Five unforgettable Test encounters between India and England

Ahead of the first Test, we recollect five unforgettable Test encounters between India and England.

Geoffrey Boycott's heroics came in the 2nd innings when he smashed a brilliant century, giving England an upper hand in the match. England set a huge target of 438 for India after declaring its innings at 334. Scoring 438 at that time was an impossible task but 'Little Master' Sunil Gavaskar had had not read the English version of the script. The Mumbaikar got out after scoring a memorable 221 with the help of 21 boundaries. Team India was just 49 runs away when Gavaskar was caught by David Gower. The Gavaskar wicket gave England their confidence back and they started taking wickets at regular intervals. With the score at 423/8 India needed just 9 runs to secure victory, but the lower order decided that it was too much of a risk to take. The Test match ended in a draw but the Indians were praised for their valiant effort.

Chepauk Stadium, Chennai, 2008 (India won by 6 wickets)

The Indian cricket team played their hearts out against England in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks in the 2008 series. After the 1st Test ended in a draw, Dhoni's brigade were in search of a win, which they got at Chennai. England after electing to bat scored a promising 316 courtesy of an Andrew Strauss century. On the other side, Indian team collapsed in its 1st innings after scoring just 241. The Test match was very much in hands of the English as Strauss once again proved to be effective with yet another ton in the 2nd innings. England handed India a huge target of 387 that looked difficult on the slow Chepauk track.

Headingley, Leeds, 2002 (India won by an innings and 46 runs)

After losing the 1st Test at Lord’s, India managed to draw the 2nd Test at Trent Bridge. With two Tests remaining, Ganguly had a great chance to register his team’s name in the record books and he didn’t disappoint. The Indian team, filled with experienced batting, opted to bat first after winning the toss. The trio of Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly scrunched up the English attack by scoring centuries, thus putting a massive 628 runs on the board. In reply, England couldn’t be able to do much as the whole batting line-up went back to the pavilion at 273. Ganguly did not allow his bowlers to rest, as he asked the English batsmen to take the pitch again enforcing a follow-on. England cracked under pressure as they were knocked over for 309; giving India a memorable victory by an innings and 46 runs on English soil. Unfortunately, the last Test was a draw which meant the series too ended as a draw.

Headingley, Leeds, 1967 (England won by 6 wickets)

The Oval, London, 1971 (India won by 4 wickets)

Another tight game between India and England took place in 1971 at The Oval. With the first 2 matches ending in a draw, India were just a win away from creating history on English soil. With Eknath Solkar’s effective bowling, India stopped England for just 355 runs in the 1st innings. Wadekar’s men couldn’t take advantage while batting as they were all out for just 284, giving England a lead of 71 runs. England were looking to score a huge total in its 2nd innings, but they failed to judge Chandrashekhar’s mind as the spinner took 6 wickets for just 38 runs. The hosts fell cheaply for a mere score of just 101, leaving the Indians with a target of just 173 runs. India once again faced difficulty with the bat as they were 5 down for 134. But Farokh Engineer engineered a win by playing all the way through till the end that led India to create history in England.