India National Cricket Team vs England Cricket Team Timeline
India and England have played international cricket against each other since 1932, and the rivalry now spans Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. England leads the Test record 53-37 with 51 draws from 141 matches, while India holds the edge in white-ball cricket, including a 5-run win in the 2013 Champions Trophy final and a 68-run demolition in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final. Few rivalries in world cricket cover this much history, or this much range, across formats.
Most cricket rivalries are defined by proximity or politics. India vs England is defined by history itself. It began when India was still a colony playing its first-ever Test match, and it has grown into one of the most closely watched contests in the sport, spanning three formats, multiple World Cup knockouts, and generational shifts in how both nations play the game.
What makes this rivalry unusual is how differently it has unfolded across formats. In Test cricket, England has held a clear historical edge, built over nine decades. In white-ball cricket, India has built genuine superiority, headlined by knockout wins on the biggest stages world cricket has to offer. Here is the full story of how that split personality developed, era by era.
The Rivalry at a Glance
Format
Matches
England Wins
India Wins
Draws/Ties/NR
Test
141
53
37
51 draws
ODI
107+
44
58
Remainder tied/no result
T20I
29+
12
17
Remainder no result
Figures reflect commonly reported totals as of recent seasons. Ongoing 2026 series mean these numbers continue to shift, and exact ODI and T20I tallies vary slightly by source depending on when they were last updated.
The Timeline
1932
India’s Test Debut, and First DefeatIndia played its first-ever Test match against England at Lord’s from 25 to 28 June 1932. England won by 158 runs. It was a landmark occasion regardless of the result, marking India’s official entry into Test cricket as a newly recognized international side.
1952
India’s First Ever Win Over EnglandIndia secured its first victory against England in the fifth Test of the series, played in Chennai (then Madras). Captained by Vijay Hazare, India won by an innings and 8 runs, with Vinoo Mankad taking 12 wickets in the match, a defining bowling performance in a result that ended a 20-year wait for a win over their former colonial rulers.
1961-62
India’s First Series Win Over EnglandBack-to-back wins in Kolkata and Chennai gave India their first-ever Test series victory over England, a decade after their maiden Test win and thirty years after their Test debut. It marked a genuine turning point in India’s development as a Test-playing nation.
1971
The Oval BreakthroughUnder captain Ajit Wadekar, India won a Test at The Oval to seal a series victory in England for the first time in the country’s history. India’s famous spin quartet, Bishan Bedi, Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, dismantled England’s batting with spin variation rather than pace, a result widely regarded as the moment India announced itself as a serious force in world cricket.
1983
The World Cup Semi-Final at Old TraffordIndia beat England in the semi-final of the 1983 Cricket World Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester, a result that sent Kapil Dev’s side into the final against the West Indies. India went on to win that final, claiming their first-ever World Cup title, a victory this semi-final win directly enabled.
1986
A Series Win Without the Star NamesIndia won a Test series in England 2-0 under Kapil Dev’s captaincy. Unlike 1971, this victory was built on squad depth rather than a small number of individual stars, reflecting India’s growing strength across the batting and bowling lineup by the mid-1980s.
2002
The NatWest Final and Ganguly’s ShirtChasing 326 to win the NatWest Series final at Lord’s, India collapsed to 146/5 before Mohammad Kaif (87 not out) and Yuvraj Singh (69) built a match-winning partnership to complete the chase with two wickets in hand. Captain Sourav Ganguly’s shirtless celebration from the Lord’s balcony afterward became one of the most reproduced images in Indian cricket history, widely read as a symbolic response to earlier incidents involving England players in India.
2007
Six Sixes and a Series WinTwo landmark results arrived in the same year. In the inaugural ICC World Twenty20, Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in a single over, an act that remains one of the most replayed passages of play in T20 history. Later that year, India also won a Test series in England 1-0 under Rahul Dravid’s captaincy, with Zaheer Khan leading a pace attack that outperformed England’s bowlers, a shift from India’s traditional reliance on spin overseas.
2011
A Tie in Bangalore, Then a Whitewash in EnglandThe two sides produced a rare tied match at the 2011 Cricket World Cup in Bangalore, both innings finishing on 338. Later that year, the pendulum swung sharply the other way as England completed a 4-0 Test series whitewash of India, a heavy reversal following India’s rise to the number one Test ranking earlier that year.
2013
The Champions Trophy Final at EdgbastonIn a rain-reduced 20-over-per-side final, India posted 129/7 and restricted England to 124/8 to win the 2013 Champions Trophy by 5 runs at Edgbaston. Ravindra Jadeja was named Player of the Match for an unbeaten 33 and two wickets. The win gave MS Dhoni the rare distinction of having captained India to the T20 World Cup, the 50-over World Cup, and the Champions Trophy.
2021-22
A Series Interrupted by the PandemicA Test series that stretched across two English summers due to COVID-19 disruptions saw India build a 2-1 lead, including a memorable chase led by Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami’s tailend batting at Lord’s. The fifth and final Test was postponed after a COVID outbreak in the Indian camp and was eventually completed the following year.
2022
The T20 World Cup Semi-Final and a Record ChaseEngland beat India by 10 wickets in the 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final in Adelaide, a one-sided result that would motivate India’s response two years later. In the rescheduled Test from the 2021 series, England chased down a huge target at Edgbaston, a signature result of the aggressive “Bazball” approach adopted under new captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum.
2024
Revenge in GuyanaIndia beat England by 68 runs in the semi-final of the 2024 T20 World Cup at Providence Stadium, Guyana, avenging the 2022 semi-final defeat. Rohit Sharma’s 57 and a combined bowling effort from Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav, who took three wickets apiece, dismantled England’s chase. India went on to beat South Africa in the final to win the tournament.
2025
A Five-Match Test Series Split 2-2England and India played a closely fought five-match Test series in England that finished 2-2, a rare drawn series scoreline in this fixture’s modern history and a sign of how competitive Test matches between the two sides have remained even as both squads go through generational transitions.
2026
White-Ball Cricket Continues at PaceEngland won a T20I series against India 4-0, a result that showed how quickly momentum can shift in the shortest format. The two sides also continued a bilateral ODI series in England in mid-2026, extending a rivalry that shows no sign of slowing down across any format.
Why This Rivalry Splits by Format
The imbalance between formats is not an accident. England’s home conditions, traditionally seam and swing-friendly, matched the strengths of its bowling attacks for most of the 20th century, which is a major reason the Test record leans in England’s favor. India’s rise in white-ball cricket tracks closely with the growth of limited-overs cricket in India itself, first through ODIs from the 1980s onward and then through the IPL’s influence on player development from 2008. That combination, comfort with pressure chases, strong spin options on used pitches, and a deep pool of white-ball specialists, is central to why India has built a genuine edge in ODIs and T20Is even as the Test ledger stays firmly in England’s favor.
Standout Players Across the Rivalry
Sunil Gavaskar — one of India’s most difficult batters for England’s bowling attacks to dismiss throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
Sourav Ganguly — captained India through the early 2000s resurgence, forever associated with the 2002 NatWest final celebration.
MS Dhoni — the only captain to lead India to the T20 World Cup, 50-over World Cup, and Champions Trophy titles, the latter coming directly at England’s expense in 2013.
Virat Kohli — the format’s leading run-scorer in T20I meetings between the two sides, with 648 runs in head-to-head matches.
Jasprit Bumrah — has repeatedly produced career-defining spells against England, including a 6-wicket haul in a 2022 ODI at The Oval.
Joe Root — England’s most consistent run-scorer against India across the 2010s and 2020s, and a central figure in the 2025 Test series.
What’s Next for the Rivalry
With a drawn 2025 Test series behind them and white-ball cricket continuing at pace into 2026, both boards have packed future tours calendars that keep this fixture at the center of the international calendar. The next multi-format cycle is likely to be shaped by two questions: whether England’s aggressive Test approach can finally deliver a series win in India, something it has not achieved since 2012, and whether India’s white-ball dominance can extend into the next 50-over and T20 World Cups.
Who has the better overall head-to-head record, India or England?
It depends on the format. England leads the Test record 53-37 with 51 draws from 141 matches, while India holds the edge in both ODIs and T20Is.
When did India play its first Test match against England?
India’s Test debut came against England at Lord’s from 25 to 28 June 1932, a match England won by 158 runs.
When did India win its first Test against England?
India’s first Test win over England came in 1952 in Chennai, an innings and 8-run victory under captain Vijay Hazare, with Vinoo Mankad taking 12 wickets in the match.
What is considered the greatest India vs England ODI?
The 2002 NatWest Series final at Lord’s is widely regarded as the standout ODI in this rivalry, featuring India’s chase of 326 and Sourav Ganguly’s iconic shirt-waving celebration.
What happened in the famous 2007 T20 World Cup over?
Yuvraj Singh hit England bowler Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in a single over during the 2007 ICC World Twenty20, one of the most replayed moments in T20 history.
Did India or England win the 2013 Champions Trophy final?
India won the final by 5 runs at Edgbaston in a match reduced to 20 overs per side due to rain, with Ravindra Jadeja named Player of the Match.
Who won the most recent T20 World Cup semi-final between the two sides?
India beat England by 68 runs in the 2024 T20 World Cup semi-final in Guyana, avenging a 10-wicket defeat to England in the 2022 tournament’s semi-final.
How did the 2025 Test series between India and England finish?
The five-match series finished level at 2-2, one of the more evenly contested Test series between the two sides in recent history.
Why does India lead in white-ball cricket despite trailing in Tests?
India’s strength in limited-overs cricket has grown alongside the format’s popularity domestically, supported by deep pools of white-ball specialists developed through extensive ODI and T20 exposure, including the IPL, while England’s historical Test advantage stems largely from home conditions suited to seam and swing bowling.
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