Fate enjoyed by Indian Captains in Test series in England

While team India's tour of England is barely 10 days away, it would be a litmus test for Indian skipper Virat Kohli who would undertake his first tour of England as a captain.

Enjoying considerable success in English conditions, especially against the swinging Duke ball under overcast conditions is considered to be a feather in the cap of any subcontinental captain since English conditions are drastically different from the dry, dustbowls on offer in the subcontinent.

Team India has enjoyed mixed success in their past four tours of England, ever since the beginning of the new millennium. While India managed an impressive 1-1 draw in 2002 under the leadership of Ganguly, team India went a step ahead and clinched the Test series 1-0 in 2007 under Dravid's captaincy.

The next two tours of England, in 2011 and 2013 respectively, however, were disastrous and are considered to be a black mark in Dhoni's otherwise spotless record.

Captaincy often plays a major role in a team's success under difficult playing conditions. A captain is expected to lead from the front not only with the bat but also while marshaling his troops.

Here we have a look at the fate enjoyed by Indian captains while leading team India in Tests on English soil.

---

---

1. Sourav Ganguly 2002

While India had the worst possible start to the tour, having lost the first Test by a whopping 170 runs, the second Test ended in a closely contested draw. India soon staged a dramatic comeback as they defeated England by an innings and 46 runs in the third Test.

Ganguly, Tendulkar, and vice-captain Dravid all scored brilliant centuries to help India humble England. While Tendulkar and Dravid forged together a humongous partnership to take India to a mammoth total, Ganguly played an aggressive 128, scoring at a strike rate of 76.

Sourav Ganguly had a dream start to his Test career in England, scoring a century in his Test debut in Lord's. He followed it up with another ton in the subsequent Test. While his debut series in England was a fairytale, his next tour of England, in 2002, saw him leading team India for the first and only time in a Test series in England.

Ganguly especially took a liking to left-arm spinner Ashley Giles as he took him away to the cleaners quite often. With active contributions from spinners Kumble and Harbhajan, India managed to inflict an innings defeat on England and squared the series. The final Test ended in a draw and the series was shared 1-1.

On a personal front, Ganguly enjoyed tremendous success with the bat as he scored 351 runs in four matches at an average of 59. At the end of this series, Ganguly's stock as a captain only spiralled upwards as he managed not to lose a Test series in England by a visiting Indian team for the first time since 1986.

2. Rahul Dravid, 2007

Team India had its best times in England since 1986 under the leadership of Rahul Dravid in 2007. Under Dravid, India managed to win the Test series 1-0, a feat that had been eluding India for the past 21 years.

The tour, however, did not start on a bright note for India, as they managed to somehow evade a defeat in the series opener at Lord's, thanks to Dhoni's resilience and the mercy showered upon by rain gods.

However, the second test saw India come out all guns blazing against England. Zaheer took full advantage of the seaming conditions as the English batsmen simply had no answers to his zipping deliveries and inswingers. Zaheer managed nine wickets in the match and helped India win quite easily by 7 wickets.

In the third Test, despite having an upper hand, Dravid refused to enforce the follow-on, a decision that raised quite a few eyebrows. Dravid defended himself by stating that his bowlers were tired. The match ended in a draw and India went to win the series 1-0.

On a personal front, Dravid though endured a poor outing, uncharacteristic of his standard. In 3 matches, he could manage only 126 runs in his kitty, at an average of 25. His tally included only a single half-century.

Surprisingly, Dravid soon stepped down from captaincy at the end of the tour. Given that he had managed an elusive Test series victory on English soil, this decision of his sent shock waves across the Cricket fraternity. Dravid, however, was firm in his decision and remained unperturbed.

#3 MS Dhoni, 2011

The men in blue were on a high post their 2011 World Cup triumph in Mumbai. Naturally, the expectations were sky high as India undertook its sojourn in England under the leadership of MS Dhoni. On a personal front, MS Dhoni was living a dream as had just claimed back-to-back victories as skipper (2011 WC and IPL 2011).

However, what followed was an unprecedented 4-0 whitewash at the hands of the Englishmen. The Indians were totally underprepared which was evident in their lackluster batting and lackadaisical bowling efforts. Apart from Dravid, none of the other batsmen really stood up for team India's cause. India progressively declined throughout the series as the margins of their defeats grew wider. While the first 2 matches were lost by 196 and 319 runs respectively, the last 2 games ended in innings defeats.

Constant injuries to senior pros also did not help Dhoni's cause. While regular vice-captain Sehwag was ruled out before the commencement of the tour due to injury, Gautam Gambhir, who was named as makeshift vice-captain, suffered an injury during the course of the series. Senior paceman Zaheer Khan, who was the player of the series in India's previous tour in 2007, was ruled out at the early stages of the series. The constant injuries meant that a completely undercooked Rudra Pratap Singh had to be flown in as a replacement, who was on a holiday in the US at that time.

With the bat, MSD had a fair series though. Considering the fragile nature of team India's batting on that tour and his personal lackluster record on seaming and bouncy tracks, Dhoni did a fair job by scoring 220 runs at an average of 31. However, Dhoni was spared by the selectors as they decided to persist with him as captain, even after such a disastrous series, due to the lack of viable alternatives.

4. MS Dhoni, 2014

India's tour of England in 2014 was MS Donis' last appearance in England in whites. While this series saw an influx of youngsters like Virat Kohli, Ajikya Rahane, and Pujara who had been selected as replacements of senior pros such as Gambhir and Yuvraj, it made little difference to team India's fortunes.

The series started on a brisk note for India as they managed a healthy draw in the first Test including a century from Murali Vijay and active contributions from other batsmen. A resurgent team India went all guns blazing in the second Test at Lord's and emerged victorious, winning a Test at the Mecca of Cricket after 28 long years. Ajinkya Rahane's ton along with Vijay's 95 and Ishant Sharma's fiery spell ensured a terrific win for India. While it was heartening to see India's young guns on the charge, the downhill slope began soon afterward.

Team India's fortunes began plummeting after a thumping win at Lord's. England managed to steamroll over team India in the next 3 matches as the men in blue went from bad to worse as the margin of defeats only became wider with every passing game. India eventually lost the series 3-1.

With respect to his batting, Dhoni had his best outing on England soil as he scored 349 runs in 5 matches and was India's second highest run-getter after Vijay. The series of overseas drubbings though soon took a toll on Dhoni. After his next series in Australia, Dhoni bid adieu to the longest format of the game. The humiliating defeat in England in 2014 might have contributed to his decision of quitting the Test arena, a format where he appeared completely jaded.