List Of Indian Batsmen To Score A Test Century At Lord's Cricket Ground

Lord’s Cricket Ground, popular known as the Home of Cricket has a special significance in Cricket. Currently located at St. John’s Wood, Lord’s Cricket Ground is owned by the world’s biggest cricket brand, i.e., Marylebone Cricket Club.

Playing at Lord’s cricket ground is no less than a dream for any cricketer. Every cricketer wants to cherish the picturesque view of the Long Room and the popular Lord’s Honours Board inside the dressing room.

Achieving a milestone at Lord’s Cricket Ground has a huge significance. The Lord’s Honours Board inside the dressing room commemorates the players who have scored a century, taken 5 wickets in a single innings or taken 10 wickets in a match.

Scoring a century at Lord’s Cricket Ground isn’t a small feat, to say the least. Not a lot of Indians have managed to achieve the feat in the history of the game. So far, as many as nine Indian players have managed to score a century at Lord’s. Here’s a look at all of them:

Vinoo Mankad: 184 vs England in 1952

Former Indian player, Vinoo Mankad was the first Indian player to get his name on the Lord’s Honours Board. Against England in 1952, he played a brilliant 184-run knock to guide India to a 378-run total in the third innings. The match eventually resulted in a draw but the knock is still regarded as one of the special tons in the history of Indian Cricket.

In his cricketing career, V Minod scored 2109 runs in 44 matches at an average of 31.5

Dilip Vengsarkar: 3 centuries against England in 1979, 1982 and 1986

Dilip Vengsarkar was one integral cog in the Indian team in the late 70s and 80s. Vensarkar was one of India’s best batsmen in the late 70s and 80s. During his cricketing career, he hit 17 centuries and of those, three came at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

The fact that he has scored three Test centuries at Lord’s Cricket Ground tells you how special a player he was. His first century came in the year 1979 against England. The match resulted in a draw. Three years later in 1982, he scored his second century at Lord’s, though he couldn’t help India win that game.

During India’s memorable tour of 1986, Vengsarkar scored an unbeaten century at Lord’s- his third at the venue. He scored 126 runs to help India take a 47-run lead. To the delight of all the Indian cricket fans, India went onto win the historic Test by five wickets in the end.

Sourav Ganguly: 131 vs England in 1996 

The former Indian skipper will be remembered for taking a young Indian team to great heights. He led the Indian side to the final of the ICC 2003 World Cup. His proficiency on the off-side isn’t unknown to cricket fans.

Besides being a gutsy captaincy, he was also a special left-handed batsman. Sourav Ganguly has scored a plethora of runs during his cricket career. He scored 16 centuries in Test Cricket and his first century came at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

Sourav Ganguly played his first Test against England at Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1996 and he made heads turn after scoring a ton. After England scored 344 runs in the first innings, Sourav Ganguly showed his class with a 131-run knock in the second innings. He hit 20 boundaries en-route to his special knock. The game, though, resulted in a tie.

 Mohammad Azharuddin: 121 vs England in 1990 

The former Indian skipper, Mohammad Azharuddin started his Test Cricket career with a century at Eden Gardens in 1984 and followed it up with centuries in his next two Tests as well. And the rest is history. M Azharuddin is hailed as one of the better captains in Indian Cricket, winning 103 ODIs and 14 Tests as captain.

The former Indian skipper scored his maiden century at Lord’s Cricket Ground during India’s tour of England in 1990. He scored 121 runs off 111 balls, including 22 fours.

G Vishwanath: 113 against England in 1979 

 

Incidentally, both G Vishwanath and Vengsarkar scored their respective maiden centuries at Lord’s in the same match. Vishwanath scored 113 runs off 337 balls in India’s tour of England 1979. The centuries from both the players helped India post a competitive total and draw the Test.

Ravi Shastri: 100 against England in 1990 

During India’s 1990 tour of England, India’s current head coach, Ravi Shastri blazed his way to a century in the second innings of the first Test at Lord’s. Both Ravi Shastri and M Azharuddin scored a century each to take India to 454 in the second innings. However, India still lost that game by 247 runs.

He was one of the rare batsmen in world cricket who batted in every single position in his career. Ravi Shastri has scored 11 centuries in Test Cricket, of those 7 came outside of India. Shastri has 3830 runs in 80 Tests at an average of 35.79.

Ajit Agarkar: 109 against England in 2002 

This should come as a surprise to most of you but Ajit Agarkar, too, has his name on the honours board, that too for scoring a century. During India’s tour of England in 2002, Ajit Agarkar made headlines after scoring a century in the first Test at Lord’s.

India needed over 500 runs to win the Test in the fourth innings. The former Indian all-rounder blazed his way to a century but couldn’t help India win the game. He scored 109 off 190 balls. In the end, India fell short of 170 runs.

Ajinkya Rahane: 103 against England in 2014 

India began their 2014 tour of England in a fine fashion after winning the second Test by 95 runs. India batted first in the match and was put under pressure straight away. Wickets kept falling at regular intervals but Ajinkya Rahane looked firm. He went on to score a century to guide India to 295 runs. Rahane scored 103 runs off 154 balls, including 15 fours and 1 six.

Unfortunately, India went onto lose the three next Tests and lost the series 1-3.

Rahul Dravid: 103 against England in 2011 

Rahul Dravid played his debut game at the Lord’s Cricket Ground in 1996. He scored 95 runs in the very first innings he played, five runs shy of a century. His desire to score a century at Lord’s eventually came true during India’s tour of England in 2011.

After England scored 474 runs in the first innings, Rahul Dravid scored 103 off 220 balls in the second innings to take India to 286 runs. His knock was laced 15 fours and with that, he got his name on the Honours Board. Despite, the century India’s went onto lose the game by 196 runs.

In his illustrious Test cricket career, Rahul Dravid scored over 13,000 runs at an average of 52.3, including 36 centuries.

KL Rahul: 127* against England in 2021

 

In the ongoing second Test between India and England at Lord’s, KL Rahul became the 10th Indian to register himself on the Lord’s Honours Board after scoring a century on the second day of the Test. KL Rahul and Rohit notched a 126-run opening partnership before Rohit Sharma got out off James Anderson in the 44th over.

However, KL Rahul made sure he stayed till the end of day’s play and guide India to a respectable total. He went onto score a century and reached the landmark with a boundary. At the end of second day’s play, India are 276 for 3. KL Rahul is currently unbeaten at 127 off 248 deliveries, including 12 fours and a six.  KL Rahul now has 5 centuries to his name in 37 Tests.