Reliving Team India’s 5 Tests wins against England in Chennai
Following the amazing triumph Down Under, Team India are now preparing to face England in a four-Test series at home. The series will mark the return of international cricket to India after the COVID-19 outbreak.
The first two Tests of the series will be held at the MA Chidambaram Stadium (Chepauk) in Chennai. While the first Test, starting February 5, will be played behind closed doors, the second game at the same venue will be held with 50% crowd presence.
Chennai has been a happy hunting ground for Team India. Of the 32 matches played at the venue, the hosts have registered victories in 14 Tests and have lost only six. Eleven matches ended in a draw while one against Australia finished in a famous tie.
Team India’s Five triumphs in Tests against England in Chennai
Team India and England have faced each other nine times in Chenna, with the hosts winning five and England three; only one Test did not produce a result.
As the teams gear up to meet at the Chepauk again, let’s have a look at India’s five-Test wins against England at the venue.
#1 Fifth Test (February 1952)
Brief Scores: England (266 and 183) lost to India (457-9 decl.) by an innings and 8 runs.
Team India trailed England 0-1 heading into the fifth Test of a five-match series, in February 1952.
England batted first but were rolled over for 266, as Vinoo Mankad finished with exceptional figures of 8 for 55. Jack Robertson top-scored for England with 77 while Dick Spooner chipped in with 66.
Team India replied with an impressive 457 for 9 declared, courtesy hundreds from Polly Umrigar (130 not out) and Pankaj Roy (111).
In England’s second innings, the spin duo of Mankad and Ghulam Ahmed claimed four-wickets apiece as the visitors were cleaned up for 183. Robertson top-scored with 56.
With the innings-and-eight-run win, Team India drew the five-match series 1-1. But more importantly, it was Team India's first-ever Test win.
#2 Third Test (January 1973)
Brief Scores: England (242 and 159) lost to India (316 and 86-6) by four wickets.
In a low-scoring encounter, Team India sneaked in a four-wicket win during the third Test of the five-match series in January 1973.
England batted first after winning the toss and were all out for 242 despite an unbeaten 97 from Keith Fletcher. Bhagwath Chandrasekhar was the star of the show for Team India. with outstanding figures of 6 for 90.
England hit back hard with the ball though. Pat Pocock picked up four wickets and Geoff Arnold and Norman Gifford three apiece as Team India replied with 316 ;Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi top-scored for the hosts with 73.
Bishan Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna spun a web around England’s batsmen in the second innings, garnering figures of 4 for 38 and 4 for 16 respectively.
England were all out for 159, leaving Team India a target of 86. Pocock (4 for 28), however, ran through India’s top and middle-order to reduce them to 51 for 4. However, a fighting 38 from Salim Durani saw Team India home.
#3 Second Test (February 1993)
Brief Scores: India (560-6 decl.) beat England (286 and 252) by an innings and 92 runs.
England had a forgettable tour of India in 1992-93. The second Test of the three-match series in February 1993 saw Team India rout the Englishmen by an innings and 22 runs.
Batting first after winning the toss, a strong Indian batting lineup punished the England bowling, posting a mammoth 560 for 6 declared on the board.
Navjot Sidhu (106) and Sachin Tendulkar (165) hammered hundreds while Vinod Kambli (59), Pravin Amre (78) and Kapil Dev (66 not out) chipped in with crucial contributions too.
It marked the legendary Sachin Tendulkar's first Test century on Indian soil.
Team India’s spin trio of Venkatapathy Raju (4 for 103), Rajesh Chauhan (3 for 69) and Anil Kumble (2 for 61) bamboozled the England batting, bowling out the visitors for only 286. Neil Fairbrother top-scored for England with 83 while skipper Alec Stewart contributed 74.
Made to follow on, England were restricted to 252 despite Chris Lewis’ 117; Kumble ran through the English batting lineup with figures of 6 for 64.
#4 Second Test: December 2008
Brief Scores: England (316 and 311-9 decl) lost to India (241 and 387-4) by six wickets.
Team India registered a spectacular six-wicket triumph in the first match of the two-Test series in December 2008. Coming in the wake of the 26/11 terror attacks, the win assumed special significance.
On the back of Andrew Strauss’ 123, England posted a competitive 316. The visitors then strengthened their hold on the Test by restricting Team India to 241 in their first innings.
Strauss and Paul Collingwood registered identical scores of 108 in England’s second innings to set Team India a highly challenging 387 to win the Test.
Not many critics gave Team India a chance of victory. However, Virender Sehwag caught England off-guard with a blistering 83 off 66 balls. He featured in an opening stand of 117 with Gautam Gambhir (66).
Tendulkar (103 not out) and Yuvraj Singh (85 not out) then featured in a spectacular fifth-wicket stand of 163 to take Team India home. The wins remains one of Team India’s most memorable ones in the longest format of the game.
#5 Fifth Test: December 2016
Brief Scores: England (477 and 207) lost to India (759-9 decl.) by an innings and 75 runs.
The last time India and England met in a Test match in Chennai, doing so in December 2016, the hosts hammered the visitors by an innings and 75 runs.
Already 0-3 down in the series, England batted first after winning the toss in the fifth and final Test. They put up an impressive batting show, posting 477 on the back of Moeen Ali’s 146 and Joe Root’s 88.
Team India's response was incredible though, as they registered their highest-ever Test score of 759 for 7 declared. Karun Nair (303 not out) created history by becoming the only Indian batsman other than Virender Sehwag to slam a Test triple hundred.
KL Rahul was dismissed for 199 while Parthiv Patel (71), Ravichandran Ashwin (67) and Ravindra Jadeja (51) all chipped in with crucial contributions.
With a massive first-innings lead, Team India trampled England. The visitors were all out for 207, as Jadeja claimed exceptional figures of 7 for 48.