5 outstanding Indian openers who failed in England

England is one of the toughest places to bat as an opener. The conditions favor lateral deviation of the Dukes ball, and fresh bowlers steaming in with all their skill and might makes it a nightmare for the opening pair.

It is no wonder that most successful Indian batsmen in England have been those who possessed technical solidity and incredible temperament. Sunil Gavaskar, Vijay Merchant, Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar lead the tally of India’s runs in England.

While these greats accumulated runs, a few others struggled to put together their innings. Here are five famous Indian opening batsmen who could not taste success against English bowlers.

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1. Virender Sehwag ( 278 runs in 10 innings)

The maverick big-hitter is undoubtedly one of the finest Test openers. Sehwag has scored two Test triple centuries for India, one of which is the fastest triple century in the history of Test cricket.

Sehwag, whose batting technique depended more on hand-eye coordination than the textbook defense, was expected to have a tough time in the English conditions, where the ball swings a lot more than any other location.

After beginning excellently in the 2002 tour, where Sehwag scored 84 (Lord’s) and 106 (Nottingham) in his first two Tests, the opener started fading away as the English bowlers found a chink or two in his armor.

The Delhi batsman managed to score only 61 runs in his next seven innings, five of which were single figure scores. These include the infamous king pair at Birmingham in 2011, where Sehwag was out on the first ball in both the innings of the Test.

Batting record in England:

6 Tests, 10 innings, 278 runs, Batting average 27.8, 100’s - 1, 50’s - 1, 0’s - 3

2. Wasim Jaffer (244 runs in 10 innings)

Wasim Jaffer did well in patches but averages only 24.4 in England

The colossus of Indian domestic cricket, Wasim Jaffer is renowned for his technique, class, and temperament. The Mumbai legend scored Test centuries on the difficult tracks of South Africa and West Indies, but he failed to make his mark against England in England.

Wasim Jaffer received his first opportunity to open the batting in England in 2002. He scored 1 and 53 at Lord’s to keep his spot in the team, but failed in the next Test at Nottingham, where he was dismissed for only 0 and 5.

On the back of Jaffer’s good outing in the Caribbean in 2006, he was once again selected as an opener, this time alongside Dinesh Karthik, in the 2007 tour of England. The opener did well in the winning trip with 183 runs in the next five innings, which included two half-centuries. However, his last knock in England was a 10-ball duck at the Oval.

Batting record in England:

5 Tests, 10 innings, 244 runs, Batting average 24.4, 100’s - 0, 50’s - 3, 0’s - 2

3. Pankaj Roy (223 runs in 17 innings)

Fred Trueman was Pankaj Roy's nemesis in the 1952 tour

Pankaj Roy, the Bengal opener, famously remembered for his world-record 413 runs opening partnership with Vinoo Mankad against New Zealand at Chennai in 1956, did well in the away series against West Indies and Pakistan, but had a torrid time in England.

In his first tour to England in 1952, Pankaj Roy struggled against the legendary debutant fast bowler Fred Trueman. In the second innings of the first Test at Leeds, Roy was the first to fall against Trueman on 0 as India soon tottered to 0/4.

In the next three Test matches, Roy registered four consecutive ducks, out which the last three were the courtesy of Fred Trueman. In the horrific trip of 1952, the opener scored 54 runs in seven innings with five ducks.

Roy improved the numbers on his following tour in 1959, where he scored 54 and 49 in the first Test at Nottingham, where India lost by an innings and 59 runs. His form dipped once again, as he could muster only 76 runs in his next 8 knocks.

Batting record in England:

9 Tests, 17 innings, 233 runs, Batting average 13.7 , 100’s - 0, 50’s - 1, 0’s - 7

4. Gautam Gambhir (92 runs in 7 innings)

Gautam Gambhir had a torrid time in England with multiple injuries

One half of one of the most successful opening pairs ever in world cricket, Gautam Gambhir surprisingly played only five Tests in England. He opened in four of those, out of which only one outing was with his Delhi partner Virender Sehwag.

The start in England was wretched for the left-handed opener. Gambhir was castled by Broad for 15 in his first innings on English soil at Lord’s in 2011. He was then struck on his elbow while fielding, thus forcing him to bat at number four in the second innings.

Gambhir, back at his opening slot in the next Test at Birmingham, added 52 runs in his two outings. He got injured again and batted at the 9th and 8th spot in the next Test before returning to India for treatment.

The Delhi opener was recalled to England in 2014 in a bid to revive his Test career, but Gambhir could score only 25 runs in his four innings, and was discarded soon.

Batting record in England:

4 Tests, 7 innings, 92 runs, Batting average 13.14 , 100’s - 0, 50’s - 0, 0’s - 1

5. Murali Vijay (428 runs in 14 innings)

Murali Vijay was dismissed for 0 and 0 in the second Test against England

The latest entrant in the Indian openers who have struggled in England is Tamil Nadu's right-handed opener Murali Vijay. After enjoying a successful outing in the tour of 2014, the 34-year old failed spectacularly in the ongoing 2018 tour, and got dropped after a dismal showing in the first two Tests.

Vijay’s first Test knock on English soil was a splendid 146, which he scored in the drawn Test at Nottingham in 2014. The opener followed it up with a 52 in the next innings and narrowly missed out on a century at Lord’s, where he was dismissed for 95.

However, those were the best of the times in England for Murali Vijay. He added 85 more runs in the next five knocks. His return in 2018 proved disastrous, as the swing magician James Anderson dismissed him for a pair in the second Test at Lord’s. Vijay totaled 26 runs in his four innings on the 2018 tour, and was dropped from the team henceforth.

Batting record in England

7 Tests, 14 innings, 428 runs, Batting average 30.57 , 100’s - 1, 50’s - 2, 0’s - 3