Captain Cook and spin twins Swann and Panesar starred in series win
Wednesday 23 November 2016 13:12, UK
England's heavy 246-run defeat to India in the second Test in Visakhapatnam saw them slip 1-0 behind in the five-Test series.
But, there is reason for optimism, with a certain Alastair Cook having led England from behind to a momentous 2-1 series triumph on their last trip to India in 2012 - one of only two teams to beat their hosts after being 1-0 down in a series of three Tests or more; David Gower's England tourists in 1984-85 the others..
It was England's spin twins of Graeme Swann (20 wickets at 24.75) and Monty Panesar (17 at 26.82) who did the damage, with Ravichandran Ashwin by way of contrast, limited to only 14 wickets at 52.64.
England's captain Cook topped the scoring charts for the series, with 562 runs, while Kevin Pietersen and a fresh-faced Joe Root on debut were also in the runs.
Before Saturday's third Test between India and England in Mohali - live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am - here's a look back at just how things unfolded four years ago...
England succumb to spin
First Test, Ahmedabad - India win by nine wickets
England's last trip to India didn't start too well. Put bluntly, they were on the receiving end of a nine-wicket hammering. In what looked at the time to be a prophetic indication of how the series would pan out, India won the toss and batted first, amassing 521 first innings runs, then spinning England out twice.
Virender Sehwag smashed a run-a-ball 117, and Cheteshwar Pujara (206) hit a classy double-hundred, as an England attack featuring just two spinners - one of which was Samit Patel - was obliterated. In stark contrast, Pragyan Ojha took 5-45 as England were skittled for 191, eight wickets falling to spin.
The visitors - specifically Alastair Cook and Matt Prior - made a better fist of things following on, with Cook cracking an imperious 176 to trigger what would prove to be a sensational series for the skipper and Prior adding 91 of the 157-run stand between the pair. But set just 80 to win, India cruised to a comfortable victory.
Monty's 11 levels series
Second Test, Mumbai - England win by 10 wickets
England learned their lesson. In came Monty Panesar to team up with Graeme Swann, and the pair combined for a staggering 19 of the 20 Indian wickets to fall to help secure a famous 10-wicket triumph in Mumbai to level the series.
The solitary seamer's wicket came with just the second ball of the Test - James Anderson trapping Gautam Gambhir lbw - and though Pujara (135) again showed his class, Panesar (5-129) and Swann (4-70) limited India to 327.
Cook (122) hit another hundred, though he was second fiddle to an unforgettable 186 - off just 233 balls - from Kevin Pietersen as England earned an 86-run lead. Panesar then starred with 6-81 to finish with 11 for the Test as India suffered a humiliating collapse to 142 all out, leaving Cook and Nick Compton - in his second Test - to knock off the 57 runs required with ease.
Captain Cook's Kolkata triumph
Third Test, Kolkata - England win by seven wickets
A Cook century for the third straight Test set England on the victory path again at Eden Gardens. The captain's highest score of the tour of 190, coupled with a first Test fifty for Compton (57), and half centuries too for Jonathan Trott (87) and Pietersen (54) helped the visitors overturn India's 316.
Sachin Tendulkar (76) had seemed set to score a century for India in that first innings, only for Anderson to pick him up for the eighth time of a record-highest nine dismissals. Tendulkar would not score more than 13 in any other innings in the series.
Staring down a 207-run deficit, Gambhir (40) and Sehwag (49) got the hosts off to a strong start, but India again collapsed dramatically, slipping from 86-0 to 159-8. Ravichandran Ashwin's unbeaten 91 at least ensured England had to bat again, and though they lost three wickets in their first five overs, their 41-run target was swiftly achieved.
Root in the runs on debut
Fourth Test, Nagpur - Match drawn
Leading 2-1 going into the final Test, England made the bold move of bringing in Joe Root for a Test debut in place of Patel. But as we've grown accustom to seeing since, Root looked anything but overawed by the international stage, striking 73 to joint top-score with Pietersen as England posted 330 batting first.
With Anderson taking three wickets to help reduce India to 71-4 in reply, the visitors were seemingly cruising to a series victory. Up stepped Virat Kohli (103) and MS Dhoni (99); the pair combining for 198 runs to blunt the England attack, and help the host draw to within just four runs of their first innings total.
With a tricky third innings in prospect, England hardly showed any nerves, with Trott (143) and Ian Bell (116no) striking sublime centuries as the visitors batted out 154 overs to earn a hard-fought draw and a stunning series victory.
Watch the third Test between India and England at Mohali live on Sky Sports 2 from 3.30am on Saturday.
