India will be playing a massive series in England starting July 3 and it will include a three twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) series followed by a five-game Test series between August 1 and September 11. This will be India’s first five-match Test series since 2016-17 when they defeated the same opponents 4-0 in at home.

Abroad, this will be India’s first five-match Test series since the one in England in 2014 which they lost 1-3. The run-machine of today’s cricketing world – Virat Kohli, who will also be captaining India in this year’s series – had a disastrous outing that year, averaging 13.50 in 10 innings with the highest score of 39.

We will keep a track on how things go when India take on the hosts, who will be playing their 1000th Test at Birmingham starting August 1, but as of now, let’s have a glimpse of some of the worst controversies that had hit the India-England Test series in the past. The India-England Test series in England is played for the Pataudi Trophy, which was first awarded in 2007 to commemorate 75 years of Test rivalry between the two sides.

1. Infamous jelly-gate; 2nd Test at Trent Bridge;  July 2007

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262295" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262295" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)</figcaption>

Having got bundled for 198 in less than a day’s play in their first innings, Michael Vaughan’s England found the Indian batsmen were in no mood to loosen the noose and took a robust lead of 266 runs when the last of their top seven fell in the form of VVS Laxman. In came Zaheer Khan, India’s most successful bowler in the first innings and the English players decided to play a prank and that snowballed into a major controversy, labelled today as “jelly gate” in the cricketing circuits.

It so happened that as Khan came out to bat, he found some jelly beans lying the wicket. As he cleaned them up and played his next ball, there were some more of the stuff. Khan was irritated by this as he understood it was being deliberately done and the fact that someone was chuckling from behind infuriated him more. He was so upset that he went to Kevin Pietersen who was fielding at gully although Alastair Cook was standing closer by, at short leg. Khan later said that he didn’t know from where the beans were being thrown. The England cricketers made fun of him and the umpires had to intervene.

An “insulted” Zaheer Khan came back even stronger in the second innings, taking five wickets to break the hosts’ batting spine, and giving India a win by 7 wickets to pick up their first Test series victory in England after 21 years. Khan was adjudged the man of the match for taking 9 wickets.

Match score: England 198 &amp; 355; India 481 &amp; 73/3

2. 1996 India tour of England: Navjot Singh Sidhu walks out of Indian team and Sourav Ganguly makes history

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262296" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/sourav-ganguly.jpg" alt="sourav ganguly" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262296" class="wp-caption-text">Sourav Ganguly of India. (Photo Source: Graham Chadwick/Allsport UK)</figcaption>

India went to England for a Test series after a gap of six years in 1996 and this time, too, the skipper was Mohammed Azharuddin – the man who was at the helm of the team which was floored by Graham Gooch’s triple ton in the 1990 series to lose it 0-1. The 1996 squad had a lot of new faces but of all, the most bizarre act was committed by one of the senior players – Navjot Singh Sidhu – who suddenly walked out of the series without any notice.

Though Sidhu remained mum on the exact reason that saw his pull-out midway in the series, the autobiography by former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele claimed years later that the Punjab batsman was aghast with his skipper “constantly abusing” him.

The book also said that the ‘objectionable’ words used by Azharuddin were commonplace in his hometown Hyderabad and there was little offensive about them. Sidhu later admitted it as a mistake and said he was ready to face the consequences. His mysterious exit, however, created an opening for Sourav Ganguly who slammed 131 in Lord’s to launch one of the most exciting cricketing tales in India in that series.

3. The Vaseline-coated series of 1976-77

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262299" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Lever.jpg" alt="John Lever" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262299" class="wp-caption-text">John Lever of England. (Photo Source: Adrian Murrell/Allsport)</figcaption>

Tony Greig’s England came to India after suffering defeats against Australia and the West Indies and turned around the fortunes by registering a 3-1 victory over the hosts in a five-game series.

But the visitors’ win in a Test series in India after a gap of 43 years was marred by the Vaseline controversy. And it was John Lever, the left-arm fast bowler from Essex, who was at the centre of the controversy despite his impressive show in the series with 26 scalps at an average of 14.61.

The controversy broke out in the third Test played in Chennai (then Madras) where the English team’s physio suggested the players to use strips of Vaseline-coated gauze on their eyebrows to prevent the sweat drip down from their faces. But the situation turned worse when Lever, at one point of the game, threw his gauze down on the ground and it was taken up by the umpires.

Bishan Singh Bedi, who was captaining India, brought allegations that the bowler used the Vaseline for tampering with the ball in not just the game in Madras but also in Delhi to make it swing more. England, which had a captain who was known for his excellent public relations, said the offence was unintentional even if they committed a technical violation of law 46.

It also said that there was no need to resort to unfair means since the Indian team was already doing poorly. Both teams settled for the opinion that it was not intentional though the series is continued to be called a Vaseline-coated one. England were lucky not to have faced India’s 24X7 media that scrutinises everything under the sun today.

4. Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd Test in Mohali in 2016

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262300" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-4.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262300" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd Test in Mohali in 2016. (Photo Source: Hindustan Times)</figcaption>

Kohli and England’s Ben Stokes were having a go at each other since Day 1 of the third Test and after the Indian captain gave Stokes a bit of a send-off after he got dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja, the two found themselves engaged in an altercation even as Stokes was heading to the pavilion. The umpires intervened and Stokes was pulled up under ICC’s code of conduct for unworthy behaviour and gesture.

After England got bowled out for 283 in their first innings and India came out to bat, it was Stokes’s turn to return the favour. The all-rounder took five wickets in India’s first innings and one of his victims was a well-set Kohli (62). After getting Kohli caught behind, Stokes made a comic gesture with ‘sealed lips’ to convey that he was under sanction.

England started their second essay after conceding a lead of 134 runs in the first innings but soon faced a batting debacle. And as soon Stokes got leg before the wicket by Ravichandran Ashwin for just 5, the camera zoomed on Kohli and saw him putting a finger on his lips suggesting “I am quiet” to those expecting a backlash from him.

India went on to win the game by 8 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Well, it would be fair to say that Kohli had the last laugh as India went on to win the game and took a crucial 2-0 lead in Mohali.

Match score: England 283 &amp; 236; India 417 &amp; 104/2

5. Ian Bell’s run-out fiasco in 2nd Test in Nottingham, July-August 2011

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262304" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ian-Bell.jpg" alt="Ian Bell" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262304" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina of India has a chat as Ian Bell of England is welcomed back on to the field of play after being controversially run out. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)</figcaption>

It was one of the worst series in the career of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India was pummelled 0-4 by the hosts in a four-match series. A drama unfolded on the third day of the second Test in Trent Bridge when England were batting in their second innings. Eoin Morgan flicked the final ball of the last over before tea which was bowled by Ishant Sharma to the deep square leg area. Praveen Kumar failed to gather the ball and Morgan and Bell took three runs and were not sure if the ball had touched the ropes.

The ball had not reached the boundary. Bell in the meantime jogged halfway down the pitch even as Morgan asked him to stop and then started walking down. But it was too late for Bell as Abhinav Mukund gathered the ball and dislodged the bails at the strikers’ end and sought the batsman’s run-out.

Bell was then heading towards the dressing room with Morgan for the tea break.

The umpires wanted to know if the Indians had appealed for a run-out and when they said, the matter went to the third umpire who saw the ball hadn’t touched the ropes and Bell was given run-out, much to the dismay of the home supporters on the ground. They booed the visiting side as it left the ground for the break.

During the tea-break, England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower requested the Indian team to withdraw the appeal and seeking a consensus, Dhoni decided to take the appeal back – a decision that left the spectators instant fans of the Indian side. Bell, who was batting on 137 at the time of the controversy, was recalled and he went to score 159.

The noble spirit, however, did not help India to save the game and they were thrashed by a whopping 319 runs by England who took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.

Match score: England 221 &amp; 544; India 288 &amp; 158

India will be playing a massive series in England starting&nbsp;July 3&nbsp;and it will include a three twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) series followed by a five-game Test series between&nbsp;August 1 and September 11. This will be India’s first five-match Test series since 2016-17 when they defeated the same opponents 4-0 in at home.
Abroad, this will be India’s first five-match Test series since the one in England in 2014 which they lost 1-3. The run-machine of today’s cricketing world – Virat Kohli, who will also be captaining India in this year’s series – had a disastrous outing that year, averaging 13.50 in 10 innings with the highest score of 39.
We will keep a track on how things go when India take on the hosts, who will be playing their 1000th&nbsp;Test at Birmingham starting&nbsp;August 1, but as of now, let’s have a glimpse of some of the worst controversies that had hit the India-England Test series in the past. The India-England Test series in England is played for the Pataudi Trophy, which was first awarded in 2007 to commemorate 75 years of Test rivalry between the two sides.
<h3>1. Infamous jelly-gate; 2nd&nbsp;Test at Trent Bridge;&nbsp;&nbsp;July 2007</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262295" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262295" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-262295" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262295" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Having got bundled for 198 in less than a day’s play in their first innings, Michael Vaughan’s England found the Indian batsmen were in no mood to loosen the noose and took a robust lead of 266 runs when the last of their top seven fell in the form of VVS Laxman. In came Zaheer Khan, India’s most successful bowler in the first innings and the English players decided to play a prank and that snowballed into a major controversy, labelled today as “jelly gate” in the cricketing circuits.
It so happened that as Khan came out to bat, he found some jelly beans lying the wicket. As he cleaned them up and played his next ball, there were some more of the stuff. Khan was irritated by this as he understood it was being deliberately done and the fact that someone was chuckling from behind infuriated him more. He was so upset that he went to Kevin Pietersen who was fielding at gully although Alastair Cook was standing closer by, at short leg. Khan later said that he didn’t know from where the beans were being thrown. The England cricketers made fun of him and the umpires had to intervene.
An “insulted” Zaheer Khan came back even stronger in the second innings, taking five wickets to break the hosts’ batting spine, and giving India a win by 7 wickets to pick up their first Test series victory in England after 21 years. Khan was adjudged the man of the match for taking 9 wickets.
Match score: England 198 &amp; 355; India 481 &amp; 73/3
<h3>&nbsp;2.&nbsp;1996 India tour of England: Navjot Singh Sidhu walks out of Indian team and Sourav Ganguly makes history</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262296" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262296" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-262296" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/sourav-ganguly.jpg" alt="sourav ganguly" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262296" class="wp-caption-text">Sourav Ganguly of India. (Photo Source: Graham Chadwick/Allsport UK)</figcaption></figure>
India went to England for a Test series after a gap of six years in 1996 and this time, too, the skipper was Mohammed Azharuddin – the man who was at the helm of the team which was floored by Graham Gooch’s triple ton in the 1990 series to lose it 0-1. The 1996 squad had a lot of new faces but of all, the most bizarre act was committed by one of the senior players – Navjot Singh Sidhu – who suddenly walked out of the series without any notice.
Though Sidhu remained mum on the exact reason that saw his pull-out midway in the series, the autobiography by former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele claimed years later that the Punjab batsman was aghast with his skipper “constantly abusing” him.
The book also said that the ‘objectionable’ words used by Azharuddin were commonplace in his hometown Hyderabad and there was little offensive about them. Sidhu later admitted it as a mistake and said he was ready to face the consequences. His mysterious exit, however, created an opening for Sourav Ganguly who slammed 131 in Lord’s to launch one of the most exciting cricketing tales in India in that series.
<h3>3. The Vaseline-coated series of 1976-77</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262299" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262299" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-262299" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Lever.jpg" alt="John Lever" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262299" class="wp-caption-text">John Lever of England. (Photo Source: Adrian Murrell/Allsport)</figcaption></figure>
Tony Greig’s England came to India after suffering defeats against Australia and the West Indies and turned around the fortunes by registering a 3-1 victory over the hosts in a five-game series.
But the visitors’ win in a Test series in India after a gap of 43 years was marred by the Vaseline controversy. And it was John Lever, the left-arm fast bowler from Essex, who was at the centre of the controversy despite his impressive show in the series with 26 scalps at an average of 14.61.
The controversy broke out in the third Test played in Chennai (then Madras) where the English team’s physio suggested the players to use strips of Vaseline-coated gauze on their eyebrows to prevent the sweat drip down from their faces. But the situation turned worse when Lever, at one point of the game, threw his gauze down on the ground and it was taken up by the umpires.
Bishan Singh Bedi, who was captaining India, brought allegations that the bowler used the Vaseline for tampering with the ball in not just the game in Madras but also in Delhi to make it swing more. England, which had a captain who was known for his excellent public relations, said the offence was unintentional even if they committed a technical violation of law 46.
It also said that there was no need to resort to unfair means since the Indian team was already doing poorly. Both teams settled for the opinion that it was not intentional though the series is continued to be called a Vaseline-coated one. England were lucky not to have faced India’s 24X7 media that scrutinises everything under the sun today.
<h3>4. Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd&nbsp;Test in Mohali in 2016</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262300" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262300" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-262300" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-4.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262300" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd&nbsp;Test in Mohali in 2016. (Photo Source: Hindustan Times)</figcaption></figure>
Kohli and England’s Ben Stokes were having a go at each other since Day 1 of the third Test and after the Indian captain gave Stokes a bit of a send-off after he got dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja, the two found themselves engaged in an altercation even as Stokes was heading to the pavilion. The umpires intervened and Stokes was pulled up under ICC’s code of conduct for unworthy behaviour and gesture.
That was on Day 1.
After England got bowled out for 283 in their first innings and India came out to bat, it was Stokes’s turn to return the favour. The all-rounder took five wickets in India’s first innings and one of his victims was a well-set Kohli (62). After getting Kohli caught behind, Stokes made a comic gesture with ‘sealed lips’ to convey that he was under sanction.
That was Day 2.
England started their second essay after conceding a lead of 134 runs in the first innings but soon faced a batting debacle. And as soon Stokes got leg before the wicket by Ravichandran Ashwin for just 5, the camera zoomed on Kohli and saw him putting a finger on his lips suggesting “I am quiet” to those expecting a backlash from him.
India went on to win the game by 8 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Well, it would be fair to say that Kohli had the last laugh as India went on to win the game and took a crucial 2-0 lead in Mohali.
Match score: England 283 &amp; 236; India 417 &amp; 104/2
<h3>5. Ian Bell’s run-out fiasco in 2nd&nbsp;Test in Nottingham, July-August 2011</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262304" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262304" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-262304" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ian-Bell.jpg" alt="Ian Bell" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262304" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina of India has a chat as Ian Bell of England is welcomed back on to the field of play after being controversially run out. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
It was one of the worst series in the career of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India was pummelled 0-4 by the hosts in a four-match series. A drama unfolded on the third day of the second Test in Trent Bridge when England were batting in their second innings. Eoin Morgan flicked the final ball of the last over before tea which was bowled by Ishant Sharma to the deep square leg area. Praveen Kumar failed to gather the ball and Morgan and Bell took three runs and were not sure if the ball had touched the ropes.
The ball had not reached the boundary. Bell in the meantime jogged halfway down the pitch even as Morgan asked him to stop and then started walking down. But it was too late for Bell as Abhinav Mukund gathered the ball and dislodged the bails at the strikers’ end and sought the batsman’s run-out.
Bell was then heading towards the dressing room with Morgan for the tea break.
The umpires wanted to know if the Indians had appealed for a run-out and when they said, the matter went to the third umpire who saw the ball hadn’t touched the ropes and Bell was given run-out, much to the dismay of the home supporters on the ground. They booed the visiting side as it left the ground for the break.
During the tea-break, England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower requested the Indian team to withdraw the appeal and seeking a consensus, Dhoni decided to take the appeal back – a decision that left the spectators instant fans of the Indian side. Bell, who was batting on 137 at the time of the controversy, was recalled and he went to score 159.
The noble spirit, however, did not help India to save the game and they were thrashed by a whopping 319 runs by England who took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Match score: England 221 &amp; 544; India 288 &amp; 158

India will be playing a massive series in England starting July 3 and it will include a three twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) series followed by a five-game Test series between August 1 and September 11. This will be India’s first five-match Test series since 2016-17 when they defeated the same opponents 4-0 in at home.
Abroad, this will be India’s first five-match Test series since the one in England in 2014 which they lost 1-3. The run-machine of today’s cricketing world – Virat Kohli, who will also be captaining India in this year’s series – had a disastrous outing that year, averaging 13.50 in 10 innings with the highest score of 39.
We will keep a track on how things go when India take on the hosts, who will be playing their 1000th Test at Birmingham starting August 1, but as of now, let’s have a glimpse of some of the worst controversies that had hit the India-England Test series in the past. The India-England Test series in England is played for the Pataudi Trophy, which was first awarded in 2007 to commemorate 75 years of Test rivalry between the two sides.
<h3>1. Infamous jelly-gate; 2nd Test at Trent Bridge;  July 2007</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262295" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262295" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262295" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rahul-Dravid.jpg" alt="Rahul Dravid" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262295" class="wp-caption-text">Rahul Dravid. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Having got bundled for 198 in less than a day’s play in their first innings, Michael Vaughan’s England found the Indian batsmen were in no mood to loosen the noose and took a robust lead of 266 runs when the last of their top seven fell in the form of VVS Laxman. In came Zaheer Khan, India’s most successful bowler in the first innings and the English players decided to play a prank and that snowballed into a major controversy, labelled today as “jelly gate” in the cricketing circuits.
It so happened that as Khan came out to bat, he found some jelly beans lying the wicket. As he cleaned them up and played his next ball, there were some more of the stuff. Khan was irritated by this as he understood it was being deliberately done and the fact that someone was chuckling from behind infuriated him more. He was so upset that he went to Kevin Pietersen who was fielding at gully although Alastair Cook was standing closer by, at short leg. Khan later said that he didn’t know from where the beans were being thrown. The England cricketers made fun of him and the umpires had to intervene.
An “insulted” Zaheer Khan came back even stronger in the second innings, taking five wickets to break the hosts’ batting spine, and giving India a win by 7 wickets to pick up their first Test series victory in England after 21 years. Khan was adjudged the man of the match for taking 9 wickets.
Match score: England 198 &amp; 355; India 481 &amp; 73/3
<h3> 2. 1996 India tour of England: Navjot Singh Sidhu walks out of Indian team and Sourav Ganguly makes history</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262296" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262296" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262296" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/sourav-ganguly.jpg" alt="sourav ganguly" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262296" class="wp-caption-text">Sourav Ganguly of India. (Photo Source: Graham Chadwick/Allsport UK)</figcaption></figure>
India went to England for a Test series after a gap of six years in 1996 and this time, too, the skipper was Mohammed Azharuddin – the man who was at the helm of the team which was floored by Graham Gooch’s triple ton in the 1990 series to lose it 0-1. The 1996 squad had a lot of new faces but of all, the most bizarre act was committed by one of the senior players – Navjot Singh Sidhu – who suddenly walked out of the series without any notice.
Though Sidhu remained mum on the exact reason that saw his pull-out midway in the series, the autobiography by former BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele claimed years later that the Punjab batsman was aghast with his skipper “constantly abusing” him.
The book also said that the ‘objectionable’ words used by Azharuddin were commonplace in his hometown Hyderabad and there was little offensive about them. Sidhu later admitted it as a mistake and said he was ready to face the consequences. His mysterious exit, however, created an opening for Sourav Ganguly who slammed 131 in Lord’s to launch one of the most exciting cricketing tales in India in that series.
<h3>3. The Vaseline-coated series of 1976-77</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262299" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262299" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262299" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/John-Lever.jpg" alt="John Lever" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262299" class="wp-caption-text">John Lever of England. (Photo Source: Adrian Murrell/Allsport)</figcaption></figure>
Tony Greig’s England came to India after suffering defeats against Australia and the West Indies and turned around the fortunes by registering a 3-1 victory over the hosts in a five-game series.
But the visitors’ win in a Test series in India after a gap of 43 years was marred by the Vaseline controversy. And it was John Lever, the left-arm fast bowler from Essex, who was at the centre of the controversy despite his impressive show in the series with 26 scalps at an average of 14.61.
The controversy broke out in the third Test played in Chennai (then Madras) where the English team’s physio suggested the players to use strips of Vaseline-coated gauze on their eyebrows to prevent the sweat drip down from their faces. But the situation turned worse when Lever, at one point of the game, threw his gauze down on the ground and it was taken up by the umpires.
Bishan Singh Bedi, who was captaining India, brought allegations that the bowler used the Vaseline for tampering with the ball in not just the game in Madras but also in Delhi to make it swing more. England, which had a captain who was known for his excellent public relations, said the offence was unintentional even if they committed a technical violation of law 46.
It also said that there was no need to resort to unfair means since the Indian team was already doing poorly. Both teams settled for the opinion that it was not intentional though the series is continued to be called a Vaseline-coated one. England were lucky not to have faced India’s 24X7 media that scrutinises everything under the sun today.
<h3>4. Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd Test in Mohali in 2016</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262300" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262300" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262300" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Virat-Kohli-4.jpg" alt="Virat Kohli" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262300" class="wp-caption-text">Virat Kohli’s “I am quiet” gesture during 3rd Test in Mohali in 2016. (Photo Source: Hindustan Times)</figcaption></figure>
Kohli and England’s Ben Stokes were having a go at each other since Day 1 of the third Test and after the Indian captain gave Stokes a bit of a send-off after he got dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja, the two found themselves engaged in an altercation even as Stokes was heading to the pavilion. The umpires intervened and Stokes was pulled up under ICC’s code of conduct for unworthy behaviour and gesture.
That was on Day 1.
After England got bowled out for 283 in their first innings and India came out to bat, it was Stokes’s turn to return the favour. The all-rounder took five wickets in India’s first innings and one of his victims was a well-set Kohli (62). After getting Kohli caught behind, Stokes made a comic gesture with ‘sealed lips’ to convey that he was under sanction.
That was Day 2.
England started their second essay after conceding a lead of 134 runs in the first innings but soon faced a batting debacle. And as soon Stokes got leg before the wicket by Ravichandran Ashwin for just 5, the camera zoomed on Kohli and saw him putting a finger on his lips suggesting “I am quiet” to those expecting a backlash from him.
India went on to win the game by 8 wickets to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Well, it would be fair to say that Kohli had the last laugh as India went on to win the game and took a crucial 2-0 lead in Mohali.
Match score: England 283 &amp; 236; India 417 &amp; 104/2
<h3>5. Ian Bell’s run-out fiasco in 2nd Test in Nottingham, July-August 2011</h3>
<figure id="attachment_262304" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-262304" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-262304" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Ian-Bell.jpg" alt="Ian Bell" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-262304" class="wp-caption-text">Suresh Raina of India has a chat as Ian Bell of England is welcomed back on to the field of play after being controversially run out. (Photo by Tom Shaw/Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
It was one of the worst series in the career of captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as India was pummelled 0-4 by the hosts in a four-match series. A drama unfolded on the third day of the second Test in Trent Bridge when England were batting in their second innings. Eoin Morgan flicked the final ball of the last over before tea which was bowled by Ishant Sharma to the deep square leg area. Praveen Kumar failed to gather the ball and Morgan and Bell took three runs and were not sure if the ball had touched the ropes.
The ball had not reached the boundary. Bell in the meantime jogged halfway down the pitch even as Morgan asked him to stop and then started walking down. But it was too late for Bell as Abhinav Mukund gathered the ball and dislodged the bails at the strikers’ end and sought the batsman’s run-out.
Bell was then heading towards the dressing room with Morgan for the tea break.
The umpires wanted to know if the Indians had appealed for a run-out and when they said, the matter went to the third umpire who saw the ball hadn’t touched the ropes and Bell was given run-out, much to the dismay of the home supporters on the ground. They booed the visiting side as it left the ground for the break.
During the tea-break, England captain Andrew Strauss and coach Andy Flower requested the Indian team to withdraw the appeal and seeking a consensus, Dhoni decided to take the appeal back – a decision that left the spectators instant fans of the Indian side. Bell, who was batting on 137 at the time of the controversy, was recalled and he went to score 159.
The noble spirit, however, did not help India to save the game and they were thrashed by a whopping 319 runs by England who took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series.
Match score: England 221 &amp; 544; India 288 &amp; 158

Which has been the most controversial moment of the India vs England rivalry?

Five Controversies that have hit India vs England Test series in the past

India will be playing a massive series in England starting July 3 and it will include a three twenty20 and One-Day International (ODI) series followed by a.