The Wellington Test against New Zealand was not the first occasion when India were deprived of a win thanks to the weather.

By Siddharth Suneja

With two sessions to go and just two wickets left, one would have expected India to sail through and humiliate the hosts with a 2-0 drubbing in the three match Test series.

However, the rain gods had other plans and MS Dhoni's devils were left inches short of an outstanding win in a Test they dominated for all sessions but one.

But this is not the first time when rains have spoiled the party for the Indian team.

Looking back in time, India has been deprived of certain wins on at least two occasions.

In 1996-97 when the Indian team toured South Africa, the visitors had posted a huge target of 355 in the third Test, which had put them in cruise control until the duo of Darrell Cullinan with a faultless 122 and heavy showers, succeeded in drawing the match, with four overs remaining and two wickets in hand.

Going further back in history, another draw which haunts Indian fans is the Test match of 1978-79 where India played hosts and were on the verge of defeating the then world champions West Indies, who were given a target of 335 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India were robbed of a chance to lead the six match Test series 1-0, when rain interrupted play with the Windies having just one wicket in hand.

Unlike Cullinan, there were no heroics from the West Indies, but India did not help their cause by being rather sloppy on the field.