Pataudi’s pain to Gill’s glory: India's Birmingham story through the ages

After India's dominant, series-tying 336-run win over England on Day 5 of the second test at Edgbaston on Sunday, skipper Shubman Gill called his side "The best Indian team to come to England, and have the capability to beat them and win the series."

"We have got the right momentum with us. If we keep making the right decisions and we keep grinding and we keep fighting, I think it will be one of the series to remember," added Gill.

So, is this really the best Indian team to have ever toured England? Well, if Birmingham is the yardstick, then yes — Gill’s boys have pulled off something no other Indian side ever has. So let’s take a look at how the Indian teams that played Tests at Edgbaston before this one actually fared.

Flashback to 1967 — India’s first-ever Test at this venue. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s side lost the Birmingham Test by 132 runs. Across both innings, there was only one bright spot — Ajit Wadekar, the only Indian batter to score a half-century.

Seven years later, India got another shot at a Birmingham win — this time with Ajit Wadekar as captain. But déjà vu struck again, and England thrashed India by an innings and 78 runs.

1979 — new tour, same nightmare. Under Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the visitors were once again handed an innings defeat at Edgbaston. By now, this ground had practically become India’s kryptonite.

Then came 1986 — riding the wave of their 1983 World Cup triumph, with Kapil Dev at the helm. Finally, something to cheer about. Kapil’s Devils drew the Birmingham Test and went on to win the 3-match series 2-0.

That was the last time India managed to stop England from winning a Test at this ground. What followed was a long, painful wait. Mohammad Azharuddin in 1996, MS Dhoni in 2011, Virat Kohli in 2018, Jasprit Bumrah in 2022 — all came to Edgbaston with hope, and all left with heartbreak. Dreams in, memes out.

And then came the mic drop moment.

Shubman Gill’s Team India did the unthinkable — they finally conquered Birmingham. What happens next in the series, who knows? But one thing’s for sure: Edgbaston finally has an Indian name etched in gold.

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