India vs England: India's famous test wins in England in this millennium

#2. 2002 Leeds test match

England v India- third test 2002

India went into the third test of this series trailing 1-0 and with a lot of work to do in the final two tests if they were to get back into the series. India opted to bat first in an ideal setting for the English bowlers as dark skies and a damp pitch welcomed the batsmen. India lost Virender Sehwag early and it looked ominous for them in hostile conditions.

That was when Rahul Dravid walked out at number 3 on the back of a confidence boosting ton in the previous match. Dravid found the perfect foil in Sanjay Bangar, a determined batsman who along with Dravid put his head down to ensure that the middle-order doesn't get exposed early. The Wall, who was in the form of his life in this series, guided his younger partner Bangar as the two battled hard, getting beaten by the outrageous swing on offer, leaving balls, taking blows to their body. They ensured that England would have to toil for another 68 overs to pick up the second wicket. Sachin Tendulkar walked out with the danger averted and he began on the front foot as he put pressure on the English attack. Dravid scored an impeccable 148 and was dismissed in the second day, and his knock gave Sourav Ganguly the chance to attack the English bowlers.

With the bowlers wilting, Sourav and Sachin smashed them to all corners and brought up respective centuries too. Sachin missed out on a fantastic double hundred by 7 runs and captain Ganguly scored a blistering 128 as India declared with a mammoth 628 on the board on the third day.

A combined bowling effort by the Indian bowlers saw England packed off for just 273 runs, giving India a massive lead of 355 runs. Spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh picked up 3 wickets each and the pacers Zaheer Khan and Ajit Agarkar got 2 each. India enforced the follow-on and England batted again with a lot of work to do to save the test match.

England fared better in the second essay, as skipper Nasser Hussain led from the front with a classy ton. But, England were still no match to India as they suffered a humiliating innings defeat on their home soil. Kumble picked up four more wickets in the second innings.

This was a famous win which enabled India to level the series 1-1 and this was built on the combined efforts of the senior men Dravid, Sachin, Ganguly and Kumble. However, the foundations of this famous win was built on the grit and determination shown by Bangar and Dravid on the first day.