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Follow UsDespite being 91/6 at one point in their second innings on Day 4 during the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, Australia managed to reach 228/9 at the end of the day’s play on December 29 (Sunday). The lead of the Australian team went past 300 courtesy of an unbeaten 55-run stand for the 10th wicket between number 10 Nathan Lyon and number 11 Scot Boland.
Assuming that Australia declare overnight, India would have to chase down 334 in 96 overs on Day 5 to win the Test. It is going to be a tough proposition because the wicket is getting tougher to bat on. What makes it tougher is that the Indian team has successfully chased more than 300 only thrice, and only once has it been against Australia.
More importantly, they have never chased anything beyond 330 against Australia. Add to that the same Indian team failed to chase down 147 against New Zealand only last month, that too at their home turf of Mumbai, and the ask becomes herculean to comprehend. However, it is still not impossible.
Here are India’s three chases beyond 300 in Tests from which the current side can take inspiration.
World record chase of 406 against mighty West Indies
India created a world record in 1976 when they chased down 406 against the mighty West Indies, and that too at their home turf of Port of Spain in Trinidad. After bowling India out for 228 in their first innings, the Windies skipper Clive Lloyd declared their second innings at 271/6 and set visitors an improbable target of 403 to win.
No one, not even the wildest of Indian fans, would have imagined the side to get even closer to the target, let alone chase it with six wickets intact. Brilliant centuries from Sunil Gavaskar (102) and Gundappa Viswanath (112) and a solid 85 from Mohinder Amarnath meant that Madan Lal (1*) and Brijesh Patel (49*) needed to add only 14 for the fifth wicket to win the match and create history.
It was only in 2003 that West Indies chased down 418 against Australia to break India’s record for the highest successful run chase in Tests.
Chasing 387 at Chepauk to put a smile on every Indian’s face
It was the first game hosted by India after the deadly 26/11 terror attacks. In a way, it was an effort to bring back normalcy to cricket in the country after England had left their tour mid-way. But they returned to complete the tour which was a great gesture towards cricket and India.
England won the toss and opted to bat first in Chennai. They posted 316 on the back of an Andrew Strauss century (123). In the second innings, Strauss and Paul Collingwood scored tons (108 each) as the English declared at 311/9, setting India a huge target of 387 to win.
The Indian team, who were bowled out for 241 in their first innings, put on a show to remember in Chepauk in the second. Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s brilliant (103*), coupled with fifties from Gautam Gambhir (66), Virender Sehwag (83) and Yuvraj Singh (85*) took India to a memorable win.
Breaching the fortress Gabba by chasing 328 in 2021
The latest of all three 300-plus chases might be the biggest inspiration for India on Day 5 in this Boxing Day Test. Just three years ago, a relatively younger Indian team, led by Ajinkya Rahane, chased down an improbable 328 in Brisbane to breach the fortress of Gabba, handing Australia their first defeat at the venue since 1988.
With the series levelled at 1-1, both the teams needed to win the game at Gabba to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. Australia, after winning the toss and opting to bat first, posted 369 in the first innings, thanks to Marnus Labuschagne’s century. India responded well with 336 on the back of half-centuries from debutant Washington Sundar and Shardul Thakur.
The game changed in the second innings. Despite being one bowler short, with Navdeep Saini bowling only five overs in the innings, India managed to restrict the Aussies to 294. After this, they had two options on the last day- either bat out 98 overs for a draw or chase down 328 to take the series.
Knowing how India remained stubborn enough with Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari in Sydney to snatch the draw out of the jaws of certain defeat, another stalemate seemed on the cards. But Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill decided they were not going down without a fight.
First, Gill scored 91 off 146, and although Pujara scored the anchor, scoring 56 off 211, Pant’s unbeaten 89 off 138 balls ensured it was all going down to the wire. At the fall of Mayank Agarwal’s wicket, India needed 63 off 68 balls with five wickets in hand.
Despite being in the pre-Bazball era, a win looked like a possible outcome for India with Pant at the crease. Ultimately, India chased the target down with 1.2 overs to spare and three wickets intact.
