India's top three test run chases in England ft. IND vs ENG 1971

The ongoing five-match Anderson-Tendulkar Test series finds itself in the midst of an intense rivalry between India and England. Although England have managed to extend their lead by 2-1, India have punched way above their weight to let the hosts know that they are no pushover. This narrowly contested Test series is going to spice up a lot further when the two teams meet again at Old Trafford for the fourth Test on July 23. 

Despite being down and out at 112-8 at the stroke of lunch, Ravindra Jadeja and the Indian lower order launched a stiff resistance which nearly took India over the finishing line. On a sluggish Lord's pitch, Jadeja batted patiently with the tail to take the game deep but missed out as India fell short by a slim margin of 22 runs. 

Following the Lord's defeat, it is time for us to look deep into what India's record has to say when it comes to chasing in the fourth innings. Unfortunately, the numbers paint a very grim picture. Out of 25 Test matches played in England, India has only gone on to win three of them while chasing. Out of the 25 Tests, nine of them were drawn. In this article, we highlight the top three successful run chases that India managed to accomplish on English soil. 

See also: Top 5 lowest totals successfully defended in a Test at Lord's ft. ENG vs IND 2025

173 – India vs England (The Oval), 1971

This was India's maiden successful run chase on English soil. Despite conceding a significant first innings lead of 71 runs, Indian leg spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar spun a web around the English batters, picking up six wickets and dismissing England for 101 in the process. In their pursuit of 173, India did not get off to an ideal start as they lost Sunil Gavaskar with only two runs on the board. But in the light of relentless pressure from the English bowlers, the Indian batters, including Ajit Wadekar (45 off 118), Dilip Sardesai (40 off 116), Gundappa Viswanath (33 off 171), and Farokh Engineer (28 off 59), forged useful partnerships along the way to steer India to a tricky target on the final day of the Test match by six wickets.

134 – India vs England (The Lord'), 1986

This was the record India could have possibly broken in the third Test had Siraj not been bowled by Bashir to a loopy, tossed-up delivery. During the Test series, India were led by the stalwart all-rounder Kapil Dev. The then Indian skipper played a pivotal role in helping India script a glorious win at the Home of Cricket. Chetan Sharma's five-wicket haul restricted England to 294 in the first innings. That score was better by India as they mounted 341 on the back of a splendid century by Dilip Vengsarkar. But Kapil's destructive spell of 4-52 left England reeling as they collapsed for only 180, handing India a target of 134. India kept losing wickets at regular intervals. But Kapil's quickfire 23 (10) sealed the deal in the dying moments of the game as India got over the finishing line with four wickets to spare. 

73 – India vs England (Nottingham), 2007

The memories of the 2007 Test series will remain etched in the memories of the Indian fans for generations to come. In fact, this was India's last Test series win in England. Speaking of this particular run chase, India's 73 is the only successful run chase in the 21st century. Indian pace master Zaheer Khan unleashed his brutality with the ball by claiming 4/59 in the first innings and 5/75 in the second innings. His lethal exploits with the ball left England well short of runs in both innings. Despite a notable recovery from England in the second innings, they were bowled out for 355, giving India a paltry target of just 73 runs. Wasim Jaffer and Dinesh Karthik added 22 runs apiece and India lost three wickets to get to their target of 73. The game was wrapped up well before lunch interval on day five, and India subsequently went on to clinch the series 1-0.