India and England will be head-to-head in a demanding five-game Test run. It starts from January 25 to March 11. The initial Test starts at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, from January 25-29. Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27) and Dharamsala (March 7-11) are the remaining Test locations.
Checking previous results, the two teams played 131 Tests. England grabbed 50 wins while India clinched 31. The balance 50 had no winners. Of 64 home games India won 22, and England won 14, with 28 tied.
Analyzing the outcomes of the past 10 India-England Test series’, each team claimed victory four times, with two series’ ending in draws. As both teams ready themselves, let’s revisit three of the most thrilling India-England Test series’.
3. India vs England (2005-06)
In the 2005-06 series, India had a tough challenge with a 1-1 score. An intense first Test in Nagpur concluded without a winner. The home team gained an advantage in Mohali by winning the second Test. They succeeded with nine wickets to spare. Anil Kumble, the leg-spinner, was the highlight. He summoned a strong performance of nine wickets and contributed 32 runs.
After electing to bat first, England was restricted to 300 runs in the first innings, with Kumble taking 5/76. Rahul Dravid led India’s response with 95 runs as they reached 338. Andrew Flintoff contributed four wickets for England.
With a superb second-inning effort, India’s bowlers dismissed the English for a mere 181. Kumble and Munaf Patel each took four wickets. Team India easily defeated 144 after Virender Sehwag struck 76* off 89 balls.
After a fantastic performance in Mohali, the hosts must have been feeling very confident, but England rallied hard to tie the series at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Andrew Strauss struck a magnificent 128 to help England reach 400 batting first. After that, James Anderson asserted 4/40, to which India replied with 279.
In their second innings, England were bowled out for 191 thanks to a four-fer from Kumble. India, however, unexpectedly collapsed to 100 all out when chasing 313 runs. The unexpected hero for the visitors was off-spinner Shaun Udal (4/14), although Flintoff also shone with three scalps.
2. India vs England (1971)
Since India won both their first Test match and series in England in 1971, this visit was historic. In the first Test at Lord’s, the visitors barely prevailed with a tie. England, batting first, overcame a 71/5 deficit to produce 304 with to 73 from John Snow. Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took three wickets and Bishan Singh Bedi four for India.
With skipper Ajit Wadekar top-scoring with 85, India responded with a competitive 313; important contributions came from Gundappa Viswanath (68) and Eknath Solkar (67). Srinivas Venkataraghavan was the standout of the second innings, taking 4/52 to help England get bowled out for 191. India, aiming to chase 183, faltered to 142/8 but managed to hold on for a draw.
A draw also occurred in the second Test, which was held in Manchester. In the first innings, England captain Ray Illingworth made a hundred, and in the second, opener Brian Luckhurst struck a hundred and fifty. Syed Abid Ali was the standout for India, taking 4/64 in England’s opening innings.
It all came down to The Oval for the third and final Test, where India made history by winning by four wickets after a fiercely contested match. After batting first and scoring a respectable 355 runs, England held India to 284 runs.
But Chandrasekhar reversed the tide of the Test match, dismissing England for 101 with a 6/38 second innings. The hosts cast a wide net against his cunning. India, who were supposed to chase 173, won with to strong tries from Farokh Engineer (28*), Dilip Sardesai (40), Viswanath (33) and captain Wadekar (45).
1. India vs England (2021-22)
The 2021–22 English series featured two very good teams and was a very exciting one. After the first Test in Nottingham finished in a tie due to weather delays, India seized the lead at Lord’s with a historic 151-run victory.
India’s first innings saw KL Rahul set the tone with a magnificent 129, while Mohammed Siraj was excellent with eight wickets during the game. Following his 4/32 second-inning effort and Jasprit Bumrah’s 3/33, England was bowled out for 120 in their 272-run chase.
In the third Test in Leeds, England rallied admirably to pound India by an innings and 76 runs. India folded up for 78 in the first innings as the English bowlers tore through their batting. Joe Root’s century helped the hosts reach 432, but in their second innings, Ollie Robinson’s 5/65 took India out for 278.
India won at The Oval by a score of 157 runs, taking the lead once more. After bowling out the visitors for 191 in the first innings, England’s bowlers responded with 290, demonstrating their extraordinary skill. However, India scored 466 in their second innings because to a Rohit Sharma spectacular (127 off 256). England was knocked out for 210 after an outstanding team effort by the Indian bowlers as they chased a score of 368.
COVID-19 forced a rescheduling of the fifth Test, which was subsequently played in Birmingham during India’s subsequent visit to England. Rishabh Pant (146) and Ravindra Jadeja (104) contributed hundreds of his own to enable the visitors recover from 98/5 to score 416. In addition, Jasprit Bumrah, the Test captain, contributed with 31* off 16 to shatter Stuart Broad’s record of 29 runs in an over.
Siraj’s four-fer kept England to 284 even with 106 from Jonny Bairstow. After that, England’s captain Ben Stokes claimed four wickets to help limit India to 245 in their second innings.
With a target of 378 to defend, Team India was the clear favorite to win the Test. But when Root (142* off 173) and Bairstow (114* off 145) shocked India, “Bazball” took center stage. With seven wickets remaining, England reached the mark in 76.4 to level the series at 2-2.
