On this day: India took home its First Ever Test Winner Title At Lord’s

In 1932, India’s first test match was held at Lord’s. India lost the test match by 158 runs, despite some excellent bowling from Mohammad Nishar and Amar Singh. In each of their subsequent visits to England, India has played test matches at Lord’s. India, on the other hand, never won a test match at Lord’s until 1986, and instead recorded their lowest test total, 42, in the 1974 series. However, Dilip Vengsarkar struck back-to-back centuries in India’s following two test matches at Lord’s, making him the most famous cricketer in the world.

The 1986 Indian team had recently won the World Cup three years before and now sought to establish that they could also play well in test matches. The toss was won by Kapil Dev, who chose to field. It appeared to be a wise option, as England was 98 for 4 at one point. However, England had bowled out for 294 runs thanks to Graham Gooch’s 114 runs and Derek Pringle’s (63). Chetan Sharma, a young Indian cricketer, took 5 wickets for his country.

India scored 341 in their first innings, with Vengsarkar continuing his love affair with the venue by becoming the only batsman in Lord’s history to achieve three consecutive hundreds. India took a crucial 47-run lead thanks to his 126 and Mohinder Amarnath’s 69.

Captain Kapil Dev seized the lead in their second innings bowling performance, taking four wickets. Maninder Singh, the tremendously skilled left-arm spinner, was the final guy. Unfortunately, he was also the steadfast torchbearer of the traditional Indian rabbit, passing on Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Dilip Doshi’s fine legacy. Despite this, he managed to survive Pringle’s final ball of the over.

The following ball was a textbook tip-and-run. Vengsarkar played it with a dead defensive bat and scampered over with five guys sparing one. And, whatever his batsmanship flaws, Maninder could sprint faster than any Indian cricketer of his period save Mohammad Azharuddin.

At Lord’s, a foreign batsman had finally reached 300 runs. Vengsarkar was the first of the Lord’s centurions to score three points in his first three outings. In 170 deliveries, the century had arrived. In the second Test at Headingley, Maninder would hold up one end once more as Vengsarkar reached another, even more incredible, century.

The squad did not waste any time in leading India to their first-ever triumph at Lord’s, the cricketing capital of the world. Kapil’s six was the game-winning shot!