England introduced the colonial exercise of cricket to India in the early 1700s and it wasn’t until 1932 that the first official match between the two nations was held. The following year in 1933, a cricket team from England, organised by the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), toured India from 15 December to 4 March 1934. The Test series was won 2-0 by the touring side.
The World Wars halted the proceedings as England only returned for a tour again in October 1951 which went on till the March of the following year. The five-match series was drawn 1-1 but India registered their first victory, by an innings and eight runs, over their former rulers in the last match at the Madras Cricket Club Ground, which is now known as Chepauk, with Pahlan Umrigar scoring a hundred and Vinoo Mankad taking 12 wickets across two innings.
England then made their next appearance after a decade and India created history by recording their first ever series win over them.
The tour, that was held from October 1961 to February 1962 saw the hosts winning the fourth Test (by 187 runs) and the fifth Test (by 128 runs).
England would be back soon, a year later, but this time the five-match series ended 0-0.
India then won the second Test (by 28 runs) and the third Test (by 4 wickets) after losing the series opening clash of 1972-73 tour.
In the 1976-77 tour, held between December and February, England managed to defeat India 2-1 in a five-match series and again won the only-test contest in February 1980. Before India’s first Cricket World Cup triumph, India managed to win the six-match series 1-0.
Tour of 1984-85
The England cricket team toured India in 1984-85, playing a five-match Test series followed by five ODIs.
Just after their arrival, India’s Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated forcing the English team to fly to Sri Lanka for a couple of warm-up matches. The tour was nearly called off after the Deputy High Commissioner of Western India was shot dead in Mumbai, the day after hosting a reception for the England team.
As for the cricket itself, England pipped India 2-1 in the five-match Test series after winning the second (by 8 wickets) and fourth (by 9 wickets) game.
Tour of 1992-93
The last decade of the 20th century introduced fresh faces, that went on to rule Indian cricket till after the turn of the next century. Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin along with Kapil Dev handed over the reins to the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble (most wickets) and Vinod Kambli (most runs).
India went on to dominate an insipid England side, winning the three-match series 3-0 and that too keeping the same eleven throughout.
Tour of 2001–02
With the turn of the century, a new Team India, led by a charismatic captain by the name of Sourav Ganguly, took on England in a three-match Test series.
In the first match in Mohali, India won the toss and sent England in to bat as Harbhajan Singh wreaked havoc with his off-spin, picking up a five-wicket haul.
Answering the visitor’s mere 238, India posted a mammoth 469, thanks in part to a maiden hundred from Deep Dasgupta and composed half-centuries from Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid. Then Anil Kumble picked up six wickets in the second innings as India strolled to a 10-wicket win.
In the second game in Ahmedabad, England managed to post a good total of 407 despite Kumble’s 7-wicket haul as Tendulkar’s hundred helped India fight back with 291. In the second innings, Harbhajan registered another five wickets with India going on to draw the match.
In the third and last contest in then Bangalore, rain forced an early end to the match as India clinched the series 1-0.
Tour of 2005-06
Ganguly was gone and Rahul Dravid was in charge of the side with Mahendra Singh Dhoni donning the wicketkeeping gloves.
In the first match in Nagpur, England won the toss and decided to bat. Paul Collingwood hit an unbeaten 134 as England post 393 and in reply, India made 323-all out. In the second innings, Alastair Cook scored a hundred on debut and Wasim Jaffer too notched up a ton as the match ended in a draw.
In the second game in Mohali, England again opted to bat first after winning the toss. Kumble starred with the ball, picking up five wickets as England were dismissed for 300. India posted 338 as in the second innings, England capsized to be all out for 181 as India went on to win the match by 9 wickets.
In the third match at Mumbai’s Wankhede, India won the toss and elected to bat first. Andrew Stauss smashed a hundred to help England post 400. In reply, India were bowled out for 279 with James Anderson picking up four wickets. Even though Kumble’s four wickets bowled England out for just 191 in their second innings, India lost the game by 212 runs.
Tour of 2008-09
The 26/11 Mumbai Terror Attacks forced the two-match Test series to be moved from Ahmedabad and Mumbai to Chennai and Mohali. England players flew home in the immediate aftermath but returned the day prior to the start of the Tests.
In the first match, England won the toss and elected to bat. Andrew Strauss hit a hundred as England posted 316 with India managing a paltry 241 in reply. In the second innings, Strauss scored another hundred, along with Paul Collingwood, as England declared at 311. Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag scored fighting fifties before Sachin Tendulkar smashed a hundred and along with Yuvraj Sing’s unbeaten 85 helped India win by 6 wickets.
In the second match, India elected to bat first as Gambhir’s 179 propelled India to 453. Kevin Pietersen scored a hundred to help England reach 302. In the end, the match trickled to a tame draw as India won the series 1-0.
Tour of 2012-13
England managed to beat India in a Test series away from home for the first time since the 1984–85 tour.
In the first match in Ahmedabad, Cheteshwar Pujara scored an unbeaten double-hundred as India declared on 521 after electing to bat first. Pragyan Ojha picked up five wickets as England were bowled out for 191 and when asked to follow-on, managed 406 thanks to a brilliant hundred from Cook. India went on to knock off the remaining runs to win the match by 9 wickets.
In the second match at Mumbai’s Wankhede, Pujara again top scored with 135 but Pietersen’s brilliant 186 helped England post 413. In reply, India were bowled out for just 142 with Monty Panesar picking up 6 wickets as England clinched the match by 10 wickets.
In the third game in Kolkata, India managed 316 after winning the toss. Cook scored 190 to help England post 523. India were bowled out for 247 with Ravichandran Ashwin staying unbeaten on 91 as England won by 7 wickets.
In the fourth match in Nagpur, Joe Root and Ravindra Jadeja made their Test debuts as Virat Kohli scored a hundred. The match was a tame draw in the end, as England registered a historic series win.
Tour of 2016-17
After the humiliation of the previous tour at home, a new-look India captained by Kohli bounced back in style, winning the five-match series 4–0.
The first match was a draw in Rajkot and then India went on to win the rest of the matches with sheer dominance. In the second match in Visakhapatnam, India won by 246 runs, the third in Mohali by 8 wickets, the fourth in Mumbai by an innings and 36 runs as Kohli scored a double-hundred and Ashwin picked up 12 wickets in the match.
In the fifth match, played in Chennai, India posted their highest total ever in Test cricket, scoring 759 runs as Karun Nair hit an unbeaten 303.
Jadeja picked up 10 wickets across both innings as India clinched the match by an innings and 75 runs, breaking their record for consecutive Tests without defeat to eighteen. India also finished the year with nine Test victories, the most ever for India in a calendar year.
Tour of 2020-21
After the onset of Covid-19 pandemic, India hosted England for a four-match Test series, which was part of the inaugural 2019–2021 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
England won the first match by 227 runs while India clinched the second Test by 317 runs to level the series, with both Test matches being played in Chennai.
The third Test, a day/night fixture at the refurbished Narendra Modi Stadium, was done and dusted inside two days, with India winning by ten wickets.
The fourth and final Test was also played at the same venue with India winning by an innings and 25 runs to take the series 3–1. The result helped India qualifiy for the final of the WTC against New Zealand.
Tour of 2024 Full Schedule
India vs England 1st Test: Thursday, 25 January 2024 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad (9:30 am IST).
India vs England 2nd Test: Friday, 02 February 2024 at Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam (9:30 am IST).
India vs England 3rd Test: Thursday, 15 February 2024 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot (9:30 am IST).
India vs England 4th Test: Friday, 23 February 2024 at JSCA International Stadium Complex, Ranchi (9:30 am IST).
India vs England 5th Test: Thursday, 7 March 2024 at Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala (9:30 am IST).
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