Lala Amarnath, 118 against England at Bombay, 1933-34

In the 1st Test, India opted to bat first and put 219 runs on the board. England, led by Douglas Jardine, were too good even in the Indian conditions. The visitors scored a massive 438 runs with the help of Bryan Valentine’s aggressive 136. Nobody had expected that this Test match would be remembered for Lala Amarnath’s brilliant innings. In the 2nd innings when India were 21 for 2; struggling for a significant partnership, Skipper CK Nayudu got a brilliant support from Lala Amarnath. The miracle commenced from here when Amarnath smashed every English bowler and completed his century with the help of 21 boundaries. However, India collapsed from 207 for 2 to 258 all out. England easily achieved the target of mere 40 runs but the man who created headlines was ‘Lala Amarnath.’

The stage was perfectly set for the five-match Test series at 1-1 when the Indian team travelled to Kolkata for the Third Test. A tall young man from Hyderabad named Mohammad Azharuddin was ready to make his debut instead of injured Sandeep Patil. Skipper Sunil Gavaskar straightaway opted to bat first after winning the toss but the decision backfired on him as India lost 4 wickets for just 127 runs.

Joe Root, 73 against India at Nagpur, 2012-13

The visitors, after taking a 2-1 lead, opted to bat first in the 4th and final Test. The plans were simple, just to stop India from winning this Test and they were successful in doing so. Debutant Joe Root joined Kevin Pietersen in the middle after England were struggling at 119 for 4 in their first innings. Playing his first match on a spin-friendly track against four regular spinners was not easy for Joe Root. But, the England star played quite comfortably against all the bowlers including Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, and Pragyan Ojha. The young gun of England was confidently facing every attack of the Indian bowlers which resulted in a splendid innings of 73 in 229 balls. His innings got so much appreciation that he was started being compared to the legends of the game.

England were all out for 330 in their 1st innings. India, on the other side, managed to square the score as the hosts put 326 on the board. The visitors, in their 2nd innings, preferred to take the match to a draw as they already grabbed the series with 2 wins earlier. This series was a special one for England as they found a classic batsman in the form of Joe Root who is currently one of the best batsmen in the world. 

Alastair Cook, 104 against India at Nagpur, 2005-06

Cook didn't lose his first-innings confidence as the Gloucester lad went on to score a splendid century in the 2nd innings. He remained not out when the team declared their innings on 297; giving Indians the target of 368 runs. The battle of Nagpur ended in a draw but India won the next game by 9 runs. However, England didn't let India take the trophy alone as they managed to win the 3rd Test to draw the series.

India were like a one-man army (Sachin Tendulkar) in the batting before Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their debut in 1996. Indians didn't have a great start to their series as they suffered a defeat in the first Test at Edgbaston. To come back in the series, Captain Mohammad Azharuddin made a big decision by dropping Sanjay Manjerekar and stepped in with Ganguly and Dravid after opting to field first. England scored a healthy total of 344 in their first innings.