India will have to face England at The Oval in the series’ fifth and final Test on Thursday, 31st July. Although the hosts are now on top in the series 2-1, India could have taken the lead had they made the most of their ascendancy in certain period of the match. With that said the current score line is pretty much a reflection of the fact that England is in the box seat because they’ve grabbed the big moments.
India cannot win the Test series, but they can draw level by winning the last Test at The Oval. The visitors will be encouraged by their performance in the Manchester Test. After three days, they appeared depressed. But India’s batters dug deep over the final two days to secure a draw and keep the series alive.
India has already faced 15 play in The Oval with two victories (including the first-ever Test victory by India in England in 1971) and six defeats with the other seven matches ending in draws. In view of the fifth Test of the 2025 Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, we examine the history of India in red-ball cricket at the ground.
1. Two Indian batters have scored Test double hundreds at The Oval
India has yet to score a double hundred in 15 Test matches at The Oval all the two being by the visiting side. The test match that Swindin talks about is the fourth innings of the Test of 1979 where Little Master, Sunil Gavaskar, scored 221 with 443 balls. In his innings, Gavaskar hit 21 fours and India closed at 429-8 in the pursuit of 438.
Rahul Dravid hit 217 from 468 balls at The Oval’s high-scoring 2002 Test. He occupied the crease for 629 minutes and hit 28 fours in a drawn Test. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri missed out on a double century at the venue by 13 runs. Devon Malcolm dismissed him for 187 during the 1990 Test.
2. Team India have registered two 200-plus partnerships at The Oval
India has two partnerships of 200 or more at The Oval in Test matches. The highest partnership for an Indian pair at the venue is 213, achieved by Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan for the first wicket in 1979. While Chauhan was removed for 80, Gavaskar went on to score 221.
Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul scored 204 for the sixth wicket at The Oval in 2018. India’s fourth innings aim was 464 runs. Rahul eventually scored 149 runs, while Pant was removed for 114 runs. India were bowled out for 345 in 94.3 overs, but they fought hard throughout the match.
3. Four Indian batters have registered three 50-plus scores at The Oval
In three Test matches at The Oval, four Indian players have scored fifty-plus. Dravid has spent two centuries and one half at the venue. He scored 217 in 2002 and 146* in 2011. In the 2007 Test, he scored 55.
Sachin Tendulkar scored a half-century on each of his three journeys to England at The Oval. He reached 54 in 2002, 82 in 2007, and 91 in 2011. Shardul Thakur, an all-rounder, was an unexpected inclusion on the roster. He scored 57 and 60 in the 2021 Test at The Oval. In the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, he scored 51 runs.
Gundappa Viswanath, an Indian batting great, also scored three fifty-plus runs in Test matches at The Oval. In 1979, he scored 62, followed by 56 and 75* in 1982.
4. Ravindra Jadeja is India’s leading wicket-taker in Tests at The Oval
A veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja holds the record of the highest number of Indian wickets at The Oval. And the spin bowler has 15 wickets in three matches at an average of 30.53. The best points he scored are 4-79 in the 2018 Test. In the final of the 2023 World Cup match, the left-arm spinner also took 3-58 against Australia.
5. Only one Indian bowler has taken eight wickets in a Test at The Oval
No Indian bowler has taken ten wickets at The Oval. Leg-spin hero Bhagwath Chandrasekhar recorded the best match stats by an Indian bowler at The Oval, taking 8-114 in the historic 1971 win.
In his first innings in the Test game, Chandrasekhar got 2 runs with 76 runs. He later torn through the batting side of the opposition team bowling them out for 101 as he claimed 6/38 in 18.1 overs in the second innings. England were bowled out for 132 and India won by four wickets in their first-ever Test in England chasing 174.
