 | « Back to article | Print this article |
25 years on... it's India's lone Test win @ Lord's
Bikash Mohapatra looks back on the only instance of the Indian team securing a Test victory at the home of cricket.
It is a silver jubilee of a different kind.
India's five-wicket win over England at Lord's in the opening Test of the 1986 bilateral series remains the only instance of the Indian team winning a Test at the home of cricket.
In a face-off between two evenly-matched teams, it was Kapil Devs men who came up trumps against the home side, led by David Gower.
Having won the toss, Kapil invited the opposition to bat first. Thereafter, his bowlers vindicated his decision.
England's first innings was restricted to 294, with Chetan Sharma claiming five wickets and Roger Binny helping himself with three.
Gooch's ton to England's rescue
It would have been worse for the hosts had it not been for a resolute hundred by Graham Gooch.
The opener scored 114 and put on 147 runs for the fifth wicket with Derek Pringle (63) to give his side's total a semblance of respectability.
India's response was highlighted by a magnificent unbeaten 126 by the redoubtable Dilip Vengsarkar.
Vengsarkar, who has three Test hundreds at Lord's, put on 71 runs for the third wicket with Mohinder Amarnath (69) and a further 71 runs for the fourth with Mohammad Azharuddin (33) to help India take a vital 47-run lead.
Kapil, the Indian captain, then got into the act, picking four wickets, as England were dismissed for a paltry 180 in its second innings.
Vengsarkar, Kapil take India to victory
Needing just 134 to win, India messed up the chase before scraping through.
Vengsarkar top-scored again with 33.
But it was the captain (23 not out) who took his team home.
India went on to win the second Test at Headingley (Leeds), thereby pocketing the series 2-0.
The win remains India's lone success at Lord's, a venue where they have lost 10 of the 15 matches they played.
When the 16th Test between the countries starts at the venue on Thursday, the visitors will have an opportunity to rectify that abominable record and a second chapter to the success story written 25 years back.