Men behind some glorious wins

Two wins in six bilateral series - not really a bad performance from the Indians in England in 30 years of ODIs (From 1974 to 2004). Though they have won just four ODIs in these series compared to nine losses, things tend to look brighter when we take the post-1983 period - a period when fortunes of Indian ODI team changed forever.

Beginning 1986, India are on par with England in a bilateral series in England, with both the teams winning two-apiece. With another one coming up in few days time, its high time to pay tribute to the star performers from the Indian sides in last two decades, responsible for these wins.

1986 - First Win

It was resurrection time for Chetan Sharma, the man whose "one-ball blunder" at Sharjah had made him the villain for the whole of India. Only five weeks later, he was the hero of the Indian bowling attack, which tamed the England’s strong batting lineup consisting of three Gs (Gooch, Gatting, Gower).

At the Oval, English openers - Gooch and Fowler - were going strong with a 50 run partnership before Sharma struck, getting the prized scalp of Gooch. An unnerved Folwer was soon run out and a procession of wickets followed.

Ably supported by Binny and Shastri, Sharma turned out to be both economical and lethal - accounting for all-rounder Pringle and Graham Dilley to ensure that England were bowled out for 162. Gavaskar’s 65 and Azhar’s 83 did the rest as India won by nine wickets. However, it was the tremendous bowling performance by Chetan with three wickets for just 25 runs in eleven overs, which laid the foundation of India’s first ever victory on England soil in a bilateral series. England won the next match at Old Trafford, but India got the Texaco Trophy on scoring rate.

It was this win, which boosted India considerably, and probably resulted in their second test series win on England soil.

1990 - A convincing show

It was a superb all round bowling performance with four bowlers - including newcomer Kumble playing only his third ODI - finishing with two or more wickets and bowling out England for just 229.

However, with W V Raman gone for just one on board, the onus was on Manjrekar and Sidhu to take India to safety. And they did precisely that with a useful partnership of 75 runs. Manjrekar, who was not the best of ODI batsmen, defended dourly and waited for any loose delivery. When he was the fourth man out, India were just 47 runs away from victory. Manjrekar’s classic 82, though at a strike-rate of only 62, gave India another rare victory in England.

In the second and final match, he once again hit a half century (59) and along with Vengsarkar and skipper Azhar’s knocks of 54 and 63, helped India chase a stiff target of 282 with five wickets and two overs to spare. Among the bowlers, Prabhakar was the bowling hero with six wickets from two matches - the highest from both the sides.

2004 - another wait ends

It was a wait of 14 years before India achieved their final win on England soil. It’s another matter that just one bilateral series was played in between!

The current superstars of the Indian batting - Ganguly and Dravid - were the batting heroes at Lord’s with India trying to avoid a whitewash, after going 0-2 down in the three-match series. They scored 77 per cent of all the runs scored by the Indian batsmen! Skipper Ganguly was in full flow, hitting five fours and three sixes for his 90.

However, a target of 205 was not too stiff for a batting lineup boasting of names like Trescothick, Vaughan and Strauss, but some tremendous swing bowling from left-armer Nehra and Pathan soon reduced England to 62-6 - a position from which it was impossible to recover. Harbhajan was efficient as ever, in giving finishing touches.

So over the years, Indian victories in England have been masterminded by a unique combination of players. Comeback men like Chetan Sharma, newcomers like Kumble, and some top batsmen in Ganguly and Manjrekar have come together to beat England in their own game, on their own soil.

India will expect the same heroics from its bunch of dedicated men, as it takes on England in their own den in ODIs.