Part V: An Indian summer in England

Though the 1971 series victory in England was both notable and historic, there was an element of luck involved in it. 15 years later, however, India did not require good fortune to get the better of England. To further emphasize their superiority, they won in the first half of the summer, when conditions in England are even more alien, and they did so with margins that brooked no argument.

On the eve of the tour of England in 1986, the mood in the Indian camp was upbeat. For one thing, the side had a balanced look about it. The seam bowling attack in particular was strong, a factor that was of utmost importance in the colder half of the summer. The spin support was adequate and the batting solid, if not spectacular.

But was all this good enough to win a series in England, where, in the first half of the summer, India had faltered in 1967, 1974 and 1982? In between, they had lost the 1979 series as well. To compound the odds, just the previous summer, England had regained the Ashes, defeating Australia by three matches to one. But they took on India close on the heels of a second successive Blackwash in the West Indies.

But was all this good enough to win a series in England, where, in the first half of the summer, India had faltered in 1967, 1974 and 1982? In between, they had lost the 1979 series as well. To compound the odds, just the previous summer, England had regained the Ashes, defeating Australia by three matches to one. But they took on India close on the heels of a second successive Blackwash in the West Indies. However, the batting, manned by the likes of Graham Gooch, David Gower, Mike Gatting and Allan Lamb, seemed strong enough; in English conditions, an attack of Graham Dilley, Derek Pringle, and John Emburey could be pretty handy.

India came into the Tests having shared the Texaco Trophy one-day series 1-1. And, over the first three days of the Lord's Test, the honours were equally even. England, with Gooch hitting 114, scored 294; Chetan Sharma bagged five wickets for 64; India replied with 341. The major highlight of the Indian batting effort was Dilip Vengsarkar's unbeaten 126, which made him the first overseas batsman to hit three Test hundreds at Lord's. It was also Vengsarkar's 10th century in 83 Tests. Batting for 327 minutes, he faced 213 balls and hit 16 fours. He was on 95 when Maninder Singh joined him for the last wicket, but he reached the coveted mark amidst tremendous excitement. In fact, Maninder and Kiran More (25) helped Vengsarkar add 77 vital runs for the last two wickets.

If the runs added by Vengsarkar and the tail were crucial, the inspired spell by Kapil Dev on the fourth morning proved to be match-winning. The Indian captain removed Gooch, Tim Robinson and Gower, conceding just one run, in 19 balls. England were 35 for three and, even though Gatting and Lamb initiated a recovery process, it was too little too late. Kapil finished with four for 52, while Maninder polished off the tail on his way to excellent figures of 20.4-12-9-3.

England were all out for 180 by the fourth evening, and India hit off the required 134 runs for the loss of five wickets on the final day to register their first victory in 11 Tests at Lord's. Kapil fittingly finished the match in style, hitting 18 runs in one over ­ three fours and a six over mid-wicket that won the game. It was India's second win in 33 Tests in England, the first after 19 experiments of putting the opposition in, and the first in 21 Tests under the captaincy of Kapil Dev.

A change in the English captaincy,­ Gatting replacing Gower,­ did not see any change in England's luck in the second Test at Leeds. Gower in fact missed the Test because of a shoulder injury sustained on the eve of the game. Vengsarkar top-scored with 61 in India's first innings total of 272, and the match was won on the second day itself, with England being shot out for 102. The batsmen had no clue about the swing of Roger Binny (5 for 40) and Madan Lal (3 for 18), the latter being summoned from the Central Lancashire league as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chetan Sharma.

A lead of 170 was of match-winning proportions, even though England hit back by taking quick wickets in the second innings. The irrepressible Vengsarkar, however, stood firm and, again with the help of the tail, prolonged the innings till a total of 237 was reached. In the process, he got his second successive century in Test matches, again reaching it with last man Maninder Singh at the crease. Vengsarkar batted five-and-a-half hours for his unbeaten 102, his 11th hundred and his fifth against England. A victory target of 408 was purely of academic interest, and only the margin of India's victory was being debated as England started their second innings. They were ultimately all out for 128, their seventh successive Test defeat, 75 minutes after resumption of play on the fourth morning.

Vengsarkar was again the hero of India's 279-run win, but Sunil Gavaskar, who had found runs hard to come by, also had something to celebrate. The Leeds match was his 114th Test, equalling the world record of Colin Cowdrey. With the series already decided, the only interest was whether India could make it a clean sweep ­ a fate they had suffered in England on three occasions. But the final Test at Edgbaston was drawn, leaving India victors by an emphatic 2-0 margin. It has been the last notable series win for India abroad and it certainly finds place alongside the handful of memorable victories outside the country.

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