10 Most Memorable India vs England ODI Matches

The Second leg promises to be even more exciting
The Second leg promises to be even more exciting

After creating history by winning their first ever T20I series against England in England, the Indian cricket team made a phenomenal start to the second leg of this tour, the ODI series, with a phenomenal 8 wicket win over England in the first ODI at Nottingham

While India, being a better T20I side, easily managed to upstage England in the final T20I to seal the series, they certainly played as the better team at Trent Bridge where they didn't allow the English team to play at their best in any field.

That said, England always love to make a strong comeback after a big defeat, and the remaining matches of the series also promise to be breathtaking contests. Ever since their first encounter back in 1974, India and England have been on the opposite ends in 50-over game 96 times, which have produced some of the best matches in that format.

Before England clash with England at Lords tomorrow in the second match of the series, here's a nostalgic look at 10 most memorable India vs England ODI encounters.

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Sixth ODI, India tour of England 2007 (The Oval, London)

6th NatWest Series ODI - England v India
Robin Uthappa was the hero of this win

India's tour to England in 2007 was one of the most memorable tours for the team in their 8-decade history. Not only did India win their first ever test series on English soil in over 20 years, they also took England to the edge during their 7-match ODI series.

While India lost the series 4-3 after losing the final ODI in Lords, their victory in the penultimate ODI at The Oval at least brought them back into competition after trailing by 1-3 after the 4th ODI, and it was Robin Uthappa who was the unsung hero of that all-important chase.

With England posting a mammoth 316 on the board, thanks to a sensational 107 by Owais Shah and useful fifties by Kevin Pietersen and Luke Wright, a target of 317 was never going to be an easy task for the Indian team.

However, Tendulkar's 94 and Ganguly's 53 propelled India to a dream start. A vital contribution by Gambhir kept the scoreboard moving during the middle overs but two quick wickets in the last overs made the task tough. With 10 needed in the last over and only 2 wickets in hand, Uthappa bashed two successive fours to give India a memorable win and helped level the series 3-3.

Fifth ODI, England tour of India 2002 (Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi)

Ashley Giles bowls India's Anil Kumble
Ashley Giles bowls India's Anil Kumble

If the previous entry brought India back into the 2007 ODI series, this fixture turned a new leaf for England in that memorable 6-match ODI series in India in 2002. With India already leading the series 3-1, England needed match-winning performances in all the fields, and this is exactly what they got from Nick Knight and Ashley Giles.

Fighting to stay in the series, the English batsmen gave it all in the first inning. Led by a stunning 107 by Nick Knight and aptly supported by Nasser Hussain and Andrew Flintoff, the English posted a respectable total of 271/5 on the board.

With the target easily chase-able, the Indian openers gave the teams an aggressive start. Even after they departed, Ganguly and Kaif kept the scoreboard ticking by putting up 111 for the fourth wicket. This is where everything started going downhill for India.

In just 4 overs, Ashley Giles took 5 wickets to reduce India to 239/8. Even though Agarkar tried very hard during the last overs, India eventually fell short by 2 runs, giving England their second win of the series.

Semi Final, 1983 Cricket World Cup (Old Trafford, Manchester)

Prudential World Cup Semi Final  England v India
Sandeep Patil played a vital knock

Whenever India enters an ICC Event nowadays, they are the de-facto favourites to win or at least make it to the latter stages of the event. However, it was a big surprise during the early editions to see a team like India make it to the knockout stages.

And this is exactly what made their World Cup win in 1983 a memorable one. Between their near-impossible triumph over Zimbabwe and the historic win over the mighty West Indies in the final, their underrated victory over England in the semi-finals is often forgotten

.Despite the English team being the better one in all the fields of the game, the Indian team successfully restricted them to 213 in their 60 overs, with the likes of Kapil Dev, Roger Binny, and Mohinder Amarnath accounting for 7 wickets.

The Indian team started slow but were reduced to 50/2. Vital knocks of 46 and 61 by Amarnath and Yashpal Sharma provided stability to the team, but it was the destructive knock of Sandeep Patil, who scored a quickfire 51 from 32 balls, that took India to a memorable 6-wicket win, and booked their spot in the finals.

Second ODI, England Tour of India 2017 (Barabati Stadium, Cuttack)

The two heroes of that memorable win
The two heroes of that memorable win

The ODI series leg of England tour of India in 2017 was inarguably the highest scoring 3-match in the history of ODI cricket, with a score of 300 or more being scored in each of the 6 innings of the series.

While the first and the final match of that series were memorable in their own rights, courtesy 2 career-defining knocks by Kedar Jadhav, it was the 2nd fixture that earns the title as the most memorable one from the trio, and there are three legends responsible for that - Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni, and Eoin Morgan.

The two Indian stalwarts, who came out to bat at the lost of 2nd and 3rd wicket, shared a record partnership of 256 runs for the 4th wicket, with Yuvraj playing his career best knock of 150 runs and Dhoni also scoring 134 runs. This propelled India to a gargantuan total of 381/6 in 50 overs.

England had a phenomenal start thanks to fifties by Roy and Root, but it was the knock by Eoin Morgan that gave Indians a scare during the final overs. Scoring 102 runs from 81 balls, Morgan took the team very close to the target, but his wicket in the penultimate over made way for India's 15 run win as England ended with only 366/8 in 50 overs.

Group Stage, 2003 Cricket World Cup (Kingsmead, Durban)

Ashish Nehra of India celebrates the wicket of Alec Stewart of England
Ashish Nehra decimated the English batting order

The 2003 Cricket World Cup was a landmark tournament for the Indian Cricket team. Led by a determined skipper in Sourav Ganguly, the team, which had the perfect balance of experienced and young cricketers, the journey to the Final was the coming of age phase of a group of young cricketers.

The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan had their moments of glory during the tournament at various stages. For Ashish Nehra, however, it was his career-defining performance against England that turned out to be his moment of glory.

Batting first in front of a packed crowd in Durban, the Indian team put a respectable total of 250/9 on the scoreboard on the back of sensible knocks by Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Yuvraj Singh. The real action, however, began after the inning break.

Once England crossed the 50 runs mark at the lost of 2 wickets, Ashish Nehra's impressive line and length opened a barrage of destruction. He took the next 6 wickets as England got reduced to 107/8 in just 31 overs. Nehra's career-best figures of 6/23 were enough to bundle England for 168 runs as India registered a huge 82 run victory.

Second ODI, India tour of England 2007 (County Ground, Bristol)

Second NatWest Series ODI: England v India
Rahul Dravid played the best ODI knock of his career

The 2007 ODI series against England stands as one of the most memorable bilateral ODI series for India. While the victory in the 6th match of the series helped India leveled the series, it still stands as the 2nd best fixture from that 7-match series.

The honour for the top spot belongs to that sensational fixture in Bristol. After a humiliating dribbling in Southampton in the 1st ODI, this match was more of a redemption for the Indian Cricket Team. And it was the two senior player, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, who led the charge of this memorable victory.

A great start by Ganguly and Sachin, supported well by Yuvraj Singh, made the batting easy for the Indian team. Sachin, in the middle of his unluckiest period in cricket, was again dismissed at 9. However, the day belonged to Rahul Dravid, who played the best ODI knock of his career, 92 runs from 63 balls to take India to 329/7 in 50 overs.

The English team started well and every player made vital contributions to the scoreboard. However, wickets at regular intervals prevented them from having that one big partnership. Even a late assault from Dimitri Mascarenhas and Stuart Broad was not enough as England could only manage 320 runs, giving India a vital 9 run win.

Semi Final, 1987 Cricket World Cup (Wankhede Stadium, Bombay)

Cricket World Cup - India v England
England successfully avenged their defeat from previous World Cup

While India were the underdogs in the first 3 editions of the World Cup, a lot had changed by the time of the 4th edition in 1987. Not only was the World Cup held in the Indian subcontinent, India, being the defending champions, were among the favourites for the first time.

Finishing as the leader of the group table, India entered the knock out stage with a lot of momentum and expectations. Waiting for them in the semi-finals were the team from England, the same team that they defeated in the semi-finals 4 years back.

In front of a packed crowd in Mumbai, the Indian bowling line-up had no answer to English opener Graham Gooch, who played a breathtaking knock of 115 runs. With good support by skipper Mike Gatting, who scored a vital 56, England put up 254/6 on the scoreboard.

Despite having a weak start, the Indian team was having a good chase, with all the batsmen, led by Mohammad Azharuddin, making contributions to the total. However, Azhar's wicket triggered a collapse as India lost 5 wickets for just 14 runs. Bundling India for just 219 in 45 overs, England successfully avenged their defeat from the previous World Cup with a memorable 35 run win.

Group Stage, 2011 Cricket World Cup (M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore)

A thrilling match that ended in a draw
A thrilling match that ended without a winner

From one World Cup clash to the other and this one was certainly more thrilling and breathtaking than any other World Cup clash between the two countries. This was a match between two of the best ODI teams in the world, and it ended in a way that was very uncommon in the World Cup tradition.

Despite only being a group stage match, this match had most of the Indians and English people on the edge of their seats for the better part of 100 overs. Batting first in Bengaluru, the Indian team had one of the best days in batting with Sachin Tendulkar leading the charge with a phenomenal 120 run knock.

India were all set for a 350+ total when Gambhir and Yuvraj were batting but a late assault by Tim Bresnan reduced India to just 338 runs in 49.5 overs. Much like the Indian batting, the English batting was more like a one-man show, with Andrew Strauss scoring a career-best 158 before getting dismissed at 281 in the 43rd over.

Even though England kept losing wickets, the English lower order made essential contributions as England ended up having the same score on the board as India, ending the match in a tie. Even though the match ended without a winner, it was one of the most thrilling matches from the 2011 World Cup.

Final, 2013 Champions Trophy (Edgbaston, Birmingham)

India won the title for the 2nd Time
India won the title for the 2nd Time

Defeating a team in their own background is always considered a big achievement for any team, no matter how mighty or phenomenal the performance of the visiting team is. Doing so in the finals of a tournament as big as a Champions Trophy automatically raises the aura and charm of the win to a completely new level.

Even before the start of the 2013 Edition of the so-called Mini World Cup, England were considered the de-facto favourites to win the cup. Despite India entering the finals undefeated, England had the advantage and upper edge of playing in their own background.

Persistent rains in Birmingham reduced the Final to a 20-over contest even before the start. Even though they played sensationally throughout the tournament, the Indian batting order floundered in the finals, with important knocks by Kohli, Dhawan, and Jadeja taking them to 129/7 in 20 overs.

A target of 130 was never a tough task and despite losing a few early wickets, England were slowly crawling towards the target with Bopara and Morgan keeping the scoreboard ticking. A magical over by Ishant Sharma saw Bopara and Morgan dismissed on successive deliveries, derailing England's momentum. 15 overs in the final over turned out to be too much for the host as they fell short by 6 runs, giving India their 2nd Champions Trophy win.

Final, 2002 Natwest Series (Lords, London)

NatWest Series ODI Final  England v India
The most memorable win over England in ODI

Like you were expecting any other match on the top of this list? This match was not just an ordinary match, it was an era-defining match. This match ushered a new era of young Indian cricketers that formed the core of the Indian team for the better part of the next decade.

This series win ranks as among the most memorable tri-series win for the Indian cricket teams along with the Coca-Cola Cup in 1998 and The CB series in 2002. What made this final so special and memorable was the fact that India, the underdogs in this series, had two young cricketers lead them to this victory from a near-impossible situation.

Batting first at home of cricket at Lords in London, the dominant English team posted a mammoth total of 325/5 on the scoreboard, thanks to the twins centuries by Marcus Trescothick and Skipper Nasser Hussain, who played knocks of 109 and 115 respectively.

While the target was considered a tough one at that time, Indian openers gave a splendid start to the team as they scored 100 runs in just 14 overs. However, a major collapse in the middle overs reduced India to 146/5 with only their only two proper batsmen at the crease.

What followed was a period of sensational cricket by one Yuvraj Singh and one Mohammad Kaif, who put together 121 runs in the next 17 overs. Even after Yuvraj got out on 69, Kaif carried on the charge and took India across the line with 2 wickets and 4 balls still to spare. This knock of 87 by Kaif is still regarded as one of the best ODI innings by an Indian.

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Edited by Rajdeep Puri