England 1 - India 0 Drawn 3

Venkataraghavan led the tourists against Brearley’s successful side. He lost the first toss at Edgbaston, and England amassed 633 for 5 declared, their highest post-war total. Gower, with 200 not out, led the way. Boycott made 155, Gooch 83 and Miller 63 not out. Remarkably, Kapil Dev took all the wickets (5 for 146). India made 297 (Gavaskar 61, Gundappa Vishwanath 78) and 253 (Sunil Gavaskar 68, Chetan Chauhan 56, Vishwanath 51, Ian Botham 5 for 70), England winning in four days by an innings and 83 runs.

Rain helped India save the second Test at Lord’s after they managed a meager 96 in the first innings. Botham claimed 5 for 35 as England declared at 419 for 9 (Gower 82, Randall 57, Miller 62, Taylor 64). Botham took his 100th Test wicket when he dismissed Gavaskar for 59 in the second innings in record time (2 years, 9 days), although he was not quickest in terms of Tests played. Dilip Vengsarkar (103) and Vishwanath (113) turned the tide for India, adding 210 for the third wicket, and at 318 for 4 India forced a draw.

At Headingley, Botham hit a rapid 137, including 99 before lunch (9 for 108), but this was the fourth day, half the first day and all of the next two days were lost to rain. England made 270, India 223 for 6 (Gavaskar 78, Vengsarkar 65 not out) in a hopeless draw.

The fourth and final Test at The Oval provided one of the best finishes in recent years. England batted and made 305 (Graham Gooch 78, Peter Willey 52). India scored 202 -- Vishwanath top-scored with 62. Boycott made 125 when England went in again, and debutant David Biarstow, with a useful 59, allowed England to declare at 334 for 8, setting India a target of 438 with over eight hours to get them.

India made an impressive start, Gavaskar and Chauhan (80) putting on 213 for the first wicket, a record for England-India Tests. When the last hour began, India had still lost only the one wicket in over a day’s play -- at 328 for 1 and required 110 from the last 20 overs. Vengsarkar was dismissed for 52 and Kapil Dev followed soon after. A tired Gavaskar was out for a magnificent 221, one of Test cricket’s best innings. India lost a little momentum and wickets fell - at 429 for 8 at the close they were just eight runs short of a great victory. Perhaps India took a few to many overs avoiding defeat, but it was a memorable draw. Botham completed 1,000 Test runs during the match, and became the quickest to a Test double of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, achieved in only 21 matches.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
SM Gavaskar (Ind)	4	7	0	542	221	77.43	1	4	-	3	-
G Boycott (Eng)	4	5	0	378	155	75.60	2	-	-	1	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
N Kapil Dev (Ind)	4	173	1043	49	495	16	30.94	5/146	1	-	65.19	47.46
IT Botham (Eng)	4	179	1074	49	472	20	23.60	5/35	2	-	53.70	43.95

England 1 - India 0 - Draw 2

Six months after meeting in Kanpur, the two sides met again in the first Test at Lord’s. Bob Willis was England’s new captain. Before the match, India objected to umpire David Constant, who had officiated in the Prudential Trophy, and he was withdrawn from the Test panel. Willis won his first toss, batted, and Kapil Dev took the first four wickets with the England total reading 96 on the board. Ian Botham made 67, but at 166 for 6 England needed an innings from Derek Randall, and, as usual, he obliged. Phil Edmonds (64) joined in a stand of 125. Bob Taylor helped Randall (126) add another 72, and then Geoff Allott and Willis added 70 for the last wicket. England were all out for 433.

India made a pathetic start. Botham finished with 5 for 46 as Willis and Pringle reducing them to 45-5. Gavaskar (48) and Kapil Dev (41) added 67 for the sixth wicket but this proved more than half the total of 128, the next highest individual score being 6. At 24-2 India appeared to be going the same way when they followed on, but Vengsarkar played a masterly innings of 157. At 275 for 8, however, it looked like an innings defeat, but Kapil Dev smashed 89 runs in 55 balls and India reached 369. Needing 65, England faced eight overs on the fourth evening, during which Kapil Dev grabbed three wickets while 18 were scored, but next day the target was reached without further loss. Kapil Dev, with two good innings and eight wickets, was declared Man of the Match.

In the second Test at Old Trafford, Cook and Chris Tavare put on 106 for the first wicket when England decided to bat, but this good start slid to 161 for 5. Botham then made a typical quick 128, and Miller, with 98, helped in a stand of 169. But there was no play after lunch on the second day, and with interruptions on all days it was late on the third day before the innings was completed at 425. The top three Indian batsmen were out for 25 before the close, and the follow-on was a possibility. But Vishwanath made 54, night watchman Kirmani a stubborn 58, Patil a brilliant 129 not out, which included six fours in an over (one no-ball) from Willis and Kapil Dev hit 65 from 55 balls as India ended the day at 379 for 8. The last day was washed out. Patil was Man of the Match.

England batted again at The Oval, and provided some brilliant attacking batting. The top six batsmen all scored runs, but the highlight was, as so often, the innings of Botham, and it was one of his best. He hit 208, his highest Test score, from 226 balls, probably the quickest Test 200 in terms of balls bowled, though not in time taken. He hit four sixes and 19 fours, and one shot broke the ankle of Gavaskar, fielding at sill point. He was, of course, Man of the Match. Lamb made a brilliant 107, Randall 95, Cook 50, and England ended at 594.

The Indian batsmen, without Gavaskar, made a spirited reply, only Vengsarkar of the top seven failing. Shastri made 66, Vishwanath 56 and Patil, 62, but at 248 for 5 (effectively 6) the follow-on target was still 147 ahead. Kapil Dev, who won the Man of the Series award, soon settled, hitting 97 in 93 balls, including two sixes and 14 fours. India reached 410. Willis was not inclined to give a generous declaration. At 191 for 3 declared (Tavare 75 not out) he set India 376 in an impossible time, to the disgruntlement of the spectators. They reached 111 for 3, Vishwanath was 75 not out.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
N Kapil Dev (Ind)	3	4	0	292	97	73.00	-	3	-	-	-
IT Botham (Eng)	3	3	0	403	208	134.33	2	1	-	1	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
DR Doshi (Ind)	3	157	943	38	455	13	35.00	6/102	1	-	72.54	48.25
RGD Willis (Eng)	3	88	528	11	330	15	22.00	6/101	1	-	35.20	62.50

India 2 England 0 Draw 1

Having been thoroughly trounced in the West Indies, England found themselves coming second to India in the first half of the 1986 season. In the first Test at Lord’s, Vengsarkar hit his traditional hundred (it was his third Test hundred on the ground, a record for an overseas player), Kapil Dev then sorted out the English batting and India won by five wickets. Gower was summarily dismissed as England’s captain in a rather gauche selectorial move, but the new captain, Gatting, could not prevent Vengsarkar hitting a hundred in the second Test and the English batsmen being bemused by some plain bowling from Binny that ended with India’s victory by 279 runs.

The third game, at Edgbaston, was remarkable for a tie on first innings, both teams making 390. Gavaskar continued to break records, being the first Indian to have 200 Test innings and to hold 100 catches. His run total moved up to 9,367, another record. India was content to let the game run to a draw on the last day.

BATTING & FIELDING
	M	I	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	100	50	0	Ct	St
DB Vengsarkar (Ind)	3	6	2	360	126*	90.00	2	1	1	1	-
MW Gatting (Eng)	3	6	2	293	183*	73.25	1	-	1	3	-

BOWLING
	M	O	B	Md	R	W	Ave	Best	5	10	SR	ER
C Sharma (Ind)	2	102	615	20	300	16	18.75	6/58	2	1	38.44	48.78
DR Pringle (Eng)	3	126	759	31	302	13	23.23	4/73	-	-	58.38	39.79

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