India last played a Test in June in 1996 against England in Edgbaston that saw Sachin Tendulkar score a brilliant century but the team lost the match.
Follow Us
The Indian cricket team will be playing the ICC World Test Championship final against New Zealand in the next couple of days. India will play in Southampton from June 18 to June 22. The fact that India are playing a Test match in England in June is very interesting. Normally, whenever India have toured England for Tests in the 21st century, they would play it around the July to September period. However, the average cricket fan might not remember when was the last time India played a Test in England in June.
The answer is 25 years ago. India last played a Test in June against England at Edgbaston. The three-match Test series was played around the June to July period. Pakistan came later when they arrived later in July-August for a Test series. The performances for India in that cricket series were yet again a tale of so near, yet so far but it had far-reaching changes.
India had to endure the sadness of being knocked in the semi-final of the 1996 Cricket World Cup in front of their home fans. On this deflating note, they headed to England for a series of three ODIs and three Tests. In the tour games, the Indians were impressive as they did not lose their first six warm-up games. However, just before the ODI series, they lost to Northamptonshire by five wickets. India lost the ODI series 2-0 after the first game was abandoned due to rain.
In the first Test at Edgbaston, India chose to bat. England’s bowlers already had them on the mat when they reduced them to 150/8. Javagal Srinath hammered 52 and had it not been his partnership of 53 with Paras Mhambarey, India would have faced humiliation. India were bowled out for 214, with Dominic Cork taking 4/61.
England was boosted by a magnificent knock of 128 by Nasser Hussain. The Essex batsman was the only player who made a significant contribution to the England total. After Hussain’s hundred, the next highest score was 34 by Ronnie Irani. Venkatesh Prasad and Srinath chipped with the ball as they took four wickets apiece.
But, Hussain’s hundred and his partnership of 49 each for the 10th and 11th wicket helped England get a 99-run lead. In the second innings, India were staring down the barrel at 68/5. But, Sachin Tendulkar stepped up and produced a masterclass of a performance in Edgbaston that gave India some hope.
Tendulkar’s strokeplay on the offside and on the leg side made him a difficult proposition for England’s bowlers. He got good support from Sanjay Manjrekar who had a 59-run stand for the sixth wicket. Tendulkar shared a partnership of 58 with Anil Kumble as India looked to take a good lead. But, with Kumble’s run-out, it seemed India would end up giving England a low total.
Tendulkar notched up his 100 and he also ensured India’s lead zoomed past 100. But, unlike the first innings, he did not get support from the tail. When Tendulkar fell for 122, India was bowled out for 219, with Chris Lewis taking 5/72. England needed 121 runs to win. Mike Atherton hit a gritty fifty and despite losing Nick Knight and Hussain cheaply, Atherton and Graham Thorpe got England over the line as they won by eight wickets.
However, after the end of the match, India’s fortunes changed. They handed a debut to new players after Sanjay Manjrekar suffered an injury. Sunil Joshi was dropped for the Lord’s Test. In came Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid and they proceeded to change the fortunes of Indian cricket for the next 15 years. Ganguly hit a century on debut while Dravid fell for 95. It was a great performance by India and their push for victory was denied by Jack Russell and the Lord’s weather.
25 years on, India are playing a Test in England. In that match, the Dukes Ball kept on swinging. If bowlers get a wicket with the new ball, then it is a bonus. It is when the ball is older that collateral damage is the highest.
In that Edgbaston Test, they lost wickets at regular intervals. The trend of collapsing in a session and that too frequently has hurt India on three tours in England. Be it 2011, 2014 and 2018, India have collapsed far too regularly to create any chances. In 2018, the collapse at Edgbaston and Southampton would have hurt India immensely. If India had capitalized on that, they would have won the series 3-2 instead of losing it 1-4.
In the ICC World Test Championship final, they will encounter a New Zealand side whose bowling attack is considered the best in the world currently. They have the discipline and skill to exploit the conditions brilliantly. On top of that, the team is coming off a series win against England for the first time since 1999. New Zealand are high on confidence. India need to just stick to the basics and ensure they win sessions on a consistent basis.
