4th Test: With Series In Balance, Can India Defy History Against England At The Oval?

England bounced back from the Lord’s disappointment with a resounding victory in the third Test at Headingley, Leeds. Captain Joe Root maintained his Beadmanesque form, while the likes of Jimmy Anderson, Ollie Robinson and Craig Overton tormented the Indian batsmen with some fine swing bowling to set up an innings win.

The five-Test series is delicately poised at 1-1 with England and India having everything to play for at the Kennington Oval and Old Trafford, Manchester.

Team India will look for inspiration from Kohli, who hit his first half century of the series in the second innings at Leeds. But the captain has scored just 124 runs in three Tests so far and needs to deliver much more with the bat.

It’s imperative for the Indian batting lineup to fire and back up its impressive bowlers because The Oval has not been a happy hunting ground for the visitors. In fact, the Indian team will have to defy history and buck the trend if they hope to take a 2-1 lead at The Oval, having won just 1 and lost 5 out of 13 Test matches at this venue. That historic solitary victory came half a century ago when Ajit Wadekar-led team scripted India’s maiden series win against England in England.

Particularly worrying is the fact that India have lost the last 3 Tests they have played at The Oval — in 2011, 2014 and 2018 series.

As we look forward to the fourth Test and hope that India can avoid a fourth consecutive loss at The Oval, here’s a look at the previous clashes between India and England at this venue:

Historic Indian triumph

1971 Series: August 19-24. India won by 4 wickets

Having lost 15 of their previous 19 Tests in England, none gave India a chance, more so as the strong English side had won the Ashes in Australia a few months ago and also defeated Pakistan at home. England put up 355, with contributions from John Jameson (82), Alan Knott (90) and Richard Hutton (81). India recovered from 125/5 to reach 284 thanks to some handy contributions from lower middle and lower order. India kept the lead down to 71 runs and enkoyed a stroke of luck early in the England second innings. Bhagwat Chandrasekhar deflected a drive from opener Brian Luckhurst onto the stumps with Jameson out of the crease.

Thereafter, it was Chandra all the way and his 6/38 saw England collapsing to 101 all out — leaving India to get 173. Skipper Ajit Wadekar (45), Dilip Sardesai (40) and Gundappa Viswanath (33) played crucial knocks, while Farokh Engineer contributed a valuable 28 before  Syed Abid Ali hit the winning boundary as jubilant Indian supporters ran in to the ground to celebrate with their heroes.

Brief Scores: England 335 and 101. India 284 and 173/6.

The 5 English Wins

1936 Series —  August 15-18. England won by 9 wickets.

Wally Hammond’s 217 and Stan Worthington’s 128 took England to 471/8 declared. India responded with an 81-run opening stand with both Vijay Merchant and Mushtaq Ali scoring 52. Thereafter India collapsed and folded up for 222, with Jim Sims bagging a fiver. Following on, India managed 312 in the second innings with CK Nayudu scoring 81. Gubby Allen was wrecker in chief, capturing 7/80. England knocked off the required 64 runs losing just one wicket.

Brief Scores: England 471/8d and 64/1. India 202 and 302 (followed on).

 

1959 Series — August 20-24. England won by an innings and 27 runs.

This was a disastrous series for India as they lost 0-5. At The Oval, fiery Freddie Trueman captured 7 wickets in the match to skittle out India for 140 and 194. Only Bapu Nadkarni showed some resistance with a fighting 76 in the second innings but couldn’t prevent an innings defeat. England scored 361 in their only innings, thanks to knocks of 98 and 94 by Mike Smith and  Raman Subba Row, respectively. Army officer Surendra Nath took 5 wickets for India.

Brief Scores: India 140 and 194. England 361.

2011 Series — August 18-22. England won by an innings and seven runs.

After five consecutive draws between the two countries, England managed to get the better of India in what was another nightmarish series for India who lost all 4 matches. Ian Bell (235) and Kevin Pietersen (175) helped England pile up 591/6 declared. India were 300 all out despite Rahul Dravid carrying his bat for a terrific 146 not out. Following on, India were bowled out for 283, with Tendulkar scoring 91 and Amit Mishra 84. Off-spinner Graeme Swann bagged 9 wickets in the match.

Brief Scores: England 591/6 dec. India 300 and 283.

2014 Series August 15-17 — England won by an innings and 244 runs.

England pacers, led by James Anderson, bowled out India for 148, with only skipper MS Dhoni scoring a  valiant 82. Joe Root then led the English charge with an unbeaten 149 as the home team piled up 486. India were blown away for 94 in the 2nd innings  to suffer an embarrassing innings defeat as England won the series 3-1.

Brief Scores: India 148 and 84. England 486.

2018 Series: September 7-11 England won by 118 runs.

England recovered from 181/7 to post 332, Jos Buttler top-scoring with 89, while Ravindra Jadeja took 4 wickets. No. 8 Jadeja shone with the bat too, top-scoring with 86 not out in India’s 292. Alastair Cook (147) and Root (125) batted India ot of the game as England posted 423/8 declared to set India a target of 454. Anderson reduced India to 2/3 and the match was virtually over. KL Rahul scored a fighting 100 and Rishabh Pant hit a ton as well but India ended up with 325 as England took the series 4-1.

Brief Scores: England 332 and 423/8 dec. India 292 and 325.

DRAWN MATCHES

1946 Series — August 17-20.

It was a ran-ruined match in which Vijay Merchant’s century helped India to 331. England scored 95/3 before the elements intervened and there was no further play.

Brief Scores: India 331. England 95/3.

1952 Series: August 14-19.

Another Test which saw major rain interruptions. England declared at 326/6 with David Sheppard scoring 119 and Len Hutton 86. India were all out for a paltry 98 in just 38.5 overs as they failed to tackle the pace of Alec Bedser and Fred Trueman who took 5 wickets each. India escaped as there was no play for almost 3 days.

Brief Scores: England 326/6 dec. India 98.

1979 Series: August 30-Sept 4

One of India’s finest Test matches saw the visitors missing out a famous win by a whisker. England, after posting 305, restricted India to 202. Geoff Boycott then scored a ton as set India a record target of 438. The great Sunil Gavaskar led the spirited chase with a classic 221, his opening partner Chetan Chauhan made 80 and Dilip Vengsarkar 56 as India reached 366/1. India ultimately finished at 429/8, just 9 short of what would have been an unbelievable win.

Brief Scores: England 305 and 334/8 dec. India 202 and 429/8.

1982 Series — July 8-13

In a high-scoring draw, England amassed 594 thanks to Ian Botham’s belligerent 208 off 226 balls, Allan Lamb’s 107 and Derek Randall’s. Despite Gavaskar being absent hurt after he was hit by a Botham drive at silly point, India scored 410 with Kapil Dev smashing 97. England declared the second innings at 191/3, setting India an impossible target of 376 in 36 overs.

Brief Scores: England 594 and 191/3 dec. India 410 and 111/3.

1990 Series — August 23-28

The Oval witnessed another high-scoring draw. Ravi Shastri (187) and Kapil (110) helped India amass a huge 606. India did well to bowl out England for 340 and enforce the follow-on. India had 154 overs to bowl out England, but David Gower (157 not out) ensured a draw for hosts.

Brief scores: India 606. England 340 and 477/4

2002 Series — Sept 5-9

Batsmen called the shots yet again with Michael Vaughan’s 195 playing the lead role in England’s 515, neutralizing Harbhajan Singh’s 5 wickets. Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid batted for more than 10 hours to score 217 as India made 508.

Brief Scores: England 515 and 114/0. India 508.

2007 Series — August 9-13

An amazing batting performance saw the first 8 batsmen in the lineup contributing to guide India to 664. Anil Kumble was top-scorer with 110, Dhoni, Dinesh Karthik and Sachin Tendulkar scored 92. 91 and 82, respectively. India grabbed a 319-run lead with Kumble and Zaheer Khan snaring 3 wickets each. India declared the second innings at 180/6 to set England a target of 500 in 110 overs. Kevin Pietersen’s century denied India victory as England managed an honourable draw.

Brief Scores: India 664 and 180/6 dec. England 345 and 369/6.