On This Day in 2014: India pulled off their first Test win at Lord’s since 1986 – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

India’s tour of England in 2014 did not go according to plans and after the lows of the 2011 series, the MS Dhoni-led side lost this series quite convincingly as well. However, amidst all the ruins, the second Test at Lord’s turned out to be a sensational match for the side.

On a green surface, the Indian batters led by Ajinkya Rahane notched up a competitive total and then Ishant Sharma stepped up in the second innings to bundle out England to register a historic win. It was a special win as it came after 28 years at the Mecca of Cricket, the Lord’s in London.

On a pitch that had a considerable grass covering, England captain Alastair Cook won the toss and elected to bowl first. The Indian batters found it tough on the surface that had excessive assistance to the bowlers. However, Ajinkya Rahane stood tall and slammed a sensational 103 runs off 154 deliveries to help India post a competitive 295 runs.

England responded with 319 runs and they were propelled by a ton by Gary Balance. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the pick of the bowlers for India as he took a six-wicket haul. The pitch had dried out over the three days and in the second innings, India were far better as they scored 342 runs. Murali Vijay and Ravindra Jadeja were the stars with the bat as they added 95 and 68 runs respectively.

England had their task cut out and they looked fairly settled in the chase, but this was when India changed their tactics. Ishant Sharma started a short ball barrage and set the field accordingly. The hosts had no answers to the deliveries and they collapsed like a pack of cards as Ishant ended with a 7-wicket haul to knock over England for 223 runs. India romped home by 95 runs – their first win at Lord’ since 1986.