The rivalry between India & England is almost a century old. Every Indian player dreams to score one of his career’s best Test 100s against England at Lord’s stadium to get his name etched on the honor board of Lord’s stadium. However, only rare talents have made it to that place.
Nevertheless, scoring a century in England either in a winning or losing cause is prominent for players. Therefore, we decided to dig the history and look for the best test 100s by Indian players in England.
Here are the Best Test 100s By Indian Players-
1) Vinoo Mankad’s 184 in 1952
Not many know him but he was a player who showed great character against the English bowlers back in 1952 when India was seen as the weakest team in the cricket world. After an unforgettable defeat in the 1st test match where India was 0-4, India had their head down for the 2nd test. But, Vinoo Mankad’s lifted everybody’s spirit & morale with his 74 knocks in 1st innings & 184 in 2nd innings (the highest score by an Indian during that time). The inning was cherished for a long time.
2) Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 in 1979
Sunil Gavaskar who is regarded as one of the best batsmen of all time got the recognition India needed on the international stage. During his career, Gavaskar has scored numerous Best test 100s. Yet, a fighting knock to save a test match against England single-handedly is dream special.
Back in 1979, India was chasing a 438 run total set by England. As expected none of the batters after the top 3 managed to cross 20 runs mark. However, Sunil Gavaskar stayed still and resistance innings of 221 against England took India to 429/8, but the time ran out and India had to settle for a draw.
3) Dilip Vengasarkar’s 157 in 1982
This innings By Dilip Vengasarkar could be termed as one of the best fighting knocks. India was following on as they were 299 runs behind England. Vengasarkar took the charge of batting and stayed solid against them for more than 5 hours to score over 150 runs, but only to avoid an innings defeat.
4) Sachin Tendulkar’s 119 in 1990
A player was born, who showed his hunger for runs and extraordinary talent. Sachin Tendulkar, “God Of Cricket”, scored his first international test century, which can be termed as one of the best test 100s, outside India in England merely at the age of 17. Tendulkar walked in to bat at number 6 in the batting order with the pressure to save another humiliating defeat against England. The young boy created expectations with his shots and went on to score 119 runs in Manchester that assisted India to draw the test match.
5) Ajit Agarkar’s 109 in 2002
Who would have imagined a player at number 8 in the Indian batting order to come so strong and hard at English bowlers at a time when India was on the verge of losing the test match. Ajit Agarkar scored 109 runs at Lord’s to have his name on Lord’s honors boards for his batting milestone. Although, the inning wasn’t enough to stop a defeat, but it generated a spark in the Indian dressing room to make a comeback in other tests.
6) Rahul Dravid’s 217 in 2002
Rahul Dravid showed, ” Why he is termed as “The Wall” of Indian team?” in this innings. India was catching up with England’s huge 515 total set by them in 1st innings. It was a near to impossible job against England’s fierce bowling attack. But, Rahul Dravid showed his greatness to accumulate 217 runs and no bowler could end his innings that day as Dravid got run out. India managed to score 508 runs and the test ended as a draw with Rahul being awarded the player of the match award.
7) Ajinkya Rahane’s 103 in 2014
After nearly three decades, India won a test match against England on Lord’s ground. Credit goes to Ajinkya Rahane’s 103 runs knock, one of his best test 100s, against the lethal bowling duo Anderson & Broad. The two bowlers were heavily dominant on the Indian side as the next highest score in this innings was 36. Rahane led the foundation block for a solid base and Ishant did the wonders with his spell. India won by 95 runs against England.
8) Virat Kohli’s 149 in 2018
After an unforgettable failure on his first England test tour in 2014, Virat Kohli became mature and a player known by the name Run Machine by the time India toured England for a test in 2018. This time, Kohli was well prepared with better technique and mindset against the English bowlers. Kohli was dominant over the bowlers when none of his fellow teammates could manage to cross 26 run mark, Kohli scored 149 at Edgbaston.
