Top 5 knocks by Indian batsmen in overseas tests that weren’t enough to win the game
Cricket is an unpredictable game in which fortunes can change in a very short span of time and we have seen the same on numerous games played for more than a century now.
A single boundary or a wicket in a crucial moment can completely turn the game around in favour of a particular team.
India has been a part of many such games over the years. The Indian team has managed to come out victorious on many such occasions while things haven’t gone the way they would have liked to, resulting in defeat on the rest of the occasions.
Victory and defeat are part and parcel of any game but the unpredictability associated with the results in a game of cricket gives it more dimensions than any other game in the world.
The team which might seem favourites to win or the team which may appear to be better than the opposition for a greater part of the game may not end up on the winning side at the end of the game.
Individual brilliance in cricket may not prove enough to win the match for the team which makes the game of cricket that much more thrilling and entertaining.
The venue at which the game is being played and the conditions of the pitch and the outfield, as well as the cloud cover in the sky, have been known to affect the outcome of the game.
Playing at home gives a team an added advantage over the oppositions with the nature of the pitch and the availing conditions known to the players while playing away from home may prove to be that much of a disadvantage for the team. A good knock in testing conditions away from home always increases the stature of a batsman and batsmen who have performed well overseas have been the most successful of all time. Let us look back at the Top 5 knocks by Indian batsmen in overseas tests that weren’t enough to win the game:
#5 Rahul Dravid 146* vs England in 2011
Rahul Dravid scored a defiant hundred against England in the first innings of the 4th test at the Oval in 2011 to keep India’s hopes of saving the test match alive.
With Gautam Gambhir suffering from the after-effects of a concussion, Rahul Dravid opened the innings for India and batted magnificently as he had done throughout the series, scoring an unbeaten 146 and becoming the second Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar to carry his bat through an innings in the process.
Wickets, however, continued to fall around him and the tourists were bundled out for 300 in response to England’s mamooth 591/6 in their first innings.
There was no getting back from there as England enforced the follow-on and the Indian team was once again bowled out for a mere 283 this time around, losing the match by an innings and eight runs. Dravid’s innings was, however, was a masterclass of application, accumulation and dedication and he certainly left a final reminder of his unparalleled commitment and dedication for the team in his final test in England.