#IndiaInEngland: History of India's performance at Lord's
August 9 will see India setting foot on the hallowed cricket ground where they had played their first ever Test match. Till now, India have played 17 Test matches at Lord's, winning twice, drawing four times, and losing the rest. Virat Kohli-led India will look to set the series even after their loss to England at Edgbaston. Here we look at India's records here.
India's first ever Test match was at Lord's
India attained Test status in 1932 and played their very first Test match in London, at Lord's. They were led by the Maharaja of Porbandar. India put up a decent bowling performance in the first innings, reducing them to 19/3 in the first hour. However, there was no fairytale ending as India lost to the home team by 158 runs.
How have the Indian batsmen performed at Lord's?
Dilip Vengsarkar has the best record, amongst Indian batsmen, at Lord's. In 4 matches and 8 innings which he played here, he scored 508 runs including 3 centuries and 1 half-century. Tendulkar, surprisingly, has a poor record here. His highest score is 37 in 9 innings at Lord's. Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid made their Test debuts at Lord's, scoring 131 and 95 respectively.
India's 1986 win at Lord's: The first of two
India's first victory at Lord's came in 1986, under the leadership of Kapil Dev. England posted 294 in first innings. India replied with 341 runs courtesy 63 by Amarnath and a brilliant 126* by Vengsarkar. England choked in their second innings with Kapil Dev grabbing 4 wickets and Maninder Singh pocketing 3. India chased down the target with 5 wickets in hand.
Other interesting records held by Indians at Lord's
Dhoni, Wadekar and Azharuddin have captained India twice at Lord's. Dhoni-led India gave India their second ever victory at Lord's in 2014. In 1974, Gavaskar and Wadekar put up a first wicket partnership of 131 runs, the highest till date. BS Bedi has been the most successful Indian bowler at Lord's, picking 17 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 28.94.
