New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) A new milestone beckons Shubman Gill’s Indian cricket team as the Men in Blue are set to turn up for their 600th Test match, becoming just the third Test-playing nation to have ever achieved the mark.
The upcoming first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle from Saturday onwards is not just a game crucial for India’s World Test Championship chances, but a match that will enable them to join Australia and England in an elite list of nations that have won 600 or more Test matches.
The start of the Test on August 15 is in itself a historic occasion for India as the nation celebrates its 80th Independence Day.
India’s current Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has been left overwhelmed by the occasion, admitting that leading the side in the 600th Test “is an honour and doing so on Independence Day is an even bigger honour.” As the Indian team gears up for its 600th red-ball game, IANS takes a look at five of the country’s five greatest wins in Test cricket’s history.
The marathon Port of Spain chase of 1976
Chasing a target of 403 in that time against West Indies in their own backyard is surely a dream. Only once before had a team hunted down a target of over 400, and that was by the invincible Australian side in 1948 against England.
Even the great Sunil Gavaskar had never thought that India could win it. In his autobiography, Sunny Days, Gavaskar wrote, “I was confident that we could save the game, because the wicket was still good, but the thought of winning never entered my mind.”
But India defied the logic. Needing 269 more to win on the last day of the match, the Little Master scored a sublime century (102), while Gundappa Viswanath made 112 as Bishan Singh Bedi’s team chased down the huge target in a marathon chase. The next day, the Trinidad Express had the headline, “India defy history, whip West Indies.” Indeed, it was a logic-defying victory.
The Kolkata follow-on magic
If the marathon chase at Port of Spain was a historic one, India’s victory over Australia in the Kolkata 2001 Test was one of the greatest wins in Test cricket history by any team too. Bundled out for 171 in the first innings after the Aussies had piled up 445 in their first innings, India needed more than magic. First to shrug off a mammoth 271-run deficit and then hoped to pile a target that they could defend.
Then came an epic partnership between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, a picture frame of the two walking off the field that remains so close to Indian fans’ hearts. A 376-run partnership for the fifth wicket that powered India to 657/7d. Australia were suddenly in choppy waters as a rampant Harbhajan Singh, who claimed a hat-trick on the first day, ran through the visitors’ batting line-up on the fifth day to hand the hosts a 171-run come-from-behind win. A win that still gives goosebumps to the die-hard fans.
Rahul Dravid’s heroic outing in Adelaide
Another memorable win for India in the format came against Australia two years after the Eden Miracle in Adelaide. Ricky Ponting led the way for the Aussies to pile up 556 in the first innings. Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman stepped up yet again, putting up a 333-run partnership to remind the Aussies of that epic Kolkata fight. Dravid’s 233 and Laxman’s 148 propelled India to 523.
In the second innings, Ajit Agarkar came to the party, picking up six wickets in a masterful spell. His 6/41 laid the foundation as the hosts were bowled out for 196. Asked to chase 230 in the last innings, Dravid stood up once again. A cool-headed and unbeaten 72 took India home with four wickets in hand on the final day.
The epic Brisbane 2021 win
Bruised and trailing Down Under. India’s win in Brisbane 2021 stands as one of their most epic wins. It was a depleted team, going into the match without Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, and Umesh Yadav. A team hit with injuries left, right and centre was up against the powerhouse Aussie side.
India put 336 in reply to Australia’s first innings 369 after a late valiant effort from Shardul Thakur and debutant Washington Sundar. A fifer from Mohammed Siraj helped bowl the Aussies for 294, setting up a challenging 328-run target for India against the bowling attack featuring Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon. Australia had never lost a Test at Gabba in 32 years. But then came a fight for the ages. Superb knocks from Shubman Gill (91), unbeaten hero Rishabh Pant (89*) and a crucial 22 from Sundar tamed the Aussies. An epic three-wicket win that has a special place in India’s Test history.
An aggression-laden Lord’s win under Virat Kohli
“For these 60 overs, they should feel like hell out there.” Virat Kohli had a special pep talk for his Indian team as it looked to eke out a result from the Lord’s Test in 2021. There was not much to separate the two teams at the end of the first innings when England scored 391 in reply to India’s 364. A special KL Rahul century was nearly neutralised by Joe Root’s masterclass of 180 runs. In the second innings, India did just enough, thanks to a lower-order fight from Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah; the visitors put up 298/8d.
The time was ticking for the Men in Blue. A little under two sessions remained on the final day when England came out to bat. The writing was on the wall; it had to be a draw. But Kohli had other plans. He charged his troops on the field with a special pep talk as they found a way to break apart England. Mohammed Siraj took four, Bumrah scalped three, Ishant Sharma took two and Shami one as India bowled the English side out in only 51.5 overs to secure a memorable 151-run win.
–IANS
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