4. England, 1971 (Away):
A few months after the historic triumph in West Indies, Ajit Wadekar and his men were in England. The team was more or less the same that had toured the Caribbean but there was one more addition to the team – leg-spinner BS Chandrasekhar. The spinner had gone on to play an integral role in the series and along with S Venkataraghavan, finished the series as the joint highest wicket-taker.
The visitors were lucky to escape with a draw in the series-opener at Lord’s due to rain. The second Test in Manchester also ended in a draw before the teams locked horns in the last Test at The Oval. England was on the top after taking a 71-run lead in the first innings but Chandrasekhar’s six for 38 turned the match in India’s favour, as the hosts were bowled out for just 101.
Chasing 173, India was in a spot of bother after being five down for 134 but Gundappa Viswanath and Farokh Engineer steadied the ship, as India won the match by four wickets to clinch the three-match series 1-0.