England’s 1984-85 tour of India was never going to be easy. Thrashed 5-0 at home by West Indies and unable to defeat Sri Lanka in a supposedly easy one-off Test at Lord’s in the summer of 1984, their confidence was low as the plane departed for Asia – a plane that did not contain Ian Botham (opted out), Graham Gooch or John Emburey (South African rebel tour bans). Without these key players and with a struggling skipper – David Gower’s record as captain was P9 W0 D3 L6 as they set off for Mumbai – expectations were unsurprisingly low.

Botham was replaced by Kent all-rounder Chris Cowdrey, whose 951 runs for Kent that summer earned him a spot in an unconvincing battling line-up. Opener Graeme Fowler was averaging a touch under 30 from his 16 Tests; Tim Robinson, like Cowdrey, was making his Test debut; Allan Lamb had scored just 78 runs in five innings against Pakistan on his previous tour to the subcontinent; Mike Gatting was still trying to establish himself at Test level; and Gower had to contend with the burden of being captain.

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The bowling was equally problematic, with England relying heavily on experienced spinners Pat Pocock and Phil Edmonds, and an inexperienced pace attack that included Norman Cowans, who had struggled to live up to his early promise, Richard Ellison, who was playing in only his third Test, and Neil Foster.

If England were a side in decline – 12 Tests without a win since August 1983 – then India were not exactly flourishing either. They were on a run of 31 matches without a win and had not experienced the joy of winning a Test match since their victory against England in Mumbai in November 1981. They still had their superstars, however. Captain Sunil Gavaskar was the leading run scorer in Test cricket with a whopping average of 52.23; Kapil Dev was averaging slightly more with the bat (29.47) than the ball (28.10); and Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar provided experience and runs aplenty.

The bowling looked a little weaker on paper. Medium pacer Chetan Sharma had only two Test caps and leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan had only one. Off-spinner Shivlal Yadav was averaging 38.70 with the ball and had one five-wicket haul to his name in his 19 Tests prior to the England tour.

Competing in India would be difficult enough but England also had to cope with a number of off-field issues during the tour. As the touring party landed in India, the country was enveloped in political and religious upheaval. On 31 October, Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her own Sikh bodyguards and within hours the country was thrown into turmoil. Hindus throughout India sought revenge on Sikhs, who were blamed for the assassination, leading to thousands of deaths in riots. England’s tour was inevitably cast into doubt as all matches scheduled for the 12-day mourning period were postponed. After a tense couple of days, the tour was given the green light to recommence on 12 November after the period of mourning.

On the eve of the first Test, Perry Norris, the British Deputy High Commissioner was shot dead, only half a mile away from the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai just hours after entertaining the England team. The players were understandably rocked by this news and many thought twice about taking part the following day.

There would also be the tragedy of Bhopal to deal with before the second Test. A chemical leak in the city killed, blinded and caused severe injuries to hundreds of thousands of people. A country in mourning after Gandhi’s assassination was now forced to absorb another blow. Cricket was once again put into perspective against the background of a nation in despair.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The England team lined up to pay their respects to Indira Gandhi and the British Deputy High Commissioner, Percy Norris. Photograph: Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto/Getty Images

1st Test: India win by 8 wickets in Mumbai

When the cricket finally began, England won the toss in Mumbai but failed to take advantage. The main reason for this was 19-year-old leg-spinner Sivaramakrishnan, who had already warned England of his abilities when taking 4/27 for India’s under-25s earlier in the tour. He may have taken his first wicket when Fowler returned a full toss to him, but from this point on, the Indian youngster bowled beautifully to a string of bemused batsmen.

Sivaramakrishnan’s 6/64 helped India dismiss England for 195. When India replied with 465/8 declared – a lead of 270 – it was simply a case of waiting for England to go 1-0 down. England did at least make India bat again but Sivaramakrishnan’s 6/117 gave him match figures of 12/181. However, from the third Test onwards, Sivaramakrishnan was a completely changed man, taking only four more wickets at a shocking average of 100.50, and although he claimed the man of the series award, the young spinner would only play three more Tests after this series. His flame may have only flickered briefly, but what an impact he made at the start of England’s tour.

Before the trip, Gower made a key decision that helped to shape the future of Mike Gatting. The Middlesex man had never truly established himself in the Test side, his average of 23.83 in 30 matches hardly inspiring, and in his last England outing he had feebly padded-up twice at Lord’s to Malcolm Marshall. Gower’s decision to appoint Gatting as his vice-captain paid dividends in a big way during a purple patch that would bring Gatting an average of 72.37 in his next 13 Tests, before he took over the captaincy from Gower in 1986. England lost the first Test in India but it was a personal triumph for Gatting, who finally scored his first Test century after 54 innings. “There was a small tear there when I saw the three figures go up on the scoreboard,” he said.

2nd Test: England win by 8 wickets in Delhi

England appeared to have thrown away an unexpected opportunity at the start of the second Test as they allowed India to recover from 140/6 to 307 all out. At 181/4 in reply, the match was delicately poised before a quite sublime innings from opener Tim Robinson put England in a strong position. His 160, in just his second Test, helped England to a first-innings lead of 111 (the first time England had passed 400 in nine Tests), and the English press were quick to applaud Robinson.

Already comparisons were being drawn up between England’s new batting star and one Geoffrey Boycott. “Of course I am an admirer of Boycott and his approach to batting. I will be delighted if I get half the Test runs he has,” said Robinson. Of course, it didn’t work out quite as Robinson would have liked.

It’s not exactly a competition filled with hundreds of entries, but the fifth day at Delhi on 17 December 1984 must rank highly in England’s greatest days of Test cricket during that decade. The victory still looked unlikely at lunch, as India had six wickets intact and a lead approaching 100, with the Test apparently drifting towards a draw. Gower, however, sensed something could happen and for once lost his rag with his players. It obviously worked, as after lunch India lost six wickets for just 31 runs – Pocock and Edmonds finishing with four wickets each – leaving England a target of 129 runs off a minimum of 32 overs to level the series.

After a solid opening stand between Fowler and Robinson, Gatting and Lamb saw England home with 8.2 overs remaining, the latter smashing cafeteria bowler Gavaskar for a six and a four to finish the match. It was England’s first Test win in 475 days (since beating New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 1983), their first away win since the dramatic Melbourne Test of 1982 and Gower’s first win as skipper. “For such a bad side, it wasn’t such a bad effort,” said Gower. “Oh, what a beautiful morning,” sang the headline on the back of the Express. The series was now alive.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The 2nd Test. Photograph: Patrick Eagar/Popperfoto/Getty Images

3rd Test: a draw in Kolkata

Surprisingly, Kapil Dev was dropped for the third Test in Kolkata, a match that proved disappointing. Rain, bad light, and a tedious batting display by India meant that the home team finally got around to declaring the first innings of the match on day four and there was no chance of a result.

The match was important for one young man. A 21-year-old Mohammad Azharuddin had already come to England’s attention during his 151 for the Under-25s, but his debut Test century confirmed his status as a player worth watching. Further centuries would follow in the next two Tests – the only man to achieve three tons in his first three Tests – and it was little wonder that John Woodcock said he had “played like an angel” and “has a style which charms away routine and the balance and footwork of the greatest natural players.”

4th Test: England win by 9 wickets in Madras

England finally made a change for the fourth Test in Madras. Neil Foster was drafted in for Richard Ellison and it proved to be a wise decision. Gower again lost the toss, but on a wicket that provided encouragement England, and Foster, enjoyed a dream day. India were dismissed for 272, their only partnerships of note a 110 stand for the fourth wicket between Amarnath (78) and Azharuddin (48), and 74 for the seventh wicket pair of Dev (53) and Kirmani (30 not out).

Foster fully justified his selection, taking Test best figures of 6/104. With Cowans and Cowdrey each taking two wickets, it looked as if the wicket had been sent from Headingley. India’s total, scored at a frantic rate of four an over, looked way short of a competitive score, and so it would prove.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mohammed Azharuddin in action for India. Photograph: Adrian Murrell/Getty Images

With a first-innings lead of 380, Foster quickly got to work again, a spell of 3/5 reducing India to 22/3, and, even though Amarnath and Azharuddin rescued India once more with a 190-run partnership, Foster and England would not be denied. In taking the key wicket of Amarnath, and then Sivaramakrishnan later in the innings, Foster finished the match with figures of 11/163, only the third English paceman to take 10 wickets in a Test in India (John Lever and Ian Botham being the others). Not bad for someone who had only taken twelve Test wickets prior to this match.

Incredibly, things got even better after Foster’s first innings heroics. Fowler and Robinson put on a record 178-run opening stand for England against India before Sivaramakrishnan had Robinson (74) caught behind. India’s pain was far from over, however. Fowler and Gatting became the first Englishmen to both score double-hundreds in the same innings of a Test match – after 108 years and 610 Tests – and their record second-wicket partnership against India of 241 put the playing strip fully into context.

For both Fowler and Gatting, the heat proved energy sapping, with Fowler telling a great story regarding the last over of the second day. After Gatting informed Fowler that he would face the last five balls of the final over, Fowler retreated to the comfort of the non-striking end. “So I bowed my head, closed my eyes and counted the next five balls. But when I got to three, I heard the umpire say ‘Over’. I had actually fallen asleep.”

“Double dazzlers” declared the Express, with the Mirror opting for the headline “Double tops”. England closed day three on a dreamy 611/5, a lead of 339, and on their way to taking a remarkable lead in the series. Eventually England would declare on 652/7, and after further Foster magic, England reached the victory target of 33 with just one wicket down, to take a barely believable 2-1 lead in the series.

“I’m getting to enjoy this feeling of winning,” said a delighted Gower, but his opposite number was not so impressed. “We threw the door wide open for them in Delhi. Now they have become like the guests who stayed on to be owners of the house,”said Gavaskar before the final Test in Kanpur.

5th Test: a draw in Kanpur

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Gower of England holds the trophy aloft after the fifth Test in Kanpur. Photograph: Adrian Murrell/Getty Images

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Eager to avoid the embarrassment of a series loss, Gavaskar promised an under-prepared pitch. Alas, it didn’t quite work out as the Indian skipper had hoped. The home team’s hopes of squaring the series at Kanpur were dashed by groundsman Anand Shukla. Shukla had prepared a fair cricket wicket, declaring his disgust at being asked to aid the home team: “I refuse to be party to any manoeuvres to cook the wicket. I am an honest man.” It was the final nail in the coffin for India.

Although India won the toss and made 553/8 declared, England responded with 417, albeit not without a few wobbles on the way. Having reached Billy Birmingham’s favourite score of 222/2, England then slumped to 286/6, still a distant 68 runs away from saving the follow-on. Fortunately, Gower chose a fine time to return to form and his 78, along with a determined 49 from Edmonds, dragged England to a secure position. India simply did not have enough time left on the final day to conjure up a positive result; incredibly, England had won the Test series 2-1.

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