For any subcontinent team, it is hard to win a Test game in England. The conditions are exactly opposite to that at home, and weather also plays a part in a player’s performance. Yet, Team India has managed some incredible victories on English soil. India has had 33 Test captains so far, but there are only two Indian captains to win more than one Test in England. MS Dhoni, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Ajit Wadekar all won an encounter each in England.
1) Virat Kohli – 3 (Nottingham in 2018, Lord’s in 2021, The Oval in 2021)
In the tour of 2018, India lost 4-1 to England, but the performances were decent. Especially in the third game at Trent Bridge where Virat Kohli‘s men clinched a victory. While Virat’s performance with the bat was the talking point, Hardik Pandya’s five-wicket haul in the first innings and Bumrah’s five-wicket haul in the second innings set up the game for India.
In 2021, Team India has already won two games with the series yet to end. Hence, Virat has become the only Indian captain to win more than two games in England. Both the matches, at Lord’s and the Oval, were dramatic comebacks scripted by the bowlers. The wins were also aided by the centuries of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma at Lord’s and Leeds respectively.
2) Kapil Dev – 2 (Lord’s in 1986 and Leed’s in 1986)
World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev is one of the two Indian captains to win more than one Test in England. Back in 1986, India won games at Lord’s and Leeds under the leadership of the Haryana Hurricane.
While at Lord’s, it was Kapil Dev’s mastery that won the game for India, at Leeds, it was Dilip Vengsarkar’s second-innings century that gave India a consecutive Test win at the Lord’s. India won the series after drawing the third match at Birmingham.
