A look back at how India have prepared for their England Test tours since 2002

Denzil Pinto 21:40 16/08/2018
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  • The Indians were beaten comprehensively in their 2014 tour

    India face a real battle to save the five-match Test series against England after their losses at Edgbaston and Lord’s.

    Joe Root’s side has been far superior with the bat and ball while the Indian batsmen, barring Virat Kohli, have struggled to adapt to English conditions.

    That is no surprise considering the tourists only played one warm-up game (a game that was shortened to three days on India’s request) with the red ball against Essex last month.

    Their poor displays saw ex-India skipper Sunil Gavaskar criticise the BCCI for not scheduling more practice red-ball games in the build-up for a crucial England series.

    Following his comments, we look back at every tour since 2002 and how many practice games India played and whether it made any positive impact in the England Test series’.

    2002

    India had no shortage of match practice on their tour of England 16 years ago with the BCCI arranging five first-class warm-up matches to prepare for the four-match Test series in July. A West Indies’ ‘A’ side featuring a young Chris Gayle saw the Indians draw the three-day match before the tourists got their first and only win before the Test series in the 66-run triumph against Hampshire.

    A few days later, Sachin Tendulkar hit 169 in a rain-hit drawn clash against Worcestershire while Virender Sehwag (142) and Harbhajan Singh (7-83) repeated the result against Essex. Sehwag added another ton in their final warm-up against Derbyshire.

    Those matches as well as their ODI tri-series against England and Sri Lanka saw India fare well when five-day action began in late July. Despite losing by 170 runs in the first Test, Sehwag (106) and Rahul Dravid (115) salvaged a draw at Trent Bridge. Tendulkar’s superb 193 sealed an innings victory to level the series before Rahul Dravid’s 217 meant the fourth and final Test ended in a draw.

    WARM UP MATCHES (RED-BALL): FIVE, WON: 1, DRAW: 4, LOST: 0

    FOUR-MATCH TEST SERIES: DREW 1-1

    Rahul Dravid scored 217 runs against England

    Rahul Dravid scored 217 runs against England

    2007

    With the likes of Tendulkar, VVS Laxman, Dravid and Anil Kumble, India had plenty of experience in their squad. Three warm-up games were scheduled against Sussex, England Lions and Sri Lanka ‘A’ – all of which ended in a draw. Laxman, Dinesh Karthik, Gautam Gambhir and Dravid made an instant impact with half-centuries while Kumble took three scalps against Sussex. Facing an England Lions side which featured Stuart Broad, Tendulkar (171), MS Dhoni (76) and Yuvraj Singh (59) fared well with the bat while Dravid’s 67 in between the second and third Test saw the Indians draw against Sri Lanka ‘A’.

    When the first Test came around in July, India’s preparations paid off. After drawing the Lord’s Test, they came out seven-wicket winners at Trent Bridge – enough to win the series.

    WARM-UP MATCHES: THREE, WON: 3, DRAW: 3, LOST: 0

    THREE-MATCH TEST SERIES: WON 1-0

    Zaheer took 18 wickets in India's Test series win against England in 2007

    Zaheer took 18 wickets in India’s Test series win against England in 2007

    2011

    Like 2018, the Indians had one warm-up game before the first Test but surprisingly the management left out key players MS Dhoni, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh for the game. Suresh Raina managed to get a century against a Somerset side which featured England opener Andrew Strauss. While that game ended in a draw, the lack of preparation was there to see with India losing the first two Tests by 196 and 319 runs respectively. Even a two-day game against Northamptonshire didn’t do them any good as they were beaten by an innings in their next two Tests.

    WARM-UP MATCHES: TWO, WON: 0, DRAW: 2, LOST: 0

    FOUR-MATCH TEST SERIES: LOST 4-0

    Sachin Tendulkar didn't have a good tour in England

    Sachin Tendulkar didn’t have a good tour in England

    2014

    It was the first time the Indians played a five-match Test series in England since 1959 with the BCCI only lining up two warm-up games. Both were held within a week ahead of the opening game at Trent Bridge. Against Leicestershire, Shikhar Dhawan scored an unbeaten 60 in the draw with Ishant taking 2-64. Facing Derbyshire, Cheteshwar Pujara and Stuart Binny hit identical scores of 81 as the tourists went into the series on the back of a five-wicket win. But against England, although India took a 1-0 lead in the second Test, Alastair Cook’s side bounced back to win the remaining three games.

    WARM-UP MATCHES: TWO, WON: 1, DRAW: 1, LOST: 0

    FIVE-MATCH TEST SERIES: LOST 3-1

    Murali Vijay scored a century for India at Trent Bridge

    Murali Vijay scored a century for India at Trent Bridge

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