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

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

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 & 544; India 288 & 158