5 nostalgic moments from England vs India Test matches

#3. 2002: The Headingley fortification by Sanjay Bangar and Rahul Dravid

Sanjay Bangar avoids a bouncer in his tenacious knock against England

The 2002 India tour of England is mostly remembered for the dramatic Natwest ODI series final, the shirtless Indian Captain passionately waving his India jersey, and THAT partnership between Yuvraj Singh and Mohammad Kaif.

However, the dramatic final obscures one the finest performances in Indian test history. England had dominated the series so far, winning the first Test at Lord’s, while easily holding onto a draw at Trent Bridge. The third Test was played at Headingley in Leeds. On a green top under overcast conditions, India’s captain, Sourav Ganguly, made an apparent blunder by deciding to bat first. But, Dravid and Sanjay Bangar had other ideas. Under the gloomy Headingley skies, they batted with the discipline reminiscent of Sunil Gavaskar, allowing Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly to make hay on Day 2 and Day 3.

Tendulkar top scored with 193, Ganguly scored a hundred, while Dravid was given the man-of-the-match for his 144. India racked up an incredible 628 and won the match by an innings and 46 runs.

The most nostalgic moment of the match came on day 1 of the test with a sweat-drenched Sanjay Bangar walking away after being dismissed for a tenacious 68 in 5 hours which set up one of India’s most famous wins.