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Team India are currently in England for a five-match Test series, which gets underway with the first Test in Nottingham on August 4.
India’s tour of England began with the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand in Southampton, which Team India lost despite two full days of the match being abandoned due to rain.
Following the conclusion of the WTC final, Team India members have been given a break from the bio-bubble to spend some quality time with their families. The Indian team will reassemble in Durham on July 15 for a pre-Test camp.
Team India are likely to get some much-needed practise ahead of the Test series, as the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has agreed to the BCCI’s request for scheduling a few tour matches against county teams.
Team India and England have played each other in 126 Tests, with India winning 29 and losing 48. In England, India have won only seven and lost 34 Tests.
Memorable partnerships by Team India batsmen against England
Despite their unimpressive record against England, especially away from home, Team India batsmen have featured in some memorable stands against the Englishmen in Tests over the years. Here's a look at five of the best such stands.
#5 314 by Rahul Dravid and Gautam Gambhir - Mohali, 2008
Team India opener Gautam Gambhir and No. 3 batsman Rahul Dravid added 314 runs for the second wicket in the Mohali Test in 2008, the second match of a two-Test series. The hosts decided to bat first after winning the toss. After Virender Sehwag was dismissed without scoring, Dravid and Gambhir took the England bowlers to task.
Gambhir scored an impressive 179 off 348 balls, staying put at the crease for over 450 minutes. The left-hander struck 25 fours and a six during his knock. Dravid played a typically defiant innings, scoring 136 off 328 balls and hitting 19 fours. The partnership kept the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Andrew Flintoff at bay.
It needed the guile of Graeme Swann to see the back of both Team India centurions. The hosts collapsed after the partnership was broken, going from 320 for 1 to 453 all out. England responded with 302, with captain Kevin Pietersen leading from the front with 144. Gambhir missed out on a hundred in the second innings, getting dismissed for 97, as the match ended in a draw.
#4 316 by Gundappa Viswanath and Yashpal Sharma - Chennai, 1982
Team India batsmen Gundappa Viswanath and Yashpal Sharma added a mammoth 316 runs for the third wicket in the Chennai Test, the fifth game of a six-match series in 1982. England sent Team India into bat first after winning the toss, after which the duo of Viswanath and Sharma punished the English bowlers.
India lost captain Sunil Gavaskar (25) and Pranab Roy (6) early while Dilip Vengsarkar retired hurt for 71. Joining forces in the middle at 150 for 2, Viswanath and Sharma took Team India past the 400-run mark. The legendary Viswanath occupied the crease for 643 minutes, during which he faced 374 balls and hit 31 fours. Sharma contributed 140 off 298 balls, smashing 18 fours and two sixes.
The wonderful partnership came against a top-notch England bowling attack featuring Bob Willis, Ian Botham and Derek Underwood. Viswanath was eventually bowled by Willis, while Sharma was caught off Botham. Team India declared their innings on 481 for 4. Graham Gooch led England’s response with 127 as the Test ended in a draw.
#3 241 by Virat Kohli and Jayant Yadav - Mumbai, 2016
Virat Kohli and a relatively unknown Jayant Yadav featured in a 241-run stand for the eighth wicket in the Mumbai Test in 2016, the fourth match of a five-match series. England had posted an impressive total of 400 batting first, thanks to a debut hundred from Keaton Jennings.
Despite Murali Vijay’s 136, the match was in the balance, as Team India found themselves at 364 for 7 in response. Captain Kohli, though, found an unexpected ally in Yadav as the duo frustrated the England bowling.
Kohli led from the front, playing a fantastic knock of 235 off 340 balls. He smashed 25 fours and a six during his 515-minute stay at the crease. Yadav went on to score a fluent 104 off 204 balls, a knock that featured 15 hits to the fence. By the time Yadav was stumped off Adil Rashid’s bowling, Team India had crossed 600.
The hosts were eventually all out for 631. Ravichandran Ashwin’s six-for then helped India roll over England for 195 in the second innings as Team India won the match by an innings and 36 runs.
#2 213 by Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan - The Oval, 1979
Team India openers Sunil Gavaskar and the late Chetan Chauhan featured in a famous 213-run stand in the fourth innings of the 1979 Oval Test as the visitors almost pulled off a miraculous chase. England had set Team India 438 to win the Test, and the visitors finished on 429/8.
Gavaskar and Chauhan battled it out against Willis and Botham, and as the partnership grew, so did Team India’s hopes of a famous win. Chauhan faced 263 balls for his 80, batting for 314 minutes during which he hit seven fours.
Following Chauhan’s dismissal, Gavaskar battled on. His marvellous innings eventually ended on 221 off 443 balls. Gavaskar’s 490-minute knock included 21 fours. Gavaskar was the fourth man out, with the score at 389. Team India eventually settled for a draw.
Earlier, England made 305 in their first innings, to which India responded with 202. Geoff Boycott’s second-innings 125 set Team India a mammoth target, which the visitors could have achieved if they had not performed harakiri.
#1 249 by Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar - Leeds, 2002
Team India legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly featured in one of the most famous partnerships in the history of Indian cricket. The duo added 249 runs for the fourth wicket in the 2002 Leeds Test, the third match of a four-Test series.
After winning the toss, Team India decided to bat first. They lost Sehwag for eight, though. However, makeshift opener Sanjay Bangar (68) and Dravid (148) steadied the visitors; innings, adding an invaluable 170 runs for the second wicket under tough batting circumstances.
After Dravid and Tendulkar added 150 runs for the third wicket, Team India batted England out of the match, thanks to a sizzling fourth-wicket stand between Tendulkar and Ganguly.
India reached 335 by the time Ganguly came out to the middle. However, the Team India captain and Tendulkar killed all hopes England had of making a comeback.
Tendulkar batted for 330 balls and hit 19 fours and three sixes, falling seven short of a double hundred, trapped lbw by Andy Caddick. Ganguly, meanwhile, was in sublime form, scoring 128 off 167, hitting 14 fours and three sixes. He was eventually bowled by Alex Tudor.
Team India declared their first innings on 628 for 8. The bowlers then took over to inflict defeat on England by an innings and 46 runs.
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