Top 10 match-saving knocks

We often see dull, tame draws on lifeless pitches. However, at times, drawn matches are even more interesting and dramatic than the ones that give a result. Today, we look at some brilliant match-saving innings played by batsmen over the years to secure a draw from the jaws of defeat. These players toiled hard, played on and on, blocked, blocked and blocked. Needless to say, the list contains performances that turned losses into draws ONLY and not lost causes into victorious ones.Note: The list is a little skewed towards more recent players, however, some legendary performances are too good to be left out. Peter May’s 285* in 600 minutes at Edgbaston, George Headley’s 223 in the Timeless Test which bizarrely ended because England had to catch the boat home, Willie Watson & Trevor Bailey’s resilient stand at Lord’s (109 and 71 respectively), Darren Bravo’s wonderful 218 spread over 572 minutes and of course, Sunil Gavaskar’s not only match-saving but also almost match winning 221 at The Oval are the unfortunate ones to just miss out.

#10 Sachin Tendulkar

119*(189) 225 Minutes at Old Trafford

No list can be complete without the legendary Tendulkar, can it? Something very special about this knock is that it was actually the Master’s first century. And what a time to bring it up. The chips were as down as can possibly be. Sachin did not only become the second youngest centurion in the history of Test cricket, he did so showing grace, calm and maturity way over his age of 17.

England piled on 519 in the first essay owing largely to centuries from Gooch, Atherton and Smith. India, in reply managed a decent 432 on the back of Azharuddin’s masterful 179. England, sensing a probable victory raced to 320 in merely 81 overs, setting India a target of 408 or rather, the more realistic target of batting out 90 overs.

The Indians started by making a meal out of it. Sidhu got out on a golden duck, and though Azharuddin and Manjrekar got out on reasonably good deliveries, three of India’s most experienced players – Kapil Dev, Ravi Shastri and Vengsarkar literally gifted their wickets to leave India staring down the barrel.

When the young Tendulkar came out to bat India were precariously placed at 109-4. He watched from the non-striker’s end as it soon became 127-5 and 183-6.

When Prabhakar walked in, two and a half hours of the match were remaining, and all of the four wickets in hand. And the due did see India to safety Tendulkar batted for a touch over 4 hours to make ensure India’s safety.