The thrashing at Lord’s on Sunday marked the ninth test match that India has lost in England in the past decade, of the 11 tests it has played there. Among the eight test-cricket playing nations that have travelled to England in the past 10 years—a period of time that overlaps with the emergence of the Indian Premier league (IPL)—that is the highest number of losses. Whichever way one cuts the data, India in England in the past decade, compared to other sides, is a very sorry tale.

With loss number nine, India now has one more loss than Australia, which though has played more tests in England in the past decade, and also won or drawn more, than India. At the other end of the spectrum, while Pakistan has its share of moments, only South Africa have truly matched England.

As a result, India has a won/lost ratio of just 0.11 in England in the past decade. This is the second-lowest, after Bangladesh. India’s sole victory came in Lord’s in 2014, a match in which Ajinkya Rahane got a hundred, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma took seven wickets each.

In England in the past decade, India have been abysmal in all facets of the game. On the bowling side, the English batsmen have averaged 47 per wicket against India during this period. This is, once again, the second-worst, after Bangladesh. To put this in perspective, the sides that have achieved some level of success have restricted English batsmen to an average in the mid-30s: for example, English batsmen averaged 31 against South Africa and 32 against Australia.

Equally, India’s batsmen have been found wanting in England during this 10-year period. They have averaged just 24 per wicket, which is nearly half of what English batsmen have averaged against Indian bowlers. By comparison, Australia and South Africa have averaged 34 and 33, respectively.

The Indian team has three more opportunities in this series to repair these records of ignominy. On the evidence of the first two tests matches, though, these numbers in England might just get worse for India.

Data source: ESPNCricinfo.com

Howindialives.com is a database and search engine for public data

Subscribe to Mint Newsletters * Enter a valid email * Thank you for subscribing to our newsletter.

Share Via