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India vs England: The most memorable Test matches

MyKhel picks up some of the most memorable Tests between India and England over the years

Zaheer Khan propelled India to series win over England with a match-turning effort at Nottingham in 2007

Bengaluru, July 23: The Test series between India and England is about a week away from us. India are riddled with injury concerns to key players like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah while England, despite an ODI series win over India, have their own set of problems to tackle.

But rest assured, the India vs England series will witness some intense cricket. Can India repeat their historic triumphs on English soil in 1986 and 2007? Or will it be another flop campaign? We will have to wait for the answer but MyKhel takes this opportunity to look back to some of the memorable Tests played between the two sides.

1971, Oval

This was India's first victory over England away from home after 15 draws and six defeats. The architect of India's win was leg-spinner BS Chandrasekhar who took six for 38 to brush aside England for 101 in their second innings. India needed 174 to win the match. India achieved the target losing four wickets as skipper Ajit Wadekar, Farokh Engineer, Dilip Sardesai and GR Vishwanath making handy contributions.

1986, Lord's

It was India's first Test win at the Mecca of Cricket. Chetan Sharma's five-wicket haul India restrict England to 294 despite Graham Gooch's hundred. India took an important first innings lead as Dilip Vengsarkar hammered a hundred. With Kapil Dev and Maninder Singh limiting England to 184 in their second innings, India needed 134 to win the match and take 1-0 lead in the three-match series. Ravi Shastri and Vengsarkar dragged India closer to the targer and they went past it when Kapil swatted a six.

1986, Leeds

This series clinching victory was fashioned by Vengsarkar's hundred and brilliant spells medium pacers Roger Binny, Madan Lal and left-arm spinner Maninder Singh. India did not score big in either of their innings - 272 and 237 - but bowlers rolled over England for 102 and 128, ensuring a huge 279-run win for India. A rare occasion when the margin of the victory was higher than the totals scored by the two teams.

1990, Lord's

India lost this Test by 247 runs. But the match saw some memorable performances from both the sides. Graham Gooch made a triple hundred and a hundred while Allan Lamb and Robin Smith too notched up three-figure knocks. India have their own centurions in Ravi Shastri, who opened the innings, and Mohammad Azharuddin, whose 126 is still talked about as one of the most pleasing knocks ever played at Lord's. But the brightest vignette was Kapil hammering Eddie Hemmings for four sixes in a row to avoid follow-on en route to a fiery 77 off 75 balls.

2002, Leeds

It was a series-levelling win. India found multiple heroes in that match. Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly all brought up tons while Englad's century-maker was Nasser Hussain. But the 628/8 declared made in the first innings and terrific spells from Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were enough for India to fetch an innings and 46-run win.

2007, Nottingham

India bowled out England for 198 in the first innings thanks to spells by Zaheer Khan (4 wickets) and Anil Kumble (3 wickets) and never let the grip loose. None of the Indian batsmen made hundreds but fifties by openers Dinesh Karthik, Wasim Jaffer, Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly gave India a handy lead. Zaheer returned to scalp five wickets and with Kumble giving him good company with another three wickets haul, India crossed the line with ease.

2014 Lord's

India won this Test after conceding the first innings lead. Ajinkya Rahane made a hundred and England replied through Garry Ballance as England nose ahead. England were set a target of 319 runs and they looked well on course for a famous win with Joe Root and Moeen Ali negotiated Indian bowlers after initial struggle and reached 173 for four. But Ishant Sharma let go a barrage of short balls on English batsmen and most of them perished in the deep playing adventurous pulls and hooks. Sharma ended with a seven wicket haul (7-74). The win raised visions of another Indian series win but MS Dhoni and band hit down road from that point to lose the series 3-1.

Story first published: Monday, July 23, 2018, 13:46 [IST]
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