Test Your Knowledge: India v England Test Series

India v England: stats, stories and controversies. How much do you know?

Try out this set of posers and then brag to/hide from your friends. Just know that getting them all right will inevitably lead to questions about the number of hours you’ve been spending on Statsguru.

  1. Who captained England in their first official Test match in India?

    • Lord Hawke
    • Douglas Jardine
    • Peter May

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Douglas Jardine!

    Yes, the architect of Bodyline was still in charge a year after the infamous Ashes tour, as England completed a two-nil victory in their three-match series in India in 1933/34. Though the MCC had been sending sides to India since the 19th Century, the December 1933 game at Bombay was England’s first official Test on Indian soil.

  2. Who has taken the most wickets for India in Tests against England?

    • Anil Kumble
    • Bishen Bedi
    • BS Chandrasekhar

    CorrectWrong

    It’s mystery leg-spinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar!

    His 6-38 against England at the Oval in 1971 was Wisden’s “best bowling performance of the century” and he took 95 wickets at 27.27 across 23 Tests against England overall. Anil Kumble took 92 wickets at 30.59 across 19 Tests between 1990 and 2007. Bishen Bedi took 85 wickets at 29.87 across 22 Tests.

  3. On England’s 1976/77 tour, what caused John Lever to become the centre of a major controversy?

    • Vaseline
    • Shoe laces
    • Hair gel

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Vaseline!

    Lever was accused of using a Vaseline-soaked strip of gauze to tamper with the ball on his way to a 10-fer on Test debut. He and his teammates said the gauze had been applied to their foreheads to stop sweat running in their eyes. Regardless, England won the series 3-1 and, under the captaincy of Tony Greig, left India having won many fans amongst the locals.

  4. At Chennai in 2008, Virender Sehwag hit a match-defining 83 off 68 balls, before Sachin Tendulkar shepherded a successful chase with 103*. Which England batsman had previously made a hundred in both innings?

    • Alastair Cook
    • Kevin Pietersen
    • Andrew Strauss

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Andrew Strauss!

    123 in the first, 108 in the second. India still won the game by six wickets.

  5. Which of these England batsmen scored the most Test runs against India?

    • Ken Barrington
    • Ian Bell
    • Ian Botham

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Kenny Barrington!

    The run-hungry Surrey man hit 1,355 runs at 75.27 across 14 Tests between 1959 and 1967 – with three centuries and nine fifties. Ian Ronald Bell is not far off, with 1,343 at 41.96 across 20 Tests – with four centuries and four fifties, while Beefy’s astonishing all-round record against India saw him make 1,201 runs at 70.64 across 14 Tests – with five centuries and five fifties.

    Alastair Cook is the record-holder, having overtaken his mentor Graham Gooch’s 1,725 tally in 2014.

  6. Both Graeme Fowler and Mike Gatting made double hundreds at Madras in 1984. Who was India’s centurion in the match?

    • Sunil Gavaskar
    • Mohinder Amarnath
    • Mohammad Azharuddin

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Mohammad Azharuddin!

    He made 105 in India’s second innings, while the less vaunted Mohinder Amarnath made 95 as England won by nine wickets. The veteran Gavaskar made 20 runs in the match.

  7. Which England bowler has taken the most Test wickets against India?

    • James Anderson
    • Derek Underwood
    • Bob Willis

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Jimmy!

    Prior to the 2016 series, he’d taken 82 wickets at 26.93 across 19 Tests (60 wickets in 12 home Tests, 22 wickets in seven Tests in India). Deadly took 62 at 27.40 across 20 Tests and Bustlin’ Bob also took 62 – at 23.24 in just 17 Tests. Well bowled.

  8. Which of these men was England’s actual No.6 in the Madras Test in 1993?

    • Warren Hegg
    • Chris Lewis
    • Richard Blakey

    CorrectWrong

    It was former Yorkshire wicketkeeper Richard Blakey!

    It wasn’t Chris Lewis (who batted at No.7 in that game) and neither was it former Lancashire gloveman Warren Hegg, who wasn’t on the tour. In the midst of a muddled tour, Blakey made 0 in the first innings and 6 in the second.

  9. Who has scored the most runs for India in Tests against England?

    • Rahul Dravid
    • Sunil Gavaskar
    • Sachin Tendulkar

    CorrectWrong

    It’s the Little Master!

    Sachin scored 2,535 runs at 51.73 across 32 Tests against England. Gavaskar made 2,483 at 38.20 across 38 Tests, while Dravid – who always did well in England – scored 1,950 at 60.93 across just 21 Tests.

  10. In the one-off Test at Bombay in 1980, England’s wicketkeeper entered the record books with 10 catches. Who was that wicketkeeper?

    • Alan Knott
    • Roger Tolchard
    • Bob Taylor

    CorrectWrong

    It’s Bob Taylor!

    Taylor and Knott traded the England gloves for most of the 70s and early 80s, but Taylor was the man in possession at this time, taking seven of his catches in the first innings of a game dominated by Ian Botham. Leicestershire stumper Roger Tolchard never kept wicket for England, but did play four Tests as a specialist batsman during England’s tour to India in 1977, when he was deputy to Knott.

Test Your Knowledge: India v England Test Series

About the author

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Freddie Chatt

Freddie is a cricket badger. Since his first experience of cricket at primary school, he's been in love with the game. Playing for his local village club, Great Baddow Cricket Club, for the past 20 years. A wicketkeeper-batsman, who has fluked his way to two scores of over 170, yet also holds the record for the most ducks for his club. When not playing, Freddie is either watching or reading about the sport he loves.