Reliving some of the best Ind-Eng moments since 1971

India may have played their first Test against England in 1932 but it wasn’t until the glorious summer of 1971 under the stewardship of Ajit Wadekar that they finally managed to shake off the inferiority complex. [caption id=“attachment_44557” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“It was in the glorious summer of 1971 under the stewardship of Ajit Wadekar that India finally managed to shake off the inferiority complex. Leonard Burt/Getty Images”]  [/caption] They were without a victory for 39 years when they started their seventh visit in the summer of 1971 - played 19, lost 15, won none. It was a record no one was proud of but the victory in the West Indies had done more than just raise the spirits, it had given them the self-belief to do something really special. But even then, England with the rain and swing has always managed to challenge India’s best. In the 40 years that have gone by, India has had several special moments in cricket’s birthplace. And we scourged through them to bring you a collection of the best. Prime along those moments remains BS Chandrasekhar’s superb spell at the Oval which helped India win their first Test series there. Even now old-timers recall the whirring arm of the leg-spinner that brought England to their doom. 1971 - BS Chandrasekhar at Oval Sunil Gavaskar didn’t do very well on his first tour of England in 1971 but he made up for it with a superb 221 at the Oval in 1979. Wisden described the knock as ‘technically flawless’ and we are inclined to agree. Each ball was played on merit and every bad ball punished as India went about trying to chase down 438 in stark contrast to what Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his boys did in the West Indies recently. 1979 – Sunil Gavaskar 221 at Oval The 1982 series was about two players – Ian Botham and Kapil Dev. Two world class allrounders who made this a series to remember. In the end, it was difficult to say who was better but Kapil did enough to prove his credentials as a batsman too. Botham set the tone with the fastest double century ever (208 off 226 balls) to help England reach 594 in the third Test and Kapil replied with a superb 97 off 93 balls to help India reach 410. He struck 14 fours and two sixes in his knock, dominating the record 130-run stand for the sixth wicket with Kirmani. 1982 - Kapil Dev 97 off 93 balls, 3rd Test vs England The 1986 series is remembered for Maninder Singh’s brilliance with the ball and Dilip Vengsarkar’s magnificent batting. And nothing was better than the Mumbai batsman’s 126 at Lord’s. Some of the shots simply took your breath away. The Colonel at his majestic best was a sight to please the cricketing gods. His total of 360 runs at 90.00 was more than double the next best in the Indian squad and played an integral part in sealing India’s 2-0 victory. 1986 - Dilip Vengsarkar 126* vs England, 1st Test Sachin Tendulkar scored his maiden Test century (119 not out, 17 fours) against England at Old Trafford in 1989 and helped India save the match. Even then standing in the slips, Graham Gooch could tell that this was the start of something special. That he would develop into a legend of this magnitude is a sign of just how much the master batsman has grown. 1989 - Sachin’s first Test century, Old Trafford And a few more moments to stir the soul. Eng vs Ind, 1st Test, Lord’s 1990 - Ind 1st innings (Kapil’s four sixes) Sourav Ganguly 131 on debut vs England 1996 Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar against England 2002 Zaheer Khan 5/75 - India vs England, 2nd Test at Trent Bridge 2007