ever clean sweep away from home, in a series of three or more Tests. While Sri Lanka did not help their cause for the best part of the 11 days, they were repeatedly put on the back foot by a spate of injuries through the series. They lost allrounder Asela Gunaratne, their best seamer in Nuwan Pradeep, and finally their most experienced Rangana Herath. The final scoreline would have been no different in all likelihood, but a full-strength Sri Lanka side could have prevented this from becoming India's most dominant performance in a series away from home.
Batting average : 60.9; Bowling average : 24.92 ; Average difference : 35.98
Three Tests, three innings wins
India beat Sri Lanka 3-0, 1993-94
For the first time in 65 years and only the second time in Test history, a three-Test series ended with the same side winning by an innings every time. India dished out spiteful turners which their spinners made the most of, while the Sri Lanka attack, led by a young Muttiah Muralitharan, couldn't cope as well against India's top order. It was the series in which Kapil Dev broke the world record for Test wickets, going past Richard Hadlee.
Batting average : 54.23; Bowling average : 19.65 ; Average difference : 34.58
India beat England 3-0, 1993
India had won just one of their previous 25 Tests when England visited in 1993. As they landed on Indian shores, the Observer offered an early prediction, saying that "current form suggests they are in for a good hiding". What followed was anything but, as England became the first visiting side to lose every single Test in a series in India. Vinod Kambli smashed a double hundred in Mumbai, and Graeme Hick's resistant 178 ended in vain. Three big wins, which popularised the usage of 'brownwash' in cricketing parlance.
Batting average : 57.28; Bowling average : 26.05 ; Average difference : 31.23
Spinners hand New Zealand a thrashing
India beat New Zealand 3-0, 2016
India's spinners picked up 41 of the 60 possible wickets to help their side kick-start a home season in which they won 10 of the 13 Tests over a six-month period by handing a 3-0 thrashing to New Zealand. Kane Williamson, the visiting captain and their best batsman, struggled through a series, battling form and fitness issues. He ended up with a single fifty from four innings, and fell to R Ashwin every single time. His numbers were reflective of how New Zealand's batting line-up fared, as they slipped from one defeat to another against India's rampant bowling attack.
Batting average : 47.6; Bowling average : 22.51 ; Average difference : 25.09
'Homework-gate' and other horror tales
India beat Australia 4-0, 2013
Until 2013, India had never swept a four-match series, and it was made all the more special by the fact that it was Australia they beat. The Border - Gavaskar Trophy has been among the most closely fought ones in recent years, and this was a rare one-sided series in which Australia seemed to have lost the plot off the field. Mickey Arthur's 'homework-gate' after the second Test dominated headlines, after which the previously suspended Shane Watson returned to lead Australia in the final Test. It was a rare spell of sustained domination for India, as they humbled a higher-ranked Australian side in familiar conditions.
Batting average : 43.8; Bowling average : 25.89 ; Average difference : 17.91