Revisiting England’s famous Test series win in India in 2012

The England men’s cricket team will take on Team India in a five-match Test series, starting January 25. The opening Test of the series will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad. The remaining four matches will be held in Visakhapatnam (February 2-6), Rajkot (February 15-19), Ranchi (February 23-27), and Dharamsala (March 7 to 11).

There is plenty of excitement over the series since England will be keen to prove that they can pull off ‘Bazball’ in Indian conditions as well. The pitches are expected to offer plenty of turn as they have done in most Test series’ over the years. The battle of Ben Stokes and Joe Root against the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja promises to be a fascinating affair.

If we look at the head-to-head record of India vs England Tests played in India, the hosts have won 22 out of 64 matches, while the Englishmen have won 14; 28 matches have produced no result. Significantly, England were the last team to beat India in India in a Test series.

As the teams prepare for their latest red-ball tussle, we revisit England’s memorable Test series triumph in India during their 2012 tour.

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Business as usual for Team India in first Test

India continued their domination in home Test matches by hammering England by nine wickets in the first match in Ahmedabad. Batting first after winning the toss, the hosts posted an imposing 521/8 declared on the board. Cheteshwar Pujara compiled an unbeaten 206, while Virender Sehwag smashed a run-a-ball 117.

Left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha’s five-fer then saw England behind bowled out for 191. Asked to follow on, the visitors responded with a defiant 405 as skipper Alastair Cook led the way with a marathon 176 off 374 balls, an innings which lasted 556 minutes.

Set a target of 77, India cruised home in 15.3 overs. However, England’s second-innings fight laid the foundation for something special to follow.

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Cook, spinners and Pietersen engineer England’s stunning turnaround

Alastair Cook (L) and Kevin Pietersen starred with the bat for the visitors. (Pic: Getty Images)

Down 1-0 in the four-match series, England made an inspiring comeback to draw level with a thumping 10-wicket triumph at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Batting first, India were held to 327 despite another Pujara ton (135 off 350) as Monty Panesar (5/129) and Graeme Swann (4/70) ran through the hosts’ strong batting line-up.

Cook (122 off 270) and Kevin Pietersen (186 off 223) then hit contrasting hundreds to subdue the threat of India’s spinners. The duo featured in a famous 206-run stand for the third wicket to put England on top. In hindsight, this proved to be the defining partnership of the series as India could never recover from the psychological impact of the stand.

The amazing feature of the partnership was the manner in which they throttled India’s slow bowlers, forcing them to slog it out for wickets. Thanks to Cook and Pietersen, England ended up posting 413 in their first innings, gaining a significant lead of 86 runs.

In their second innings, an Indian batting order featuring superstars like Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Sachin Tendulkar and skipper MS Dhoni, suffered an embarrassing collapse to be bowled out for 142 in 44.1 overs.

Ironically, England’s spinners once again ran riot in conditions that were tailor-made for India’s slow bowlers. Left-arm spinner Panesar claimed 6/81, dismissing Tendulkar for the second time in the match, while Swann finished with 4/43. Set to chase 57 to level the series, England romped home in 9.4 overs.

Graeme Swann (left) and Monty Panesar outshone the Indian spinners in the 2012 series. (Pic: Getty Images)

Buoyed by the commanding win in Mumbai, England came up with another dominating performance in the third Test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Batting first after winning the toss, the hosts were held to 316 as Panesar (4/90) again made a big impact, while pacer James Anderson also starred with 3/89.

Yet again, Cook led England’s reply, compiling a magnificent 190 off 377 balls as the visitors responded with 523. The English skipper occupied the crease for 492 minutes, hitting 23 fours and two sixes.

Significantly, he once again ensured that India’s spinners did not have the desired impact. Jonathan Trott also chipped in with 87, while Nick Compton (57) and Pietersen (54) came up with handy contributions.

Having gained a mammoth 207-run first-innings lead, England’s bowlers put India under tremendous pressure and held them to 247 despite Ashwin’s defiant 91. Anderson and Steve Finn picked up three scalps each, while Swann chipped in with two. Set to chase 41, England lost three wickets but got home in 12.1 overs to claim the precious 2-1 lead.

India fought hard in the final Test in Nagpur. Virat Kohli scored 103 and Dhoni 99 as the hosts posted 326/9 declared in response to England’s first-innings total of 330. Tons from Trott (143) and Ian Bell (116*) in the second innings, though, secured a draw for England and handed India their first Test series defeat at home since 2004.