India’s Test wins at Lord’s since 1932
After missing a win in the first Test match against England in the ongoing 5-match series, India went on to register a dramatic and historic win at Lord’s. It was dramatic because of the way India ended the game on the fifth day and historic because it was just the third win for India at Lord’s in the longest format of the game.
Till the recently concluded Test match, India had played 18 Test matches at Lord’s and won only two matches. India has been traveling to the UK since 1932 but, its records at Lord’s have been poor. India had also played its first Test match at Lord’s back in 1932 after receiving ICC Full Member status. Since then, all of India’s tours to England have seen it playing Test at Lord’s without much luck, albeit.
1986
It was India’s first Test match of the tour in 1986. India had been traveling to the UK since 1932 with no luck at Lord’s. This time Indians were the defending World Cup champions, and hence, it was a matter of reputation as well. Kapil Dev was leading the side; he won the toss and asked England to bat first. England was struggling with 98/4 onboard pretty soon, thanks to the deadly Chetan Sharma. His fiery spell saw him claiming five wickets for just 64 runs and running through the England line-up. However, Graham Gooch stood tall amidst the collapse. He anchored the innings, kept building the innings from one end, and ended up scoring 114. Fortunately for England, he got some support from Derek Pringle (63). The duo helped England reach 294. Roger Binny was the other hero from India’s bowling unit who took three wickets for 55 runs.
India replied with 341, thanks to DilipVengsarkar. He became the first-ever batsman to score three consecutive Test hundreds at Lord’s. Vengsarkar scored 126 off 213 with 16 fours. His first century came in 1979 when he scored 103 off 295 balls. The second one in 1982, he scored 157 from 264 balls. Mohinder Amarnath (69) also contributed with very important innings and helped India take a lead of 47 runs. England’s next innings were wrapped up for 180 runs. Mike Gatting was their highest scorer this time with 40. Kapil Dev led from the front and took four England wickets for 52 runs, while Maninder Singh chipped in with 3-12. It was the Indian skipper’s outstanding spell that sent England’s top-order to the pavilion.
India had to chase down a target of 134 runs. Once again, Vengsarkarended was the highest scorer with 33 runs while Sunil Gavaskar added a valuable 22. Later Kapil Dev played a brilliant cameo of unbeaten 23 runs to win the match for India. When he walked in, India needed 24 to win, and his innings took 10 runs. He got an able ally in Ravi Shastri, who scored 20* off 44.
2014
It took 28 years for India to register their second Test win at the Home of Cricket. Both teams were coming off a draw in the first Test match of the series. It was, therefore, a must-win game for both sides. The hosts won the toss and decided to field first. There was hardly any contribution from the top order of the Indian cricket team. Ajinkya Rahane took the onus and scored a fine century with some help from CheteshwarPujara (28), Virat Kohli (25), Murali Vijay (24). And later, Bhuvneshwar Kumar came up with 36 runs. James Anderson was deadly as ever and scalped four Indian wickets for 60 runs, Stuart Broad took two for 79, and Stokes picked up two for 40.
England responded with 319 runs based on Gary Balance’s 110 and Liam Plunkett’s unbeaten 55. However, it was a failure from most of the England line-up. Bhuvi rose to the occasion with the ball as well. He claimed six wickets for 82 runs that included the top four England batters. During India’s second innings, the top-order contributed as Murali Vijay (95), CheteshwarPujara (43), Ravindra Jadeja (68). Bhuvneshwar Kumar (52) once again came up with a brilliant batting showcase and took Indian innings to 342.
For England, the target was 319 to win the match and take the lead in the series. Joe Root scored 66, and Moeen Ali added 39 tuns, but that was all. England hardly found any saviour in the truest sense, and thanks to Ishant Sharma. From top order, the skipper Alastair Cook and Gary Ballance could add mere 22 and 27 runs, respectively. The Indian pacer recorded seven wickets for 74 runs to hand over India the memorable win by 95 runs. England’s innings were bundled out for 223 runs. Ishant Sharma was the Player-of-the-Match, and India took a convincing lead. However, the series ended in a losing cause for the visitors.
2021
Fortunately, this time it took only seven years for India to taste the success of Test win at Lord’s. India ended the first Test of the series on a good note. England could manage a draw because of the rain in Nottingham. Indians expectedly wanted to continue with the momentum, but Virat Kohli once again lost the toss. Joe Root did not know what was waiting for the home team. Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul gave India an outstanding start. Sharma missed a century by 17 runs, but Rahul did not let the opportunity go. He was never in consideration for first playing XI. Because of the injured Mayank Agarwal, Rahul got the golden chance and cemented his place at the top for this series. He scored 129 runs, and with help from Kohli (42), Pant (37), and Jadeja (40), helped India score 364 runs in the first innings. Anderson seemed to have betted with age and mesmerized all once again with a 5-wicket haul to his name.
England had a shaky start with only Rory Burns contributing with 49 from the top. However, Root led from the front, stayed till the end to score an unbeaten 180, and took England’s score to 391. Jonny Bairstow added 57. Mohammed Siraj took four wickets, and Ishant Sharma scalped three, and Mohammed Shami took two. This time, India’s reply saw Rahul failing for 5, but the other batters came together to score 298 runs to set a target of 272 for England. India’s second innings highlight was the partnership between Shami (56*) and JaspritBumrah (34*). The duo added 89 runs together for the 9th wicket as Shami registered his second Test fifty and Bumrah recorded his highest Test score. It was unreal, but it changed the tone for the match in India’s favour.
England began miserably and lost two openers for 0. They were 1-2, thanks to Bumrah and Shami. The Indian bowlers did not stop and continued to take wickets at regular intervals. Root once again tried to take charge but had to stop for just 33 runs. Jos Buttler (25) and Moeen Ali (13) gave India a little trouble as it was the final day of the match, and Indians had to wrap up England innings by the end of the day. Siraj took two back-to-back wickets to send Ali and Sam Curran in the 39th over. Bumrah ended the partnership between Buttler and Ollie Robinson by dismissing Robinson in the 51st over, and that was all. Siraj took the last two wickets in the very next over, and England lost the match by 151 runs.
