India in England: Lions or lambs in the land of the Lords

Indian team last achieved a series win in England in 2007 and are entering this series on equal footing with England. Let's go back a little bit and find out how India has performed in England since 1996

India's tour of England is now reaching the business end and after suffering defeat in the ODI series (2-1), team India is now gearing up to play a five-match Test series. Indian cricket team in England has been victorious three times (1971, 1986, and 2007) and it has been 11 years since India last tasted success in England.

Team India over the years have got the tag of 'tigers at home and lambs abroad' and captain Virat Kohli would love to shed this tag once and for all. Indian cricket team's last overseas tour in South Africa was not a successful one as Virat Kohli and his boys lost the series 2-1. Let's look back at the Indian cricket team's last five performances in England

1996 series:

Sourav Ganguly

India in the 1990s as discussed earlier, had the unwanted tag of 'tigers at home and lambs abroad' and this series didn't help change that perception. India lost the series 1-0 but found champion players in Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly. The Lord's Test match is still remembered as Sourav Ganguly announced his arrival with a majestic debut hundred. Another player who made his mark was Karnataka batsman Rahul Dravid, who narrowly missed out on a debut ton himself.

Indian team overall struggled on this tour, but with Sachin Tendulkar reaching his prime and influx of new players, the Indian team was making progress in the right direction.

2002 series:

Rahul Dravid

After the infamous match-fixing scandal, Team India's credibility was at an all-time low. BCCI were in dire need of an image makeover and appointed an inexperienced Sourav Ganguly as skipper.

India were still considered as home track bullies and 2002 tour was a watershed moment in Indian team's history. India, as usual, lost the first Test match at Lord's (biggest talking point was Ajit Agarkar scoring century, Sachin Tendulkar has none at the home of cricket).

But, this team was different from his peers as it had steel and resolve and recorded an astounding victory at Headingley. India's wall Rahul Dravid had a brilliant series (602 runs in four matches) but the series ended at a 1-1 draw.

2007 series:

Zaheer Khan

Every England tour, funnily enough, has come at a time when Indian cricket was going through a difficult phase. The Indian team was down and out after the dismal show at the 2007 World Cup in West Indies and nothing much was expected from this tour. India got a lucky reprieve at the Lord's Cricket Ground when rain helped India avoid defeat (India were nine down in the second innings).

Captain Rahul Dravid might not necessarily come across as authoritative, India totally outplayed England in the second Test at Trent Bridge (courtesy Zaheer Khan) and won comprehensively. Zaheer Khan after a couple of indifferent seasons picked up 18 wickets in the series and was named the man of the series.

India could have won the third Test match at The Oval (surprising tactics by Rahul Dravid of not enforcing the follow-on), but this match saw Anil Kumble score his maiden Test hundred and men in blue won the series in England after a gap of 21 years.

2011 series:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni

After the euphoria and high of winning the 2011 World Cup, Indian team were whitewashed (losing the series 4-0) and this turned into total chaos. Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suffered a big blow when he lost Zaheer Khan in the first session of the Lord's Test (What is with India and Lord's?) and after that, the series turned into a nightmare.

Indian team lost every Test match (Lord's, Trent Bridge, Edgbaston, and The Oval) and from the outside, it looked like the team was listless and dispirited. Another big talking point going into the series was Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international hundred and sadly for 1.3 billion Indians, that moment never came.

Indian team, apart from Rahul Dravid, (who else, three hundreds) had nothing to show and Mahendra Singh Dhoni's midas touch was almost nearing its end.

2014 series:

Virat Kohli

Indian team coming into the series had lost {4-0 vs England, 2011; 4-0 vs Australia 2011/12, South Africa 1-0, 2013; New Zealand 1-0, 2014}, so the expectations weren't huge and Indian team was again expected to lose.

After the boring draw at Trent Bridge Test, Indian team finally achieved a win at Lord's (first since 1986) thanks to Ajinkya Rahane's magnificent century (103) and Indian seamer Ishant Sharma's seven-wicket haul (7/74) in the second innings.

But, after achieving a rare series lead, Indian team lost the next three matches (Southampton, Old Trafford, and The Oval) and the series ended at 3-1. Indian team miraculously squandered the series and the big talking point was Virat Kohli's horrendous series (134 runs in five matches at an average of 13.40).

India might have lost the series but found the core of the team in Murali Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, and future looked bright despite the setback.

So, that was India's performance in the last five visits to England and knowing Virat Kohli, he would like to settle the score and also prove to his critics that he is one of the best batsman and win the Test series in England after a gap of 11 long years.

Also Read: If Virat Says His Runs Don't Matter, He Is Lying, Says James Anderson

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