5 best second innings Test centuries

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The inherent beauty of Test cricket is that it gives you another chance to rectify your mistakes. If the willpower is intact, there have been instances when a player has forged an almost heroic comeback to complete a heist, despite being banished in the first innings of the same match.

This is where the worth of the longest format of the game shines out, this is where the second innings holds such importance. It offers batsmen a chance to script history, it gives them the opportunity to not only stamp their authority over the match but march into folklore.

Now, let's have a look at five such mettlesome efforts by batsmen in their second innings of a Test match. Not all of them transpired into victory, but often the scars endured on the battlefield become a greater souvenir than the triumph itself.

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Younis Khan (171* vs Sri Lanka)

The leading run-scorer from Pakistan seldom got the credit he so richly deserved. However, this did not ruffle the man who encountered numerous setbacks and rose every time with greater will and intent.

One such innings was played out in Pallekele as the visitors were chasing an improbable target of 377. Time was not a concern, but considering the huge mountain of runs, survival was difficult, let alone triumph.

But not for Younis Khan, who put his head down, marked his territory and guided Pakistan over the line all by his own. His 171 led Pakistan to a seven-wicket win and their highest successful run chase in five-day cricket. It was the second highest in Asia and the sixth highest in all Test cricket.

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