10 Indian Batsmen on the Lord's Honor Board

Lord's, also known as The Mecca of Cricket, holds a special place in every cricketer's heart. Lord's has a tradition of honouring players with distinctive performances in matches by inscribing their names on the Honors boards. Every player dreams of playing at Lord's and getting his name on the Honors Board. The batsman who scores a hundred finds a place on the Honors Board. Indian batters may have slumped this year at Lord's, but in the past, there have been some notable performances that have found their places on the board.

In this article, we will take a look at who they are!

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#1 Mulvantrai Himmatlal Mankad:

Mankad Bowled

M. H. Mankad, also known as Vinoo Mankad, was a prolific all-rounder in the early years of Indian Test cricket. He was an opening batsman and a slow left-arm orthodox bowler and played 44 test for India.

His best performance came in the time of crisis at Lord's against England in 1952. After having scored 72 in the first innings, he took 5 wickets in England's first innings. Later in the second innings, he scored 184 out of the team's total of 378 to find the place at the Lord's Honor board. His heroics couldn't save the game for India, but he was able to salvage the pride.

He was the first Indian batsman to be inscribed on the Lord's Batting Honor board. Moreover, he is the only Indian to feature on both the Honors boards, batting, and bowling.

#2 Dilip Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar

Dilip Vengsarkar holds a unique feat of 'Most centuries by a visiting player' at Lord's. He has scored three centuries at this venue between 1979 and 1986, most by a visiting cricketer. He is the only Indian to appear thrice on the Honors Board.

In 1979, in his first appearance at Lord's, he scored a duck in the first innings but bounced back firmly to score a brilliant century (103) in the second innings to save the game for his team. His partnership of 210 runs with Gundappa Vishwanath (113) helped India to draw the Test match.

In his second outing in 1982 at Lord's, England amassed a huge score of 433 and bundled out India at 128 runs. Just like others, Vengsarkar got out at a low score but batted brilliantly in the follow-on innings. His century (157) helped India avoid an innings defeat but couldn't evade the loss in the Lord's test match.

In 1986, it was another summer in England for the Indian team and they were playing the first test of the series at Lord's. After brilliant bowling performances by Chetan Sharma and Roger Binny in the first innings, Vengsarkar batted well to score a century (126*) and put India at the driver's seat. India eventually won the test, thus winning its first test at Lord's.

#3 G R Vishwanath

Gundappa Viswanath

The wristy and elegant Gundappa Vishwanath had scored a hundred alongside Vengsarkar's first century at Lord's in 1979. The team was reeling under the pressure of follow-on and the score was 99 for 2 with Vengsarkar batting at the crease. At that time, G. R. Vishwanath walked in the crease. Both weaved in a much-needed partnership of 210 runs and helped India to draw the Test match. Both the players got their names featured on the Lord's Honors Board in the same Test match.

#4 Sunil Gavaskar

SUNIL GAVASKAR AGAINST ENGLAND

Sunil Gavaskar could be placed in the list of unfortunate players like Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Ricky Ponting etc. who have scored centuries across the world but have failed to score a Test match hundred at Lord's.

But Gavaskar managed to get his name on the Lord's honors board by scoring a century (188) for Rest of World (ROW) against Marylebourne Cricket Club (MCC) in a bicentennial Game in 1987. It was his last first-class match.

The contest between ROW and MCC and the atmosphere in Lord's were no less than a Test match. ROW, led by Allan Border, had the likes of Imran Khan, Kapil Dev, Vengsarkar. Sunil Gavaskar displayed immense concentration and batted with resolve. Having announced his retirement from the first-class cricket an evening before, he looked determined to make his last outing count and to score a double hundred at Lord's. But he failed to score it and got out at 188. He ultimately managed to get his name listed on the Honors Board in his final outing at Lord's. The match between ROW and MCC ended in a draw.

#5 Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri of India

The first Test of the series in 1990 at Lord's witnessed the bulk scoring with 6 centuries being scored in the game. England with the help of Graham Gooch's triple hundred(333) and the hundreds of Alan Lamb(139) and R Smith(100) amassed 653 in the first innings. In reply, Ravi Shastri gave a steady start and scored 100 off 184 balls. He got his name etched on the Honors Board but his wicket fell immediately after scoring the century.

#6 Mohammed Azharuddin

Mohammed Azharuddin

It was in the same game, after Ravi Shastri's departure, that India was at the score of 191 and still had a long way to go. Then walked in the Indian captain, Mohammed Azharuddin and his bat blazed from the first strike. He dexterously started finding gaps and scored fluently to counter-attack the English bowling. His innings was a mix of dazzle, elegance, and audacity. He scored a brisk 121 off 111 balls with 22 boundaries at a strike rate of 109. India scored 454 runs in the first innings but failed to save the match. The flair of Azhar is still remembered as one of the finest knocks at Lord's.

#7 Sourav Ganguly

Saurav Ganguly of India

Lord's test in 1996 was the turning point in Sourav Ganguly's career. He had made his ODI debut in 1992 and then faded away. His return at the international seemed distant. But India's defeat in the first test at Birmingham and the sudden withdrawal of Navjot Singh Sidhu from the tour gave Ganguly's career another chance. He didn't let the chance slip out of his hands and scored a brilliant century (131) on his Test debut at Lord's to get his name on the Honors Board. He displayed unwavering control throughout the course of his innings. His strokeplay delivered a statement that he was there to stay. He constructed a valuable partnership with another debutant Rahul Dravid (95) and helped India put up 429 runs on the board. The Test match ended in a draw.

#8 Ajit Agarkar

India's Ajit Agarkar

It is perhaps the most unexpected name on the list. Ajit Agarkar was in the squad on India's tour to England in 2002 as a specialist bowler but he failed to leave any impact with the ball in both the innings. Three English batsmen scored centuries and with the early debacle, India was soon reeling under pressure. While chasing the target of 568, India was 170 for 6 and looked to suffer an excruciating defeat. Ajit Agarkar came in to bat and constructed a crucial partnership of 126 runs with VVS Laxman and later went on to score the century. He scored 109 off 190 balls but couldn't save India from the defeat at Lord's.

#9 Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

India was in severe crisis on tour to England in 2011. After having won the world cup the same year, India was facing severe criticism for its debacle in the test series. Amidst this India's 'Wall' came the rescue. Probably on his last tour to England, Rahul Dravid scored 3 centuries on the tour. One of them came at Lord's.

He had made his Test debut at Lord's in 1996 and had missed by 5 runs to score a century in that game. He waited 15 years to finally score a hundred at Lord's in 2011 and get a well-deserved mention on Lord's Honor Board. He scored an unbeaten 103 runs off 220 balls. India eventually lost the test match.

#10 Ajinkya Rahane

Ajinkya Rahane

On the following tour to England in the year 2014, Ajinkya Rahane played a centurion knock at Lord's and helped India to register its second win at Lord's. In extremely challenging conditions, Ajinkya Rahane displayed grit and temperament and batted with tail-enders to complete his century (103).

He helped India to a competitive total of 295 runs in first innings and got his name on the Honors Board. Later, with the heroics of Ishant Sharma, India went on to win the Test at Lord's after 28 years.