Team India's Test wins in England

Team India is on the verge of winning the ongoing Test at Trent Bridge and it will be their seventh win on English soil. India set a target of 521 for England in the fourth innings and hosts, at the close of day 4, were 210 runs away from the target with just 1 wicket in hand.

England has not been a happy hunting ground for team India in the past. Traditionally India have struggled in England in Tests and have won only 6 Tests and lost 32.

In the 17 Test series played between the two nations in England since the year 1932, excluding the ongoing Test series, India have won just 3 series viz. in 1971, 1986 and 2007.

Here is a look at the 6 Test matches won by India on English soil.

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#1 1971- Kennington Oval, London:

Team India won its first ever Test in England in 1971

India's first Test win on English soil was in the year 1971 under the captaincy of late Ajit Wadekar. England won the toss and elected to bat and scored 355 in the first innings. India were bowled out for 284 in their first innings and conceded a lead of 71 runs.

However, England were stuck in the spinning web of Bhagwath Chandrasekhar in their second innings and the leg-spinner from Karnataka took 6 English wickets and the hosts were bundled out for only 101 runs.

India chased the target with 4 wickets in hand and created history. Ajit Wadekar scored 45 runs in the chase and led India to their first Test win in England.

By virtue of winning the Oval Test, team India won the 3 match Test series by a margin of 1-0 as the first two Tests ended in draws. Team India had indeed entered into a new phase in Test cricket.

#2 1986- Lord's, London:

India beat England at Lord's for the first time in Test cricket in 1986

India's second triumph in England in Tests was at the home of cricket in the year 1986. The first Test of the 3 match series was played at Lord's and team India triumphed by 5 wickets.

After winning the toss, India elected to field. Graham Gooch scored a brilliant century in England's first innings and led them to a respectable total of 294. Chetan Sharma picked up 5 wickets for 64 runs in his 32 overs.

India responded well and took a lead of 47 in the first innings courtesy an unbeaten hundred by Dilip Vengsarkar. He was well supported by Mohinder Amarnath who scored 69.

The Indian skipper Kapil Dev led the pace attack in the second innings and picked up 4 wickets that of Gooch, Robinson, Gower and Pringle. England were bowled out for 180. India chased the target easily n 42 overs with 5 wickets in hand.

By winning the Lord's Test, team India took a 1-0 lead in the 3 match Test series.

#3 1986- Leeds, Headingley:

Team India thrashed England by 279 runs at Leeds in 1986

India did not have to wait long for their third Test win on English soil. After beating England at Lord's, the visitors thrashed the hosts in the second Test of the 1986 series and thus India won their second Test series on English soil.

The Test at Leeds was indeed a special one for Kapil Dev's men as the hosts were thrashed by a huge margin of 279 runs.

Kapil Dev won the toss and elected to bat and riding on Vengsarkar's 61 runs, India posted 272 on a difficult pitch.

Roger Binny exploited the conditions perfectly and picked up 5 wickets and England were bundled out for only 102 runs.

Dilip Vengsarkar who was having a dream run in England in 1986, scored another century in the second innings and led India to a score of 237.

England were never in the chase and struggled against the Indian bowlers and were bundled out for just 128 runs. Thus India on the Test by 279 runs and took a 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

The third Test at Birmingham was a draw and by virtue of wins at Lord's and Leeds, team India won the 3 match Test series by a margin of 2-0.

#4 2002- Leeds, Headingley:

Rahul Dravid was awarded the Man of the Match in the 2002 Leeds Test

Team India under Sourav Ganguly was a confident outfit and believed that they could beat any opposition whether at home or away.

The third Test of the 2002 India's tour of England was played at Leeds and India were 1-0 down after the first two Tests. A green top and cloudy conditions welcomed team India on the first day of the Leeds Test. Sourav Ganguly won the toss and surprised everyone by electing to bat in conditions conducive to bowling.

The decision to bat first was backed by the trio of Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Ganguly himself with all scoring centuries. India declared at a score of 628-8.

India bowled out England for 273 and then enforced the follow-on. The hosts were bowled out for 309 in their second innings and India won the Test comfortably by a margin of an innings and 46 runs.

5. 2007- Nottingham, Trent Bridge:

Zaheer Khan bowled India to a win in the Trent Bridge Test in 2007

The second Test of the 2007 India's tour of England saw India triumphing over the hosts by a margin of 7 wickets.

Team India had managed to hold on to a draw in the first Test at Lord's and were welcomed by bowler-friendly conditions at Trent Bridge.

The skipper Rahul Dravid won the toss and elected to bowl at Trent Bridge and his decision was well supported by his bowlers. Zaheer Khan led the attack and the hosts were bundled out for a score of 198.

Team India went on to score 481 runs in their first innings with contributions from Karthik who scored 77, Jaffer scored 62, Tendulkar scored 91, Ganguly scored 79 and Laxman scored 54.

Zaheer Khan bowled brilliantly in the second innings and picked up 5 wickets and England were bundled out for 355.

India chased down the target with 7 wickets in hand and took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. By virtue of the win, team India went on to win the 3 match series by a margin of 1-0, as the first and the third Tests ended in draws.

#6. 2014- Lord's, London:

Ishant Sharma picked up 7 wickets and bowled India to a win

India were touring England for a 5 match Test series in the year 2014 and team India started the series on a perfect note, After a drawn Test at Trent Bridge, team India beat England by 95 runs at Lord's.

Ajinkya Rahane scored a brilliant 103 in India's first innings on a pitch assisting the bowlers and India managed to post a respectable total of 295 in the first innings. England were marginally better and scored 319 in their first innings with Gary Ballance scoring a century. India's Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 6 wickets which restricted the English score.

Riding on Vijay's 95, Jadeja's 68 and Bhuvneshwar Kumar's 52, team India scored 342 runs in their second innings.

Ishant Sharma had a dream spell and picked up 7 wickets for 74 runs and bowled out England for just 223 runs leading India to a win by 95 runs.