India vs England: Iconic Test spells by Indian bowlers against England on English soil

Iconic Test spells by Indian bowlers against England on English soil

In just a week, we will be watching the much-awaited India tour of England. The series, which is played once every few years, tests the Indian cricketers to their core. The pitch, the weather, and the opponents challenge the Indian players every session, every day. But the pace-friendly pitches are something that Indian bowlers enjoy too. So in this article, we will discuss the iconic spells from Indian pacers on England’s soil.

Bhagwath Chandrasekhar (1971)

The first bowler on the list is Bhagawath Chandrasekhar, who, with his leg spin magic, destroyed England's innings in that match. The match was played at the Oval ground in London. Chandrasekhar, in his 18-over spell, gave blow after blow to the English team, helping India dismiss the entire England second innings for just 101 runs. India eventually chased that easy target with four wickets in hand. The well-known publisher ‘Wisden’ later termed this spell by Chandrasekhar as the “best bowling performance of the century.”

Chetan Sharma (1986)

The next spell that makes it to our list is from the young 20-year-old Chetan Sharma, who, in his dreamlike spell, shook England to its core with his swing and skills. In this magical spell, Chetan sent six English batters back to the pavilion, making a significant contribution to drawing that match, which led to India's victory in the series. Beyond this match, Chetan Sharma's performance in the series played a crucial role in India's series victory in England after 15 years.

Roger Binny (1986)

The third spell, which can be termed the iconic spell by an Indian bowler on England soil, can be attributed to the famous Indian veteran cricketer Roger Binny, who, in the same series of 1986, bowled a devastating spell against England. In the first test match of the series at Leeds, Binny took five wickets for just 40 runs, leading to England being all out for only 102 runs. This spell helped India defeat England by 279 runs and take the lead in the series.

Zaheer Khan (2007)

The fourth bowler on our list is Zaheer Khan, who created havoc in England's camp during India's tour of England in 2007. This performance was very special as it started out beyond the pitch; Zaheer was batting when a few English players mocked him as stray jellybeans, which was not appropriate. Channelling his anger, Zaheer delivered a beautiful and devastating performance, taking four wickets in England's first innings and five wickets in the second innings, resulting in England being all out for 198 and 355. India finally won this match, avenging England's poor behaviour.

Ishant Sharma (2007)

The next spell in this list is of star Indian bowler Ishant Sharma, who shook England's batting order during India’s 2014 Tour. In the Lord's Test match, MS Dhoni also played a huge role as he made a strategy with Ishant to delay taking the new ball and bowl more short deliveries to the England batters. This strategy worked so well that Ishant took seven wickets, leading to England's collapse from 173-3 to 223 all out.

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