3 Times when India won a Test series in England

Winning a Test series in England can be a daunting task. Not many teams have been able to get the better of England in their native conditions. Swinging conditions can be very difficult to negotiate, even for a top class batsman. Overseas bowlers also find it difficult to control the movement in the air and end up spraying the ball all around.

Historically, India team doesn't travel well. They have never won a Test series in Australia and South Africa is enough of a proof. But, India has achieved intermittent success in England. Though the last decade has not been very fruitful for them, they have been able to win 3 times in England.

Let us take a look at those three occasions:

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#1. The 1971-72 tour

Ajit Wadekar

India's first Test series win in England was in the summer of 1971-72. The team won the 3 matchTest series 1-0. While the first two Tests ended in a draw, India won the third and the final Test.

Ajit Wadekar, the then Indian captain, was the highest run-getter for India during the series with an aggregate of 204 runs at an average of 34.00. S Venkataraghavan and BS Chandrasekhar were the highest wicket-takers with 13 wickets apiece.

Two spinners being the highest wicket-takers in the series tells you a lot about the conditions prevailing that summer. The Indian spinners took the full advantage of the dry wickets during the series.

Ajit Wadekar led the Indian team very well and inspired the team to their first success in England.

#2. The 1986 tour

Dilip Vengsarkar

India tasted a series victory for the second time in England in 1986. The visitors won the 3 Test series 2-0 under the leadership of charismatic Kapil Dev. India won the first two Tests with the third Test ending in a draw.

Dilip Vengsarkar was the highest run-getter for India during the series with an aggregate of 360 runs at an average of 90.00 with two centuries. Chetan Sharma was the highest wicket-taker in the series with 16 wickets to his name.

India won this series as they were the better batting side. Chetan Sharma was the surprise package during the series. He posed all sorts of problem to the English batting lineup during the series.

The series has been India's most emphatic series win in England till date.

#3. The 2007 tour

India won a Test series for the third time in England in 2007. It was a 3 Test series, Rahul Dravid led India to a 1-0 victory. The visitors won the second Test while the first and third Tests were nail-biting draws.

Dinesh Karthik was the highest run-getter for India during the series with an aggregate of 263 runs at an average of 43.83 with 3 fifties. Kevin Pietersen was the highest run-getter of the series with an aggregate of 345 runs with 2 centuries. Zaheer Khan was the highest wicket taker of the series with 18 wickets followed by Anil Kumble's 14 wickets.

It was one of best Indian teams to tour England. While they had the likes of Sachin, Dravid, Ganguly, and Laxman in the batting department, the bowling department had Zaheer, RP Singh and Kumble to shoulder the responsibilities.

This was the last time when India won a test series in England. Post-2007, India toured England on two occasions, in 2011 and 2014, both the times India ended up on the losing side.