On August 13, 2011, England scripted history by defeating MS Dhoni and Co. in the third Test of the India tour of England at Edgbaston and reaching the summit of the red-ball game. Moving into the series, England needed to defeat India by 2-0 or more to reach the top spot in the Test rankings, having started the series ranked third. India, on the other hand, were the highest-rated side in the longest format then.
England had already won the first two games and made the tough journey to reach the 2-0 lead. They only needed to avoid defeat in the final two Test to emerge as the highest-ranked Test side. However, Andrew Strauss-led England had better ideas. From beating India by 196 runs in the first Test and 319 runs in the second Test, they went one step better beating the visitors by an innings and 242 runs in the third Test. With their emphatic win, they became the No. 1 Test side for the first time since the inception of cricket.
Alastair Cook was adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ for his 294 off 545 balls
The English lions won the toss and invited India out to bat first. Riding on skipper MS Dhoni’s 77 off 96, including 10 fours and three sixes, they reached a mere 224 before being bundled out in 62.2 overs. Only four batters other than the skipper reached double figures – Gautam Gambhir (38 off 64), Rahul Dravid (22 off 68), VVS Laxman (30 off 41), and Praveen Kumar (26 off 39). For England, Stuart Broad and Tim Bresnan returned four-wicket hauls whereas James Anderson scalped the remaining two.
In reply, the hosts posted a mammoth 710/7 before declaring their innings. Opener Alastair Cook was unlucky to miss out on his triple hundred as he was dismissed for 294 off 545 balls, including 33 fours. Eoin Morgan scored a hundred – 104 off 199. Indian bowlers had a hard time dealing with this English batting lineup. Amit Mishra scalped three whereas Praveen Kumar scalped two. Ishant Sharma and Suresh Raina returned with one wicket each.
MS Dhoni remained the top-scorer once again with 74* off 79 as India were bundled out for 244 to confirm a win for the hosts by an innings and 242 runs and a series victory as well. James Anderson completed a five-wicket haul as England reached the summit of the red-ball game for the first time in history.