With 100th Test, India enter elite league

New Delhi: When the Indian and England teams line up at the Lord's on Thursday for the start of the first Test, they will become the fifth-most prolific cricket rivals in cricketing history to have played 100 Test matches.
England, by virtue of being the inventors of the game, feature in four of the five such rivalries with the top spot going to England vs Australia with 326 Tests. In second place is England vs West Indies with 145 Tests, while England vs South Africa is third with 138 Tests. Australia vs West Indies takes the fourth place with 108 Tests.
This is India's second century mark to be celebrated in the last two years. India's win over Sri Lanka in November 2009 that took them to the No. 1 Test spot in the ICC rankings was also their 100th Test win.
The crowning glory of a hat-trick of century events will be Sachin Tendulkar's 100th international hundred at Lord's, which was also the venue of the first Test between the two sides in 1932.
India have only won one Test at Lord's, and that one came in 1986 and MS Dhoni will be hoping to improve upon that record in the 100th Test. England, despite their superb run, have in fact not beaten India in a Test match in five years. Their last win came at the Wankhede in 2006. At home, England have not beaten India since 2002.