The Lord’s cricket stadium is one such popular ground that is hailed as the “home of cricket”. Since 1932, the Indian cricket team has faced England in 19 test matches and has managed to win only three of them, while England secured 12 wins and four of them concluded draw.
Over the past few years, several Indian batters have created a sensation with their top performances on English soil. But only 10 of them were able to score a century in tests played at the Lord’s.
Amidst the ongoing third test between England and India, let’s find out those 10 Indian batters who managed to score a test century at the most iconic venue.
1. Vinoo Mankad (1952): 184 Runs
Former opening batter Vinoo Mankad was the first Indian who score a test century at Lord’s in 1952.
India’s first innings concluded at 235 with Mankad being the top run scorer, having scored 72 runs. However, England responded by accumulating 537 runs in their first innings.
Despite Vinoo’s 184-run knock in the second innings that steered the team’s scoreboard to 378, India lost the match by 8 wickets as England conveniently chased the 77-run target.
2. Dilip Vengsarkar (1979, 1982, and 1986): 103, 157, and *126 Runs
Former cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar is the only Indian batter who amassed three centuries in tests when played at the Lord’s.
In the 1979 test, the right-handed batter departed for a duck in the first innings, but made a great comeback by scoring a century in the second innings that include 103 runs from 295 balls (including 13 fours). However, the match eventually concluded in a draw.
Once again in 1982, Dilip scored a century at the Lord’s, thereby becoming the only Indian to score two centuries at the same venue. During the opening test, Vengsarkar scored 157 runs from 264 balls (including 21 fours) in India’s follow-on innings. Even though he scored a fabulous knock, India lost the game by 7 wickets.
It was in 1986 when Vengsarkar smashed his third test century in the opening clash of the 3-match test series at the Lord’s. As a counterattacking response to England’s first innings total of 294, India posted 341 with Dilip leading the batting unit from the front by scoring an unbeaten 126 runs from 213 balls (including 16 fours). Ultimately, India chased down the 134 target to secure their first-ever test victory at Lord’s.
3. Gundappa Viswanath (1979): 113 Runs
In 1979, when Dilip Vengsarkar scored a century, it was Gundappa Viswanath who became the third Indian to smash a test century at Lord’s. The right-handed batter scored 113 runs from 337 balls (including 14 fours) at a strike rate of 33.53.
After a disappointing innings in the first innings, having scored just 95 in the first innings, the visitors exhibited a decent show in the second innings, as the dual centurions Vengsarkar and Viswanath steered their team to post 318/4.
4. Ravi Shastri (1990): 100 Runs
In the opening test of the England tour in 1990, Ravi Shastri became the fourth Indian batter to score a century in the longest format at the Lord’s. As the hosts posted a mammoth first innings total of 653/4 in 162 overs, the visitors’ innings were bundled out to 454 in 114.1 overs.
As an opener, Shastri scored 100 runs from 184 balls (including 12 fours and 1 six). Eventually, England won the game by 247 runs.
5. Mohammed Azharuddin (1990): 121 Runs
During the same Lord’s test in 1990, Mohammed Azharuddin’s quickfire century of 121 runs from 111 balls (including 22 fours) supported Ravi Shastri’s ton that helped India compile 454 in first innings.
Despite the contributions from two centurions in the first innings, India lost the game by 247 runs as they failed to chase down a gigantic target of 472 runs.
6. Sourav Ganguly (1996): 131 Runs
Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, in his test debut at Lord’s in 1996, had a great start to his red-ball career under Mohammed Azharuddin’s captaincy.
After wrapping England’s first innings to 344 in 130.3 overs, India compiled 429, riding on Ganguly’s 131-run knock out of 301 balls faced (including 20 fours). However, the match concluded in a draw as England declared their innings at 278/9 on the fifth day.
7. Ajit Agarkar (2002): *109 Runs
Interestingly, the former Indian fast bowler and the current chairman of the men’s selection committee, Ajit Agarkar, scored an unbeaten 109-run knock from 190 balls (including 16 fours) at the Lord’s.
As the hosts compiled 487, the Indians’ first innings was restricted to just 221. Furthermore, England set a 568-run target after declaring their second innings at 301/6 in 64.4 overs.
Despite Agarkar’s maiden test century steered India to 397 runs, by ended up in a losing cause by facing a 170-run defeat.
8. Rahul Dravid (2011): *103 Runs
During the opening test of the England tour in 2011, Rahul Dravid smashed his first-ever test century at Lord’s.
After the hosts declared their first innings at 474/8, India managed to compile only 286. Notably, he was the only visiting batter in that particular inning to score 50+ and amassed an unbeaten 103-run knock out of 220 balls (including 15 fours).
Subsequently, England set a 458-run target against the visitors after scoring 269/6 in their second innings. Overall, the MS Dhoni-led side lost the game by 196 runs after managing to score just 261 in their second innings.
9. Ajinkya Rahane (2014): 103 Runs
Back in 2014, Ajinkya Rahane’s 103 runs from 154 balls (including 15 fours and 1 six) contributed to a winning cause as India posted 295 in their first innings. Eventually, England’s innings was concluded for 319.
Despite the hosts taking a 24-run lead, a fantastic contribution from India’s batting line-up in the second innings helped to set a 319 target against England.
Ultimately, India secured their second test victory at Lord’s by 95 runs, but this time under MS Dhoni’s captaincy.
10. KL Rahul (2021): 129 Runs
For the third time, India won a test match at Lord’s back in 2021 under Virat Kohli’s captaincy. Thanks to KL Rahul’s contributions as an opener, who played a fabulous 129-run knock out of 250 balls (including 12 fours and 1 six), that propelled India to score 364 in the first innings.
Later, excellent teamwork from the batting unit in the second innings guided the visitors to set a 272 run target. Additionally, their dominant pace bowling attack the hosts innings for just 120 which helped the Kohli-led side achieve a 151-run victory.
