Test cricket is the best format of the game. Let’s get this straight. After being down and out at 221/7 in the first innings, India have fought back really well in the fourth Test at Melbourne Cricket Ground. After bundling Australia out for 234, they have been given a target of 340 to chase down on the final day of the ongoing Boxing Day Test. Will they be able to do it? Has India done it before?
Let us have a look at the top 5 highest 4th innings successful chases for India in Test cricket:
406 vs West Indies in 1976
This is one of the rare Test matches in history that India have won without picking up 20 wickets. The Bishan Bedi-led side conceded a 131-run lead in the first innings after managing to muster only 228 runs with the bat. In the second innings, the strong West Indies side scored 271 runs for the loss of six wickets before declaring to set an improbable target of 403 runs to win the Test matches.
Sunil Gavaskar led the way for India in the chase slamming a brilliant 102 opening the innings. Gundappa Vishwanath, batting at four, also notched up a sensational ton in Port of Spain while Mohinder Amarnath scored 85 runs. Brijesh Patel played a vital knock of 49 runs and remained unbeaten in the run-chase as India chased down the total with as many as six wickets in hand. It is still the highest run-chase for India in Tests.
387 vs England in 2008
India repeated the 1976-like heist in 2008 chasing down 387 runs at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. To chase such a huge target in Chennai in the fourth innings is nothing short of a massive achievement as it is considered impossible to bat last in India in the longest format of the game.
However, the MS Dhoni-led side made it possible. The opening duo of Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag led the way first with a 117-run stand in just 23 overs, with the latter smashing 83 runs off just 68 balls. Even though India lost Rahul Dravid early, Sachin Tendulkar stepped out to notch up a historic century and was well supported by Yuvraj Singh, who scored an unbeaten 85 as India gunned down a mammoth target in 98.3 overs.
329 vs Australia in 2021
The Gabba Test in Brisbane is considered India’s best-ever effort on the final day of any Test match ever. Australia were unbeaten at the Gabba since 1988 and scoring more than 300 runs in the fourth innings at the venue was nothing more than a dream. India lost Rohit Sharma early on the final day but Shubman Gill and Chesteshwar Pujara stayed put to notch up a 114-run partnership for the second wicket.
Gill played an enterprising knock of 91 runs before getting out while Pujara withered the Aussie bowling attack from the other end facing 211 deliveries to score only 56 runs. The skipper Ajinkya Rahane scored 24 quick runs and the real hero of the Gabba heist turned out to be Rishabh Pant. He scored an unbeaten 89 and didn’t deter even as India lost wickets in the final session. Fittingly, Pant scored the winning runs as well as India created history with three wickets in hand.
276 vs West Indies in 2011
276 might not seem much but in India, it is near impossible to chase a score over 200. For once in the 21st century, the West Indies performed extremely well to set up a challenging target of 276 runs in front of India in the Test match played at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.
However, MS Dhoni and his men were up for the challenge as they chased it down in just 80.4 overs. Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and VVS Laxman scored vital half-centuries with the other batters also making vital contributions as India registered their now fourth-highest successful run-chase in the longest format of the game.
264 vs Sri Lanka in 2001
India were set a target of 264 runs by Sri Lanka in a Test match in Kandy back in 2001. Under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, India were just recovering from the match-fixing allegations that hit Indian cricket around a year ago and the team stepped up brilliantly.
The captain led from the front notching up an unbeaten 98 while Rahul Dravid scored 75 runs in the chase as India chased 264 runs with as many as seven wickets in hand. The heroic chase also helped them level the three-match series 1-1.
