21st century, Indian cricket, Lord's Honours Board

Popularly known as the "Mecca of Cricket", this ground holds a special significance in the world of cricket, in the lives of cricketers who made it to the Lord's and in the hearts of budding cricketers who want to make it big in the Gentleman's game.

The Lord's Cricket Ground has its own set of traditions which hold immense value in a Test match that is played at this ground like ringing the bell before the start of play on each day of the match. One such crucial tradition is itching the names of those cricketers on the Lord's Honours board who perform splendidly.

This tradition began with the first match at the venue itself which was played between Australia and England in 1884. By scoring a century, by taking a 5-wicket haul in an innings or by scalping 10 wickets in a match, a cricketer can earn an ever-lasting legacy in the history of the "Cricket Headquarters".

Indians and the Lord's Honours Board

Indian cricket shares a rich history with the Lord’s Cricket Ground. It was at this very ground that India played their first Test match back in 1932 against England. Some other vital moments in the Indian cricket like the 1983 World Cup win and Sourav Ganguly’s t-shirt celebration after winning the 2002 Natwest Final Trophy were witnessed on this historic venue.

Let's talk Indians on the Honours board. So far, 22 Indian players have their names registered on the prestigious board. Mohammad Nissar was the first Indian player to have his name enlisted on the board.

In this little piece, we will have a look at the 7 Indian cricketers who made it to the board in the 21st century owing to their terrific showings with the bat and the ball.

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#1 Ajit Agarkar (109*, Date- 25/07/'02)

The man who fought till the end

Ajit Agarkar is one of the most underrated cricketers in the nation. A reliable Indian bowler, especially in overseas conditions, was also a good handler of the blade. He shined with the bat on numerous occasions for India and this performance at Lord's reflects his contribution towards the blooming of Indian cricket.

In the 1st Test match of the tour, Ajit was included in the team as a specialist bowler but he managed to scalp only 3 wickets in 2 innings. Chasing a huge target of 568 runs, Indian batting line-up was struggling in the final innings of the match against England's bowling attack, especially against the pacer Matthew Hoggard.

India were 170/6 and headed towards a heavy defeat when Ajit Agarkar, the no. 8 batsman, stitched a fabulous partnership of 126 runs with VVS Laxman. Agarkar scored a terrific century and was unbeaten in the 4th innings. Though India lost the match by 170 runs, Agarkar’s innings turned out to be the reason that the Indian team managed to give a tough fight till the end.

#2 RP Singh (59/5, Date- 19/07/'07)

One of the best performances of Singh's career came at the Lord's

The southpaw has delivered some tremendous spells for India in his international career. The 1st Test match at Lord's during India's tour of England in 2007 witnessed one such fine display of reverse swing bowling by RP Singh.

Singh single-handedly decimated England's dangerous middle-order in their 2nd innings. Singh made the best use of the overcast conditions and managed to move the ball quite well.

The way he bowled out Michael Vaughan, Kevin Pietersen, and Ian Bell by moving the ball late was quite fantastic to watch. His bowling figures were 16.3-5-59-5. The match ended in a draw.

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#3 Praveen Kumar (106/5, Date- 21/07/'11)

When Praveen Kumar swung England's batting department out

The seasoned bowler has produced some amazing performances for India in his career. His ability to swing the ball both ways and capabilities to utilize overseas conditions made him a strike bowler for India throughout his international career. This spell reflects his abilities to all intents and purpose.

Batting first in the first Test match of India's tour of England in 2007, England put on the scoreboard a huge total of 478, thanks to the magnificent double-century by Kevin Pietersen. Praveen Kumar understood the nature of the wicket better than other Indian bowlers and troubled English batsmen by swinging the ball both ways.

His bowling figures were 40.3-4-106-5. To get an idea of his incredible display of swing bowling at Lord's, one must note that out of his 5 victims, 3 were caught behind the stumps and 2 were LBWs.

#4 Rahul Dravid (103*, Date- 21/07/'11)

The picture says it all

The ICC Hall of Famer 2018 is one of the most respected cricketers in the history of the game. Well-regarded for his outstanding batting technique, cricketing IQ, and sportsmanship, Rahul Dravid is one of the finest batsmen ever to grace the game.

Dravid made his Test debut at Lord's in 1996 and scored 95 runs. Over the years, he played some great knocks in England which include centuries at Trent Bridge, Headingley, double ton at the Oval and so on but his Lord's century drought ended in 2011 when the fine crowd at the Lord's witnessed one of the finest batting performances by the cricket legend.

On a difficult pitch in the 1st Test match of India's 2011 tour, "The Wall" read the game exceptionally well and showed the world how to tackle seaming pitches with finesse. Where his fellow batsmen failed to deliver, he scored a splendid century in India's 1st innings, much to the delight of the Indian fans and cricket lovers at the Lord's who gave him a standing ovation for his excellent performance. It was Rahul's final Test appearance at the Lord's.

Before moving forward, I must tell you that the last 3 players in this list marked their presence on the Lord's Honours board in one single match. The 2nd Test match during India's tour of England in 2014 saw this unique record to set its value in the Indian cricket.

India's tour of England in 2014 was a major failure for the Indian team as they lost the Test series 3-1 despite the first match being drawn and second match being won by India. The last three entries on the list came from the 2nd Test itself which India won by 95 runs.

In this and the following slide, we'll unfold this tale as the match itself did- in sequence and in progression as we are about to learn about the last entries. Let's have a look.

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#5 Ajinkya Rahane (103*, Date- 17/07/'14)

When Rahane walked a mile in Dravid's shoes

Rahane is the last Indian batsman to feature on the Lord's honours board. This feat was achieved by Rahane after his phenomenal knock of 103 unbeaten in India's 1st innings of the match. After a miserable start of the innings when India were 86/3, Rahane walked out to the center with a bat in hand and determination in mind.

Rahane continued to hold the fort from one end but lacked the support from the other end. Soon enough, India were struggling at 145/7 after the departure of Stuart Binny. He stitched short but vital partnerships with tailenders Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and Ishant Sharma who contributed 36,19 and 12 runs respectively to help Rahane guide India to register a respectable total of 295 runs.

This way, Rahane placed the foundation brick of India’s victory with a century in the first innings.

#6 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (82/6, Date- 19/07/'14)

When Bhuvi came out all guns blazing

After a gutsy and much-needed knock of 36 (2nd highest score after Rahane's 103*) in the 1st innings, the young pacer took the charge to restrict England from setting a big target. Bhuvneshwar is well-regarded for his ability to utilize the conditions and to swing the ball well with great balance and precision. This is exactly what he did when the then-skipper MS Dhoni handed him the responsibility to pick up wickets.

He cleaned up England's batting line-up by sending the top 4 batsmen and 2 tailenders back to the pavilion. His swinging abilities can be inferred from the fact that out of his 6 victims, 3 were caught behind the stumps. England did finish ahead of India in the 1st innings by scoring 319 runs but his incredible performance of 31-0-82-6 ensured India's chances of staying well-put in the game.

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#7 Ishant Sharma (74/7, Date- 21/07/'14)

When Ishant's fiery deliveries broke England's batting attack

Post England's 1st innings of 319 runs, India managed to put a good score of 342 runs in their 2nd innings, courtesy of Murali Vijay's 95, Ravindra Jadeja's 68 and Bhuvneshwar's 52 at the tail. This way, India set up a target of 319 for England to win the Lord's Test. The last innings of the match was a treat to watch for the Indian supporters as this innings was later described as "The Ishant Sharma Show" by the Indian fans.

The experienced Ishant Sharma came to the aid of India and anchored India to victory by delivering his career-best performance of 74/7. Ishant single-handedly destroyed England's hopes of winning the match. With his lethal display of swing bowling combined with respectable pace and precision, Ishant victimised England's batsmen from no. 2 to no. 9 i.e. from Alastair Cook to Stuart Broad, all by himself, thus writing an epic victory for India by 95 runs at the Lord's.