Three years after etching their name in history books, Kapil Dev’s troops returned to the iconic Lord’s cricket ground to end one of their most storied droughts in the longest format.
On this day in 1986, India won their first-ever Test at Lord’s which came after 11 attempts as they got the better of David Gower’s England by five wickets.
After being put to bat, England was restricted to just 294. Graham Gooch top-scored with a fine 114 while Derek Pringle hit a half-century. Chetan Sharma was the pick of Indian bowlers as he scalped a five-wicket haul.
Dilip Vengsarkar’s unbeaten century meant India reached 341 in their first essay, taking a 47-run innings lead. Graham Dilley picked up four wickets for the hosts.
England, in the second innings, faired poorly as they were bundled out for just 180 with Kapil Dev getting rid of four batsmen.
As India was chasing a small target of 134, they lost four wickets for just 78 on the board and half their side at the score of 110.
Kapil completed his stunning all-round show by slamming 23 runs off 10 deliveries to take the visitors over the line with five wickets to spare.
This match is also remembered for Vengsarkar’s feat who became the first cricketer to score centuries in three successive Lord’s Test.
