India in England: Lions or lambs in the land of the Lords

Indias tour of England is now reaching the business end and after suffering defeat in the ODI series 21 team India is now gearing up to play a fivematch Test series Indian cricket team in England has been victorious three times 1971 1986 and 2007 and it has been 11 years since India last tasted success in EnglandTeam India over the years have got the tag of tigers at home and lambs abroad and captain Virat Kohli would love to shed this tag once and for all Indian cricket teams last overseas tour in South Africa was not a successful one as Virat Kohli and his boys lost the series 21Lets look back at the Indian cricket teams last five performances in England1996 seriesSourav GangulyIndia in the 1990s as discussed earlier had the unwanted tag of tigers at home and lambs abroad and this series didnt help change that perception India lost the series 10 but found champion players in Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly The Lords Test match is still remembered as Sourav Ganguly announced his arrival with a majestic debut hundred Another player who made his mark was Karnataka batsman Rahul Dravid who narrowly missed out on a debut ton himselfIndian team overall struggled on this tour but with Sachin Tendulkar reaching his prime and influx of new players the Indian team was making progress in the right direction2002 seriesRahul DravidAfter the infamous matchfixing scandal Team Indias credibility was at an alltime low BCCI were in dire need of an image makeover and appointed an inexperienced Sourav Ganguly as skipperIndia were still considered as home track bullies and 2002 tour was a watershed moment in Indian teams history India as usual lost the first Test match at Lords biggest talking point was Ajit Agarkar scoring century Sachin Tendulkar has none at the home of cricketBut this team was different from his peers as it had steel and resolve and recorded an astounding victory at Headingley Indias wall Rahul Dravid had a brilliant series 602 runs in four matches but the series ended at a 11 draw2007 seriesZaheer KhanEvery England tour funnily enough has come at a time when Indian cricket was going through a difficult phase The Indian team was down and out after the dismal show at the 2007 World Cup in West Indies and nothing much was expected from this tour India got a lucky reprieve at the Lords Cricket Ground when rain helped India avoid defeat India were nine down in the second inningsCaptain Rahul Dravid might not necessarily come across as authoritative India totally outplayed England in the second Test at Trent Bridge courtesy Zaheer Khan and won comprehensively Zaheer Khan after a couple of indifferent seasons picked up 18 wickets in the series and was named the man of the seriesIndia could have won the third Test match at The Oval surprising tactics by Rahul Dravid of not enforcing the followon but this match saw Anil Kumble score his maiden Test hundred and men in blue won the series in England after a gap of 21 years2011 seriesMahendra Singh DhoniAfter the euphoria and high of winning the 2011 World Cup Indian team were whitewashed losing the series 40 and this turned into total chaos Captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni suffered a big blow when he lost Zaheer Khan in the first session of the Lords Test What is with India and Lords and after that the series turned into a nightmareIndian team lost every Test match Lords Trent Bridge Edgbaston and The Oval and from the outside it looked like the team was listless and dispirited Another big talking point going into the series was Sachin Tendulkars 100th international hundred and sadly for 13 billion Indians that moment never cameIndian team apart from Rahul Dravid who else three hundreds had nothing to show and Mahendra Singh Dhonis midas touch was almost nearing its end2014 seriesVirat KohliIndian team coming into the series had lost 40 vs England 2011 40 vs Australia 201112 South Africa 10 2013 New Zealand 10 2014 so the expectations werent huge and Indian team was again expected to loseAfter the boring draw at Trent Bridge Test Indian team finally achieved a win at Lords first since 1986 thanks to Ajinkya Rahanes magnificent century 103 and Indian seamer Ishant Sharmas sevenwicket haul 774 in the second inningsBut after achieving a rare series lead Indian team lost the next three matches Southampton Old Trafford and The Oval and the series ended at 31 Indian team miraculously squandered the series and the big talking point was Virat Kohlis horrendous series 134 runs in five matches at an average of 1340India might have lost the series but found the core of the team in Murali Vijay Ajinkya Rahane Bhuvneshwar Kumar Ishant Sharma Mohammed Shami Ravichandran Ashwin and future looked bright despite the setbackSo that was Indias performance in the last five visits to England and knowing Virat Kohli he would like to settle the score and also prove to his critics that he is one of the best batsman and win the Test series in England after a gap of 11 long yearsAlso Read If Virat Says His Runs Dont Matter He Is Lying Says James AndersonCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates