From 1932 To 2021: When India Reigned At Lord's

With the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide at Lord's with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.

How the tables have turned!

From being ranked as underdogs, the young Indian team has managed to overpower the mighty England team in their backyard.

Despite the recent retirements of legends Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravichandran Ashwin, India's fearless young turks matched England blow for blow in the opening two Tests.

Shubman Gill's appointment as captain may have raised eyebrows but his dazzling batting performances in the first two Tests have silenced the doubters. His masterful handling of the bowling attack, especially after resting Jasprit Bumrah for the second Test, was nothing short of brilliant.

Not only did India overpower England with their batting might in Edgbaston, but they are now the favourites for the third Test at Lord's, with strike bowler Jasprit Bumrah primed to unleash havoc after a well-earned rest.

A rattled England have pleaded for a Lord's pitch 'with plenty of life in it', as they are expected to bring back their pace duo of Jofra Archer and Gus Atkinson, both recently returning from injuries.

India do not enjoy a good record at The Home of Cricket, where they have managed just three victories in 19 Tests, while suffering 12 defeats along with four draws.

However, in recent years with the emergence of their battery of fast bowlers, India have turned the tide with two of their victories coming from their last three Tests -- in 2014 and 2021.

India's Lord's odyssey began way back in 1932 -- a defining chapter in the nation's sporting history, marking their international cricket debut with a Test at the iconic ground.

The Indian team led by C K Nayudu faced a tough assignment in their debut Test against Douglas Jardine's England, boasting of several world class players in Wally Hammond, Herbert Sutcliffe and pacer Billy Bowes among others.

Newcomers India made a creditable start, dismissing the hosts for 259 in 105.1 overs in their first innings with pacer Mohammad Nissar excelling with 5/93, while Amar Singh and Nayudu bagged two wickets apiece. But the inexperienced batters struggled as they were bundled out for 189, to concede a 70 run first innings lead.

India made a strong comeback with the ball as they had England reeling at 67/4 before Jardine (85 not out) rescued England in the company of Eddie Paynter (54) as they put on 89 runs for the fifth wicket.

Chasing 346 for victory, India's batting once again came undone as the England pace battery sent them crashing for 187 with Amar Singh stroking an entertaining half-century (51) on debut while batting at No. 9.

While India suffered a 158 run defeat in the one-off Test at Lord's, they drew praise from English fans for their spirited showing with the ball in their first ever match.

India were back at Lord's four years later, this time for the first Test of a three match series. Vizzy, the maharajah of Vizianagram, who had funded India's tour of England in 1932 before withdrawing from the tour, took over the captaincy of the Indian team for their second tour of England in 1936.

A strong Indian batting line-up featuring greats like Vijay Merchant, Mushtaq Ali, C K Nayudu crashed out for 147 before they bounced through Amar Singh's lethal spell of 6/35 to bowl out England for 134. However, they folded for 93 in the second innings and England easily chased down 107 for victory to register a nine wicket win.

The second World War meant that India's next tour of England came 10 years later in 1946. The Indian team led by Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi were no match for England, who registered an emphatic 10 wicket victory, as the visitors suffered their third straight defeat in a row at Lord's.

India's woes at Lord's continued as they finished on the losing side in their next three Tests -- in 1952, 1959 and 1967.

India finally snapped their losing run at Lord's during the England tour of 1971 when the Ajit Wadekar-led team clinched a respectable draw. Having taken a slim nine run first innings lead, India's spin trio of Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bishan Bedi took eight wickets amongst them to bowl out England for 191 in their second innings.

However, rain played spoilsport on the final day as India, chasing 183 for victory, finished on 145/8. The match is best remembered for young Sunil Gavaskar's collision with the tall England fast bowler John Snow.

Unlike in today's times, tempers didn't boil over as Snow apologised to Gavaskar in the next session after being reprimanded by England's chief selector Alec Bedser and then cricket board chief Billy Griffith.

It proved to be a landmark tour for Gavaskar and the Indian team. After the second Test at Manchester also finished in a draw, India outclassed England by six wickets at The Oval to win the series 1-0 -- their first-ever series victory in England.

India's elusive first Test win at Lord's finally arrived in 1986, led by Kapil Dev, who had captained India to the 1983 World Cup triumph at the same venue.

Dilip Vengsarkar stroked his third successive century at Lord's -- a sublime knock of 126 helping India grab a decisive 47-run first innings lead.
Kapil Dev then starred with the ball with a four wicket haul to send England crashing for 180 before smashing a quickfire 23 from 10 balls to fire India to a historic five wicket victory.

India thrashed England by 279 runs in the second Test at Leeds before drawing the third in Birmingham to claim an emphatic 2-0 series triumph.

India suffered a 247 run hammering in the 1990 Test at Lord's courtesy of Graham Gooch's record-breaking knocks of 333 and 123. The visitors saw some flashes of brilliance through Captain Mohammad Azharuddin's fiery 121 from 111 balls and Ravi Shastri's gritty 100.

In 1996, it was Sourav Ganguly, who sparkled with a century on debut at Lord's with a magnificent 131, while Rahul Dravid narrowly missed out on the feat as he fell for 95 but the match finished in a draw.

In 2002, India's Fab 4 including greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and V V S Laxman proved to be no match for England, who romped to an easy 170 run victory, while in 2007 they managed to hold on a thrilling draw with just one wicket remaining. Mahendra Singh Dhoni, battled hard with a gritty knock of 76 to his name before rain and bad light came to the rescue.

In 2011, India were thumped by 196 runs before they were whitewashed 4-0 in the four-match series in England.

The 1986 win remained India's sole victory at Lord's for 28 years before they finally ended the jinx in 2014. Ajinkya Rahane set the tone with a sparkling century (103) on the opening day. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 6/82 but England managed to claim a slender 18-run lead.

Murali Vijay stroked 95, while vital fifties from Ravindra Jadeja and Bhuvneshwar Kumar rallied as Dhoni-led India to 342 in their second innings. Ishant Sharma produced the spell of his life as he bagged 7/74 to bowl out England for 223 as India claimed a memorable 95 run victory.

However, Virat Kohli's India were thrashed by an innings and 159 runs in their next outing at Lord's in 2018. A dismal batting performance by India saw them manage just 107 and 130 in the two innings as they were blown away by England's pace great James Anderson, who bagged nine wickets in the Test.

India's great resurgence in Tests came under Kohli's captaincy from 2014 to 2022 as they consistently started winning matches away from home. In 2021, India were at their dominant best at Lord's as they humbled England by 151 runs.

K L Rahul stroked a brilliant 129 as he and Rohit Sharma (83) put on 126 runs for the opening wicket as India amassed 364 in their first innings. Joe Root's 180 steered England to a 27-run lead before India conjured up 298/8 declared in their second innings shortly after lunch on the final day.

Bumrah (3/33) and Mohammed Siraj (4/32) bowled with a lot of fire as they bundled out England for 120 inside 52 overs late on the final day.

• India In England, 2025