7 of the most remarkable quotes from the India-England encounters

The Indian Cricket team and the English team have played several memorable matches over the years. The entertainment and drama have never been less when these two powerhouses of the game confronted each other. Many legendary players have made a mark in the encounters involving these two teams over the years.

Be it the World Cups or Test matches, it has always been a contest to watch out for on and off the field when England and India go head to head. Let us now look at five of the most memorable quotes from the India- England encounters.

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#1 Andrew Strauss on communicating with his teammates amidst the vociferous Bengaluru crowd

Andrew Strauss

"There's going to be a lot of sign language involved"

Co-hosts India encountered Andrew Strauss' strong English side in their second group B fixture during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup campaign at the Chinnaswamy stadium, Bengaluru. It was MS Dhoni men's first game in India as they encountered their neighbours, Bangladesh in the tournament opener at Dhaka. After a resounding win at the Bangladeshi capital, much was expected from them against England at Bengaluru. Thanks to a brilliant century from 'Master Blaster' Sachin Tendulkar, half-centuries from Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh, India posted 338 runs.

England, who almost chased the target of 339 managed to score the same number of runs as India (338-8 in 50 overs) as the nail-biting game ended in a tie. After knowing that communicating with his team-mates is not going to easy in front of a boisterous 40,000 Chinnaswamy fans, Andrew Strauss conveyed that a lot of sign languages will be involved during the game.

#2 Yuvraj Singh's reply to the Lord's gatekeeper

Yuvraj Singh with Ganguly and Kaif

"Catch me if you can"

We all know what an epic match that was- the 2002 Natwest Series final between England and India at Lord's. The Men in Blue successfully chased down the target of 326 in a dramatic fashion (won by two wickets), thanks to the half-centuries from skipper Sourav Ganguly, Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif. All-rounder Yuvraj Singh's 121 run partnership with Kaif turned the game in India's favour, prior to which the team was reeling at 146-5 on Sachin's dismissal.

Yuvraj, who got out to Paul Collingwood when India needed 59 more runs (off 50 balls) came down running on to the ground with pads on once Zaheer Khan hit the winning runs for Ganguly's men. He came running so fast that the Lord's gatekeeper asked him, "Son, where are you going?". Replying to this, a joyous Yuvraj Singh said: "Catch me if you can". Indeed, a remarkable game and an even more astonishing reply from Yuvi!

#3 Ben Stokes when asked about the major takeaways from the third day's play of the Chennai Test

Ben Stokes

"A bit of Sunburn, probably, to be honest"

England toured India in late 2016 (November and December) for an intriguing five-match Test series. Matches were played across Rajkot, Visakhapatnam, Mohali, Mumbai and Chennai. After the first Test match at Rajkot ended in a draw, India continued their excellent run at home by winning the next three Test matches. Both the teams entered the fifth Test match at Chennai with the hopes of ending the series on a high. On winning the toss, Captain Cook opted to bat, as his team managed 477 runs in their first innings.

In reply, India posted a massive 759-7 (dec) thanks largely to an astonishing triple-century from Karun Nair (303*) and KL Rahul's 199. India batted 190.4 overs in their first innings, much to the frustration of the hapless English bowlers who were unable to find any breakthroughs. When asked about the major takeaways from the third day's play (India batted the whole day), all-rounder Ben Stokes explained the condition of the hapless English bowlers under the scorching sun in Chennai in a witty manner. India won the Chennai Test by an innings and 75 runs to seal the series 4-0.

#4 MS Dhoni about the weather during the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy final

MS Dhoni, after winning the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy

"God is not coming to save us. If you want to win this trophy we will have to fight it out"

Team India met hosts England in the final of the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The rain-curtailed match had to be reduced to 20 overs (from 50 overs) due to incessant shower prior to the start of the play. On winning the toss, skipper Alastair Cook put opted to bowl first keeping in mind the conditions.

When asked about the possibility of an Indian win, the then skipper MS Dhoni said that his team did not look at the weather being their saviour in the crunch fixture and were instead ready to fight it out to win the crown. As 'Captain Cool' said, India successfully defended 129 (20 overs) by putting up a strong bowling performance. As India won the game by 5 runs, Dhoni became the first ever skipper to win all the major ICC tournaments (T20 World Cup, ICC Cricket World Cup and Champions Trophy).

#5 Sunil Gavaskar on India's sloppy fielding at Rajkot

Sunil Gavaskar

"They are still in a Diwali mood. They keep giving gifts"

The first of the five-match Test series (2016) between MS Dhoni's Indian team and Alastair Cook's England took place at Rajkot in Gujarat. England amassed 537 runs after opting to bat- thanks largely to centuries from Joe Root, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes. Normally, a wonderful fielding side, the Indian Team were not at their best in the fielding during England's batting.

They dropped several catches during the English first innings that enabled the English to post that massive 500-plus total. Legendary batsman and famous commentator, Sunil Gavaskar was shocked about the performance of the Indians on the field and commented that they were still in the Diwali mood (which was celebrated ten days ahead of the first test) giving away gifts to the English (dropping of catches that proved costly).

#6 Keaton Jennings about what happened on the morning of his Test debut

Keaton Jennings

"There was a bit of panic at five when I woke up and thought I'd missed the bus"

It was the fourth match of the 2016 Test series at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. India were already 2-0 up in the five-match series and were confident heading into the Mumbai test. English opening batsman, Keaton Jennings made his Test debut in that game. The southpaw batted brilliant and registered a century in his very first innings in the ultimate format of the game (112 off 219).

But, on the morning of the most memorable day of his life, he encountered a bizarre situation. Jennings, who woke up at five on that morning was panicked that he'd missed the team bus for the stadium. Luckily, he did not and instead travelled in the team bus to reach the stadium, before making it a memorable day by scoring a brilliant century.

#7 Michael Holding on the England pacer James Anderson's skills with the ball

Michael Holding

"Jimmy Anderson, you give him a coconut, he'll swing it"

Team India are currently playing the five-match Test series against England. The first match of this series took place at Edgbaston, Birmingham which the hosts won by 31 runs. With the conditions aiding swing, the English pacers were top notch with the ball. Especially, veteran James Anderson was excellent under the circumstances with his ability to drift the ball away from the Indian batsmen and deceiving them.

Anderson tormented the Indian batsmen at Edgbaston and was impressive at Lord's, finishing the game with 9 wickets. Holding was very much impressed with Anderson's ability to swing the ball that he heaped praise on the Burnley born player, that even if Anderson is given a coconut he could swing it.