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From Eden to The five greatest India vs Australia Tests in India

Feb 08, 2023 08:11 PM IST

Nail-biters, brain fade, some of the greatest epics; India-Australia has seen it all:

Eden 2001

India's captain Rohit Sharma, left, and Australia's captain Pat Cummins pose with the Border–Gavaskar Trophy ahead of their first cricket test match in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP)
India's captain Rohit Sharma, left, and Australia's captain Pat Cummins pose with the Border–Gavaskar Trophy ahead of their first cricket test match in Nagpur, India, Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. (AP)

There are perfect scripts and then there is Eden, 2001. The comeback of comebacks, an all-time high for Test cricket, this is the game that helped a new India emerge from the lows of match-fixing and the despondency of watching two captains—Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar—resign. Up against a marauding Australian side that had won 16 Tests in a row, the last being a 10-wicket rout in Mumbai, Sourav Ganguly made Steve Waugh wait at the toss at Eden before scripting the unthinkable.

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A little context here. Only twice before in the history of cricket had a team won after following on—Sydney in 1894 and Leeds in 1981. India looked nowhere close to emulating that feat when Waugh enforced the follow-on. Over the next two days, close to 200,000 people watched VVS Laxman annihilate Australia’s hopes of winning a record 17 Tests in a row with a resplendent 281. Not a single wicket fell on the fourth day as Laxman and Dravid, who scored an equally inimitable 180, put on a record 376 runs for the fifth wicket. Australia were tortured to the brink of breakdown, so much so that Jason Gillespie tried to distract the batters by running in spread-eagled. The dice had already been cast by then though. Harbhajan Singh punched holes in Australia's innings with a six-wicket haul, giving India a surreal win and sending Eden into an unforgettable tizzy.

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Chennai, 1986

In the sweltering cauldron of Chepauk, David Boon’s 122 and Allan Border’s 106 bookended an epic from Dean Jones—playing only his third Test after being recalled after nearly three years—as he braved dehydration, nausea and cramps to score 210, helping Australia declare for 574. Kapil Dev’s fighting 119 held together India’s response of 397 but the visitors, armed with a 177-run lead, set India a target of 348.

Tempers were running high on both sides. Jones had been asked to change his shoes because he was suspected of deliberately running on the pitch, Border was involved with several altercations with the umpire and Chandrakant Pandit had to be literally pulled away from the Australians during the last drinks break. India were looking down and out at 253/5 but then Ravi Shastri sparked a revival, scoring a 40-ball 48 even as wickets kept falling. With India on 331/6, needing 17 more to win, Chetan Sharma was caught on the boundary. Kiran More was leg-before and Shivlal Yadav bowled, bringing Maninder Singh to the crease with India needing four from the final over. Shastri scored three of them but Singh was trapped leg-before with one ball remaining, leading to the game’s second-ever tied Test.

Chepauk, 2001

Equally dramatic like Eden, 2001, Chennai was the cornerstone of not just a memorable series victory but also India’s turnaround as a cricket power. Australia again started strong as Matthew Hayden pummelled a double hundred and Mark Waugh a majestic 70. But tragedy struck when Steve Waugh became only the sixth batsman in Test history to be given out handled the ball. Harbhajan Singh ran through the rest of the batting, picking six wickets for 26 in 9.4 overs as Australia managed 391 from 340/4. India poured their heart into the reply, with four batters scoring fifties around Sachin Tendulkar’s 126, piling 501 in the process.

Australia were shot out for 264 in their second innings but it wasn’t an easy chase for India. Laxman and Tendulkar guided the side to 101/2 but then came three quick blows in three overs—Tendulkar, Ganguly and Dravid. When Mark Waugh held on to a stupendous Laxman catch at mid-wicket, India looked in real trouble. Sairaj Bahutule departed in the same over, followed by Zaheer Khan when the score read 151. Stand-in wicket-keeper Sameer Dighe—playing his debut Test—however, kept his calm and knocked off the remaining runs with Harbhajan at the other end, notching a two-wicket win.

Mohali, 2010

This was a victory by the barest of margins. But more than the thrills it provided, this Test will forever be remembered for the rarest of rare sights—the genial, ever-smiling Laxman losing his cool and reprimanding, literally setting off into a tirade against Pragyan Ojha for a near-run out. Chasing 216, India had slipped to 76/5. It acted as an automatic summon for a final act from Laxman who has often proclaimed the need for an emergency to bring out the best in him.

This wasn’t Laxman of 1999, 2001, or even 2008. The back had become brittle, but the wristwork was still golden. Laxman got down to work, caressing boundaries, threading gaps and protecting the lower order. India kept sliding though. The eighth wicket fell for 124. Out came Ishant Sharma. His patient vigil was the chief reason Laxman, batting with a runner, motored on in an 81-run partnership till Sharma’s dismissal once again left the game hanging on a knife’s edge. Out came Ojha and Ben Hilfenhaus promptly tested him with a yorker, followed by a ball that he nearly edged. He survived the run out, a loud leg-before shout from Mitchell Johnson before finally deflecting the winning runs to fine leg for a famous, heart-stopping victory.

Bangalore, 2017

Steve Smith had a brain fade moment. For the first time in history, four different bowlers had taken six wickets each and no one scored a hundred. Yes, it was that kind of match. India had been rolled over for 189 on the first day before Australia marched to 40/0, nearly snuffing out hopes of an equalising win. What ensued was nothing short of a rollercoaster ride.

Ravindra Jadeja kept pegging Australia after their raucous start, finally dismissing them for 276. It still gave the visitors a good enough lead of 87 runs, one that India wiped off at the expense of two wickets on the third day. Batting like a rock, Cheteshwar Pujara (92) was finally removed with a beast of a delivery—a short of a length delivery that kicked up to hit the shoulder of Pujara's bat and ballooned into gully’s hands. Ajinkya Rahane scored a fifty but Australia managed to restrict the target to 188.

But their chase got off to a tense start. Matt Renshaw was caught early, David Warner was adjudged lbw trying to sweep Ravichandran Ashwin before Shaun Marsh was given out leg-before shouldering arms to an Umesh Yadav delivery. Eager to save the last review, Marsh walked off without taking DRS and moments later, replays showed the ball was missing by a long way. Then came the moment. This time the delivery from Yadav didn’t rise at all, almost hitting Smith on his boots. Smith quickly looked at the non-striker before trying to signal to the dressing room for a clue. This is where the umpire stepped in as Virat Kohli upped the ante. He didn’t need to though. Smith was caught plumb in front, Australia folded for 112 and India went on to equalise the series.

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  • ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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    Somshuvra Laha is a sports journalist with over 11 years' experience writing on cricket, football and other sports. He has covered the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup, the 2016 ICC World Twenty20, cricket tours of South Africa, West Indies and Bangladesh and the 2010 Commonwealth Games for Hindustan Times.

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