While in my last
article i had rekindled memories of some of the greatest test innings played by
Indian batsmen, just selecting top 5 knocks , i thought does not do justice to
the long list of heroic deeds performed by Indian batsmen at the test level. So
i would like to put focus on another 5 of finest knocks played by some of the greatest Indian
batsmen.
6)
Rahul Dravid’s 148 at Headingley against England in 2002.
- This was the 3rd test of
the series where England led India by 1-0 winning the lords test comfortably
and India managing to draw the high scoring test at Nottingham. The teams headed to Headingley which is known
for its bowler friendly conditions and a lively pitch awaited the Indian team. India
won the toss and skipper Ganguly opted to bat first on a pitch which had a fair
amount of grass cover and his decision raised a few eyebrows considering the
question marks on the ability of the Indian batsmen to cope in bowler friendly
conditions overseas. India lost sehwag early in the 7th over and out
came Dravid , certainly the perfect batsmen
when it came to negotiating
tough conditions out in the middle.
Dravid and Sanjay Bangur forged a terrific partnership where both of them
played very patiently which was the need of the hour respecting the conditions quite skilfully.
The feature of Dravid.s knock was his ability to play very late and there were some hostile spells from the
likes of Flintoff and company. England had the bowling arsenal which was suited
to the swinging conditions, with the likes of Caddick, Alex Tudor and Mathew
haggard but Dravid conquered all
conditions and emerged out victorious in this trial by fire. Dravid
scored a magnificent 148 runs and
century partnerships along with Bangur
and Tendulkar certainly paved the way for a mammoth first innings total. After Dravid was dismissed , Tendulkar and Ganguly
joined in the party and added 249 runs of a mere 60 overs flaying the English
attack all over. This was the only
instance in test cricket where the holy
trinity of the Indian batting line up
namely Dravid, Tendulkar and Ganguly all scored test tons in the same innings.
India scored a massive 628 /8 and won
the test match quite comfortably by an
innings and 46 runs despite a stoic resistance from English batsmen. After
following on. Even though 3 Indian batsmen scored a century in the first innings, it was the innings of Dravid
which paved way for a huge Indian score and laid the foundation for Tendulkar
and Ganguly to lay their hands on the English bowling. The fact that Dravid scored this
knock in tough batting
conditions overseas which contributed to
a very remarkable win at Headingley is
what makes this knock all the more wonderful.
7
) Sachin Tendulkar.s 136 against
Pakistan at Chennai 1999.
– The arch rivals India and Pakistan
were playing a test series on
Indian soil after a long gap of 12 years. Chennai.s M A Chidambaram stadium was
the venue for the first of the 2 test
match series. It was a typical Chennai track favouring spinners with the ball
turning viciously and rearing off the pitch. Pakistan batted first but lost wickets
at regular intervals . Anil Kumble took 6 wickets and only Yousuf Youhana and Moin khan
scored half centuries as Pakistan folded up for a mere 238 runs. Even India did not bat well and barring Dravid and Ganguly who
scored gritty half centuries India could manage 254 runs leading Pakistan on
first innings by 16 runs. Saqlain Mushtaq took a magnificent 5 wicket haul. The
Pakistani second innings was dominated by Shahid Afridi.s whirlwind century a
brilliant 141 runs and Venkatesh Prasad
helped restrict Pakistan by taking 6 wickets. Pakistan led by 270 runs and set
India a difficult target of 271 runs which considering the pitch conditions and
the quality bowling line up of Pakistan was never going to be an easy target. India lost early wickets as
Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis rocked India early. India was reeling at 82 / 5 when Sachin
Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia forged together a useful century stand which brought
India back in to the game. Tendulkar not only had to fight the tough pitch
conditions and the awesome bowling line up but his back pain had flared up in
the midst of his heroic innings. The pain and agony through which Tendulkar was
going through was very painstaking to
see. Every time he stretched
forward or rocked back, he was
experiencing tremendous pain. Finally Mongia lost his patience and left Tendulkar
a mountain to climb considering the Indian tail was as brittle as sand.
Battling excruciating back pain Tendulkar
scored one of the finest knocks at Chepauk and finally in trying to score quick
runs mistimed a shot off Saqlain Mushtaq and holed out at long off and Saqlain cleaned
up the tail leading Pakistan to a
historic win by 12 runs. For sheer courage and determination this is easily one
of the most heroic knocks played by an Indian batsman.
8 ) Sunil Gavaskar’s 221 against England at
oval 1979 - The fourth
test of the 1979 series against England saw the Indians play at the historic Kennington
oval ground. England batted first and
never really looked like getting a huge
first innings total . eventually with
half centuries from Graham Gooch and Peter Willey, eventually England
managed to post a respectable 305 runs . India lost quick wickets and was never
in the hunt of surpassing the English total in the 1st innings.
Barring Vishwanath, none of the batsmen could settle against English pacers and
India folded for 202 runs a sizeable lead of 103 runs for the home team. In the
2nd innings, on the back of Geoff boycott’s wonderful 125 runs,
England managed to score 334 runs leaving india to score a mammoth 438 runs in
the last innings. Despite the oval track being flat, it was a daunting target
and unless somebody played an absolute blinder, it was a near impossible task.
India started very well and the opening pair of Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan
put on 213 runs for the opening wicket.
Chetan Chauhan was unlucky to miss a well deserved hundred and was
dismissed for 80 runs. Gavaskar meanwhile carried on and put on a century
partnership with Vengsarkar. India was well on its way at 366/1
and needed just 72 runs with 9 wickets in hand. Gavaskar was in sublime
touch and his concentration was unflappable. Gavaskar always relished such challenges
and scored a masterful double hundred when the team was in need of a big score.
After Vengsarkar was dismissed, however panic set in the Indian ranks and Kapil
Dev and Yashpal Sharma were promoted in
the batting order to score quick runs as the asking run rate was increasing. India lost quick
wickets and after Gavaskar fell for a heroic 221 runs, India could not chase
down the target and fell agonisingly short by just 9 runs. India ended with 429
/8 and the match was drawn. Gavaskar had
given india more than a sniff chasing
such a massive target.
9) V V S Laxman’s 96 against south Africa at
Durban in 2010 -
India had lost the 1st test at centurion on the tour of south
Africa in dec 2010. A fast and bouncy
pitch awaited India at the Kingsmead ground in Durban. Batting first, India
lost wickets at regular intervals and eventually folded up for a mere 205 runs.
Dale Steyn was the tormentor in chief
taking 6 for 50. The wicket was very lively and Steyn indeed exploited the
conditions to the fullest. South Africa’s reply was even worse and all the
Indian bowlers chipped in with wickets skitling the home team for a poultry 131
runs. In India’s 2nd innings, wickets again fell regularly and with
the exception of Laxman, who was looking rock solid at one end there was hardly
anybody who played responsibly, some of the batsmen throwing away their
wickets. Amidst all the conundrum Laxman was in sublime touch scoring freely
off quick bowlers . eventually he was unfortunate to miss a great century and
was dismissed off Steyn for a masterly 96 runs. India was dismissed for 228
leaving south Africa with 303 runs to win in the last innings. The Indian pacers,
likes of Zaheer Khan, Ishant Sharma and Sreesanth bowled well in tandem and
eventually led India to victory by 87 runs dismissing the Proteas for 215 runs.
The fact that Durban always had been a losing ground for india makes this
innings of Laxman all the more worthy.
10) Dilip Vengsarkar’s 103 against England at
lords in 1979 - This series against England in the summer of
1979 witnessed another classic knock from one of the finest Indian batsman
Dilip Vengsarkar. In the first innings
itself India was rocked early by a
certain Ian Bothom and never really recovered from the spell and was all out
for 96 runs, with Bothom picking up a well deserved 5 wicket haul. England
replied with a healthy 419 and led India by a huge margin of 323 runs. India had a good start in the 2nd
innings and after Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan had added 79 runs, Chauhan was
dismissed and 20 runs later Gavaskar left with score at 99. Dilip Vengsarkar and G R Vishwanath were at the
crease and even during the 4th day, the wicket was doing a fair amount for the
pace bowlers. Vengsarkar had always enjoyed
playing at Lords and he along with Vishwanath showed a lot of mettle to
take India out of the jaws of defeat. The duo added 210 runs for the 3rd
wicket and by the time he and Vishwanath left, Vengsarkar had guided India to
safety and the match was eventually drawn. The circumstances under which Vengsarkar
played is what makes this innings one of the best.
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