This Day That Year: Indian team tasted test success on England soil

 

The Indian Cricket Team created history as they registered their first-ever Test and series win on England soil played at Kennington Oval, London on 24^th August 1971.

Under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar, India defeated England by 4 wickets on the 5^th day of the 3^rd Test match. Chasing 173 runs to win, it was a good batting display by the Indian team. Ajit Wadekar 45 was the top scorer for India. Dilip Sardesai 40, Gundappa Vishwanath 33 and Farukh Engineer 28*. S Abid Ali hit the winning runs helping the visitors to create history by winning the match by 4 wickets.

It was an amazing performance by the Indian who conceded a big lead of 71 runs in the first innings. England captain Richard Illingworth won the toss and decided to bat first. A superb batting effort by Alan Knott with 90, Hutton 81, Jameson 82, and Edrich helped England post 355 runs. In reply, the Indian team struggled with their batting and were bowled out for 284 runs in the first innings.

The third day saw brilliant bowling by BS Chandrashekar who ripped the England batting line up by picking figures of 6 for 38 while Venkatraghavan took 2 for 44 to bowl hosts for a paltry total of 101 runs.

Chasing a target of 173 runs to win, Sunil Gavaskar was dismissed for 0. Ajit Wadekar led the charge and remained not out on the 4^th day. It was a remarkable performance by the Indian team who was not given a chance to win on England soil.

The first Test match played at Lords; London ended in a draw. England posted 304 runs in the first innings. In reply, India took a slender lead of 9 runs. The second innings saw, England being bowled out for 191.

Setting 183 runs to win, the Indian team batting failed but Eknath Solkar and Bishan Bedi Singh Bedi partnership led visitors to draw the game.

The second Test match played at Old Trafford; Manchester also ended in a draw. It was a game dominated by the England team, but India showed some fighting spirit.

It has been a tough ask for the Indian batsmen on England soil. After winning the Test series in 1971, India registered 2-0 win in 1986, won a Test match at Leeds by an innings and 46 runs in 2002, created history by winning on England soil after a long time in 2007.

In 2014, the Indian team registered a historic win at Lords but lost the series. During the 2018 tour, India lost the series 1-4.

 This Day That Year: Indian team register their first-ever Test series win on England soil