Shubman Gill will lead India in their 600th Test which begins on the country's 80th Independence Day in Galle. (CREIMAS)India will begin their landmark 600th Test match on the country’s 80th Independence Day against Sri Lanka in Galle on Saturday.In their first Test tour of the island nation in nine years, India will become only the third team in history to have recorded 600 Test appearances to date, after England(1097) and Australia (883).ALSO READ | India’s Galle goals: Killing spin demons, nailing batting spots, staying afloat in WTCThe country played their first-ever Test match in June 1932, taking on England at Lord’s, suffering a 158-run defeat.Registering their first Test victory took India 25 Tests and 20 years. After playing England, Australia and West Indies – for 12 losses and as many draws – India notched up an innings and six-run victory over England in Madras under the leadership of the legendary Vijay Hazare on February 10, 1952.India remained a middling team, ranked sixth-best in the world in the 20th century. Pakistan and South Africa, who played considerably fewer games than India during this period, recorded more wins.India’s milestone matchesNo.OpponentDateVenueResult1st TestEngland25-Jun-1932Lord’sENG (158 runs)100th TestEngland13-Jul-1967BirminghamENG (132 runs)200th TestPakistan10-Dec-1982LahoreDrawn300th TestSouth Africa20-Nov-1996AhmedabadIND (64 runs)400th TestWest Indies30-Jun-2006KingstonIND (49 runs)500th TestNew Zealand22-Sep-2016KanpurIND (197 runs)Turn of the 21st centuryThe 21st century brought about a remarkable uptick in India’s Test fortunes. In these 25 years, India have won 123 of 263 Tests and stands third among all teams, only behind Australia and England.Story continues below this adIndia’s result progressionAfter 25 Tests – Won: 1, Loss: 12, Draw: 12After 100 Tests – Won: 10, Loss: 40, Draw: 50After 200 Tests – Won: 35, Loss: 72, Draw: 93, Tied: 1After 300 Tests – Won: 56, Loss: 98, Draw: 145, Tied: 1After 400 Tests – Won: 88, Loss: 129, Draw: 182, Tied: 1After 500 Tests – Won: 130, Loss: 157, Draw: 212, Tied: 1After 599* Tests – Won: 186, Loss: 188, Draw: 224, Tied: 1A pivotal phase in India’s resurgence came when MS Dhoni passed the reins of the Test side to Virat Kohli. Between 2014 and 2020, Kohli led India to 40 wins in 68 Tests with a 58.82 win percentage.ALSO READ | Why Sri Lanka can end their 11-year drought against India“It’s a big honour and privilege for me to captain India in any Test match,” Gill told reporters in Galle.“Captaining India in our 600th Test is a huge honour and doing it on India’s Independence Day makes it even more special.”Story continues below this adIndia’s record in the longest format, however, has been dented in recent years, suffering major home defeats against New Zealand (0-3 in 2024) and South Africa (0-2) last year. Having missed out on the World Test Championship final last year, India are currently ranked fifth in the ongoing cycle, with four wins in nine matches.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:India vs Sri Lanka