MAK PATAUDI: 148, Headingley, Leeds, 1967

SUNIL GAVASKAR: 221, Oval, 1979

VINOO MANKAD: 184, Lord's, 1952

DILIP VENGSARKAR: 102*, Headingley 1986

RAHUL DRAVID: 148, Headingley, 2002

SACHIN TENDULKAR: 122, Edgbaston, 1996

AJINKYA RAHANE: 103, Lord's 2014

SOURAV GANGULY: 131, Lord's 1996

MOHD AZHARUDDIN: 121, Lord's, 1990

MS DHONI: 76*, Lord's, 2007

NOTABLE MENTIONS

SANDEEP PATIL 129* at Old Trafford in 1982:

GR VISWANATH 113 at Lord's in 1979:

KAPIL DEV 77* at Lord's in 1990:

MURALI VIJAY 95 at Lord's in 2014:

SANJAY BANGAR 69 at Headingley in 2002:

Batsmen from the sub-continent have historically struggled in cold, damp and seam-friendly English conditions, but there have been some efforts by Indians that have been nothing short of a real masterclass. TOI presents its Top 10:To score even 10 runs with one eye even on the flattest of pitches is a monumental achievement. So, considering the fact that Pataudi, who had lost his right eye in a car accident six years ago, scored 148 on a treacherous surface with one eye, speaks volumes of his skill and grit. It has to be one of the most romanticized tons in cricket folklore. The fact that it was a horribly wet summer and many in the Indian team were nursing injuries made the effort even more special. Having collapsed for 164 in the first innings (Pataudi made 64 even in that essay), India were asked to follow on and were 386 runs behind. But Pataudi's stunning effort helped the visitors to fight back and avoid an innings defeat.Pre-internet and pre-cable era meant that radios were Indian cricket fan's best friends when the team travelled. And the BBC did its best to befriend the Indian listeners as they went about describing perhaps the most accomplished innings in a fourth innings run-chase. In hot pursuit of 438, at a sun-kissed Oval, Sunil Gavaskar calmed the nerves by forging a substantial alliance of 213 for the first wicket with Chetan Chauhan. Post Chauhan's departure, he added 153 with his Mumbai mate Dilip Vengsarkar for the second wicket. At 366-1, a target of 430 seemed achievable even for a team not well versed with the grammar of One-dayers. Sadly, the rest of the players fumbled and India fell nine short and drew the game.Another feat not known by the YouTube generation. If ever there was a solo Indian effort overseas, Mankad's Lord's heroics must occupy pride of place. Despite being the most talismanic cricketer of that generation, he was omitted for that tour and was playing for Haslingden in the Lancashire League. But the shambolic defeat in the Headingley Test, where they could not negotiate Fred Trueman, forced the selectors to pick Mankad for the rest of the games. He opened the batting at Lord's and scored 72 out of the team's total of 235. He also bowled over 70 overs of left-arm orthodox to pick a five-for. Good enough to put your feet up and mock the selectors, you'd think! Not if you are Mankad. In the second innings, he scored 184 and negotiated the pace and fury of Trueman and Alec Bedser. Jim Laker's spin bowling skills too didn't bother him. Of the 25 hours that the Test went on for, Mankad was on the field for 19 of them!After scoring a ton at Lord's in the previous Test, a third successive one on those hallowed turfs by a visiting batsman, it would have been fitting to rechristen Vengsarkar as the Lord Of Lord's. But his batsmanship in the second Test on a minefield at Leeds, would have forced observers to label him as the Lord Of Leeds too. India seemed comfortably placed after taking a lead of 170. But they crumbled in the second dig and were 70 for 5. But Vengsarkar, who had scored 61 in India's first innings total of 272, launched a stirring counter-attack and took the total to 237 thereby setting England 408 to win. That no other batsman from either team scored even 40, tells you that Vengsarkar probably played at another level and on another pitch.Rahul Dravid has scored six centuries in England. Three of them came in the 2011 series where the rest of the batsmen appeared to be sleep-walking. Few knocks though can rival his first hundred on English soil. Not just because it resulted in a famous win. But because of the technical expertise shown to negotiate a potent attack and a green Leeds pitch. Sourav Ganguly won the toss and chose to bat. Virender Sehwag left early. Dravid walked in at No.3 and took some tough blows on the body, but hung around for 429 minutes to protect the middle order from the new ball. Tendulkar and Ganguly were saved from the new ball and they scored attacking tons too as India piled on 628 for 8 and batted only once to register a notable away win.Many of the cricketer's million fans would be up in arms to read that his first Test ton, the match saving 119 at Old Trafford, in 1990, does not figure in the top 10 knocks in Old Blighty. But if they watch a recording of the maestro's 122 in the second innings at Birmingham, when the rest of the players struggled to put bat on ball, they would realize why the innings finds mention here. Trailing by 99, India were 68 for 5. An innings defeat loomed. Tendulkar then took charge to help India set England a target of 125.On Day 1, it was difficult to distinguish the pitch from the turf. If anything, there seemed to be more grass on the pitch. England predictably put India in and India were in trouble at 145-7. Rahane though brought out all his skill, class and boldness. In one of the finest counterattacks witnessed at Lord's, he stroked his way to a sublime 103 off 154 balls. Some of his back-foot punches were a treat and he also batted well with the tail. Ishant Sharma (7/74) won plaudits for his bowling, but had Rahane not stood firm, Ishant's spell would not have mattered.His selection in place of Vinod Kambli had been controversial. But his debut turned out to be even more eventful after Navjot Singh Sidhu pulled out of the tour post a tiff with skipper Mohammad Azharuddin . In pre-diet monitored days, he celebrated the news of his inclusion the previous evening by feasting on French fries from McDonalds at St. John's Wood. The next day, he feasted on the English attack, batting at No.3. With fellow debutant Dravid for company, he scored 131 to help India reach 429 and cement his place for good.He would have been excused for wallowing in self-pity after winning the toss and sending England in to bat and watching Graham Gooch score 333 and England pile up 653 for 4. He got a chance to atone for it with the bat. Very seldom does a triple hundred get overshadowed by a 100, but such was the purity of Azhar's strokeplay that even the Lord's faithful admitted that the Indian skipper's knock was better than his English counterpart's. India avoided the follow on, but lost the Test after an all too familiar second innings collapse.Why should an innings that did not materialise into a three-figure score be listed here? Had MS Dhoni not played his most accomplished Test innings, India would not have won the 2007 series. Chasing 380 on the last day, India were 145-5 with over 50 overs remaining. Dhoni, who still had a reputation of a compulsive aggressor, added 86 for the sixth wicket with VVS Laxman. With 25 overs left, Laxman departed. Kumble, Zaheer Khan and RP Singh fell quickly but Dhoni shepherded Sreesanth and found help from the rain Gods as India escaped with a draw.He flayed Bob Willis for six fours in an over, but what a lot of people don't know is that Patil was going through personal issues and had asked skipper Gavaskar to send him back. The fact that he stayed on and battled hard is a tribute to Patil.Combined with Vengsarkar to save India from a loss. The two scored tons and batted for close to six hours to add 210 runs. India had been bowled out for 96 in the first essay to trail by 313 runs. Viswanath preserved the record of India never losing whenever he got a ton.Hit four successive sixes off Eddie Hemmings to help India save the follow on. The No. 11 batsman Narendra Hirwani was out the next ball highlighting how right Kapil's approach was.With the ball moving all over the place, the opener battled hard to help India erase the first innings deficit and set England a good target.One of the best supporting roles played, Bangar stuck around with Dravid and tired out the English bowlers who were expecting a bagful of wickets on a green pitch.