From B. Chandrasekhar's six for 38 to Ishant Sharma's breathtaking spell of seven for 74, a look at match-winning bowling spells on India tours of England.
At the Oval, with India still searching for that elusive Test win in England — it had only drawn four and lost 15 of the 19 Tests there — Chandrasekhar produced one of the finest spells of leg-spin bowling, ripping through the host's batting line-up with six for 38 and match figures of eight for 114. India won the Test by four wickets and clinched the three-Test series 1-0. ▲
Although England beat India by seven wickets, Kapil's five-for helped the visitor put up semblance of a fight. The 'Haryana Hurricane' blew away the English top-order in the first innings, getting rid of Geoff Cook, Chris Tavare and Allan Lamb for paltry scores. David Gower and Derek Randall were Kapil's other two victims. India lost the Test, but a year later, led by Kapil, it lifted its maiden World Cup title at the same venue, thus heralding a new era in Indian cricket. ▲
Left-arm seamer Zaheer Khan was one of the key architects of India's first Test series win in England after a gap of 21 years. Zaheer skittled out England for 198 with four wickets in the first innings before removing five English batsmen in the second innings, bowling from round the wicket, putting the visitor on the cusp of a historic win. India took the match by seven wickets and the three-Test series 1-0. ▲
On a pitch so green that telling the outfield from the wicket posed a challenge, Kumar put up an exhibition of swing bowling, snapping up six England wickets, including top-order batters Alastair Cook, Sam Robson, Gary Ballance and Ian Bell to restrict the host to 319 in the first innings. The spell eventually paved the way for India's first Test win at Lord's in 28 years. ▲
Bowl short. Bowl aggressively. Bowl with a deep square. Rinse. Repeat. Sharma went one better than Kumar in the same match with this simple formula to earn a place on the Lord's honours board and gifted India only its second win at the 'Mecca of Cricket' in 82 years!
Sharma's discipline with the old ball combined with the opposition batsmen's irresistible itch in the second innings to hook every short delivery was duly rewarded. ▲
