Mumbai, July 14: The Indian team begins its tour of England on a momentous note on July 21. Not only will the first Test at Lord’s be the 100th to be played between the two sides, it will also be the landmark 2000th Test match to be played between any two countries since the inception of the game.

Since they began touring the country way back in 1932, three visiting Indian sides have trumped the hosts over 15 keenly fought Test series. The touring 2002 Test team even secured a 1-1 draw in a four-match series under the leadership of Sourav Ganguly. Here, then, is a quick look at those three series when India emerged victorious in cricket’s birthplace.

1971: The visiting Indians were already on a roll having won their first ever Test series in the Caribbean a few months before the start of the tour to England. The first two Tests of the three-match series saw both teams reach winning positions in turn before settling for a draw. At Lord’s, India fell short of the victory target by 38 runs with two wickets in hand on the last day. England, on the other hand, were unlucky not to beat India at Manchester in the second Test match after they had reduced the visitors to 65 for three while chasing 420 with rain calling off play on the last day. However, in the final Test at the Kensigton Oval, India chased down a fourth innings target of 173 with four wickets in hand and won their first ever Test series in England 1-0.

1986: Easily the most comprehensive of the three series wins. At Lord’s in the first Test, Chetan Sharma (five for 64 in England’s first innings), Dilip Vengsarkar (126 in India’s first innings) and Kapil Dev (four for 52 in England’s second innings) helped India inflict a five-wicket win over the hosts. The second Test at Leed’s was even more one-sided as India crushed England by 279 runs riding on some outstanding batting by Dilip Vengsarkar (163 runs in two innings including 102 in the first). And even though the final Test at Edgbaston was drawn, India revelled in a 2-0 series win.

2007: Rahul Dravid’s finest hour as captain of India, notwithstanding his successful conquest of the Caribbean in 2006. In the first Test, MS Dhoni’s 76 not out helped India hold out long enough for rain to intervene and allow them a Houdini-like escape with one wicket left on the last day. Then, at Nottingham, Sachin Tendulkar’s attritional 91-run knock in the first innings, along with Zaheer’s nine for 134, in the second Test match gave Indian a seven-wicket win despite a fighting 124 from Michael Vaughan in England’s second innings. The final Test at the Oval ended in a draw with Anil Kumble scoring his first ever Test century (110 not out). India returned home triumphant with the Pataudi Trophy firmly in their hands.

A complete list of series records from India’s tours of England: