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From Eden Gardens 2001 to Old Trafford 1990, revisiting India's greatest rescue acts in Test cricket
VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's epic 376-run partnership in Kolkata and Sachin Tendulkar's resilient 119 not out in Manchester led to some of greatest rescue acts in Indian Test history. Image: AFP/ICC
The quartet of KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja to ensure the five-match series against England remained alive heading into the final Test at The Oval on Thursday.
Captain Gill and Rahul, after all, found themselves at the crease after Chris Woakes had dismissed Yashasvi Jaiswal and B Sai Sudharsan in successive deliveries in the very first over of India's second innings. India had been reduced to 0/2 after England had posted a mammoth 669 on the board and collected a 311-run first innings lead.
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Also Read | Steely determination of Indian batting lineup runs England ragged at Old Trafford, keeps Test series alive
Gill and Rahul would end up batting through the remaining overs of the day with a defiant, unbroken 174-run partnership for the third wicket. When some were expecting India to get bundled out around lunch, the captain and the senior opener ensured India lived to fight another day at Old Trafford.
And when the two set overnight batters departed inside the morning session, Gill getting dismissed shortly after completing his fourth ton of the series, spin-bowling all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar highlighted that the middle-order was in safe hands.
'Jaddu' and 'Washy' joined the century fest as they forged an unbroken 203-run stand for the fifth wicket that ensured India returned to London for the final Test with the series still alive.
The rescue act by the quartet of Gill, Rahul, Jadeja and Sundar was reminiscent of several other such escapes and heists, which we take a look at in greater detail below:
Laxman and Dravid vs Australia, Kolkata, 2001
Social media has been replete with countless posts comparing VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid's legendary fifth-wicket partnership against Steve Waugh's Australia at the Eden Gardens in 2001. There's no doubt what Gill and his teammates achieved at Old Trafford over the weekend was phenomenal. But to compare it one of the greatest turnarounds in the history of the game, which resulted in only the second instance of a team winning from having to follow-on, would be questionable.
Do celebrate Holi, but also celebrate 2 men who walked in on this day 24 years ago with the score at 254-4 & 90 overs later, returned unbeaten with the score reading 589-4.
Laxman & Dravid, Eden Gardens 2001 pic.twitter.com/R1bHU9Ij38 — Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) March 14, 2025
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Laxman and Dravid, after all, had battled physical discomfort and illness to forge a 376-run partnership that helped India go from conceding a 274-run first innings deficit to posting a mammoth 657/7 in their second innings and going on to win the Test by 171 runs. The victory would be a turning point not just in the three-Test series, but in Sourav Ganguly's career as captain and indeed for the Indian team.
Vihari and Ashwin vs Australia, Sydney, 2021
India had staged an equally remarkable comeback in the 2020-21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where they would go on to win the series 2-1 after getting bundled out for 36 and losing the series opener in Adelaide. The third Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground had Australia in the driver's seat as they set India a tough 407 to win. And with the Indians reduced to 102/3, the Tim Paine-led hosts certainly appeared confident of ending on the winning side.
Ashwin, Vihari's resilience helps India draw Third Test!
Both teams go to The Gabba with series at 1-1!#AUSvIND
LIVE: https://t.co/AIFgUkZLOF pic.twitter.com/4NRPC5iGl4 — Firstpost Sports (@FirstpostSports) January 11, 2021
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While Cheteshwar Pujara (77) and Rishabh Pant (97) had brought India back into the contest, it was the sixth-wicket pair of Hanuma Vihari (23 not out of 161 balls) and Ravichandran Ashwin (39 not out off 128) who replicated AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis' stonewalling effort against the same team, albeit in Adelaide in 2012, to ultimately steer India towards safety. And they did it while battling cramps and copping multiple blows to the body from Australia's pace trifecta of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins.
Tendulkar and Prabhakar vs England, Manchester, 1990
Gill and Co's phenomenal batting isn't the only instance of Indian batters going out of their way to secure a draw for their team at Manchester's Old Trafford Stadium. It is exactly what had happened that last time India had played a Test at this venue – all the way back in 1990. What's more, that game witnessed the beginning of something special – the first of Sachin Tendulkar's century of international centuries.
What were you doing when you were 17?
On this day in 1990, a little 17 year old Indian boy scored his 1st test hundred, a brilliant 119* to save the match for India...the little master Sachin Tendulkar @sachin_rt
These backfoot shots are unbelievable, for anyone at any age pic.twitter.com/CQcyMhYTxO — Rob Moody (@robelinda2) August 13, 2020
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The Graham Gooch-led hosts were on top after collecting an 87-run first innings lead and later setting India an improbable 408 to win. And by the time legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev was dismissed, India looked down and out with just 183 runs on the board for the loss of six wickets.
Tendulkar, who had already made a solid impression at that point with his meteoric rise from the maidaans of Bombay to a memorable debut tour of Pakistan, came to India's rescued with an unbeaten 119, rallying with Manoj Prabhakar (67 not out) as the two forged an unbroken 160-run stand for the seventh wicket to steer the Mohammad Azharuddin-led visitors to a stalemate in the second Test.
Gavaskar vs England, London (The Oval), 1979
It's not just Tendulkar who had helped India pull off a miraculous escape on English soil; another legendary batter from Mumbai had achieved the same 11 summers earlier. It was in the fourth and final Test against Mike Brearley's England at The Oval, where Gill and Co will be in action in three days' time, where Gavaskar had scored a phenomenal 221 and helped India amass 366 runs for its first two wickets in the company of opening partner Chetan Chauhan (80) and Dilip Vengsarkar (52).
Oval, Sept 4th, 1979.
Chasing 438, Sunny & Chetan put on 213 and then Vengsarkar & Gavaskar reached 366 when Vengsarkar fell.
From there, Kapil failed, the rest panicked & Sunil Gavaskar's epic 221 left us just 9 heart-breaking runs short.
A batting master-class for the ages pic.twitter.com/uSMCqRljQ9 — Joy Bhattacharjya (@joybhattacharj) September 4, 2020
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Unlike the stalemate in Sydney more than four decades later, this was an effort that nearly resulted in India pulling off the highest successful chase in Test history – with the Srinivas Venkataraghavan-led Indians finishing on 429/8 after being set 438 to win!
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