What is the best batting against spin you have ever witnessed?

[Deleted_User_1]

For me, it was my childhood idol Gavaskar's last test innings..... http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63456.html Although India lost (they came close due to Sunny's effort), but what an innings it was!! I saw it live on TV. The pitch was grossly underpreprared, a square turner with vicious and unpredictable bounce. Pak had Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed bowling, who were just average to above average spinners, but on a crumbling 4th day pitch, it was almost impossible to play them. Around Sunny, wickets kept falling like nine pins in the second inning, but he showed to the world how to play spin. Everytime the ball was tossed up, he danced down the wicket to smother the spin and defend or drive it for runs, thus minimizing the pitch to come into play. It was a display of sheer concentration and skill for me. He missed a ton by 4 runs. The ball that he got out to was literally unplayable, spinning and kicking off the pitch dangerously. Added to this drama was the constant intimidation of the umpires by the Pak players (every time there was an appeal, and there were many, they would literally all converge towards the umpire yelling). I do not think any current day player could score runs on that wicket. I have not seen all great innings, but for me that was the best innings against spin that I have ever witnessed. And after the test, he walked away from test cricket on top. :hatsoff: Here is an article: http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153101.html "......But on the fourth day, on a pitch which allowed even an off-spinner to bowl bouncers, Gavaskar gave a masterly exhibition of technique and judgement. Only when he was out, having batted 5 hours 23 minutes and faced 266 balls for his 96, caught at slip off a ball that kicked off a good length, could Pakistan assume victory......."

[Zap_Brannigan]

Sachin 155*(191) against Aus in Chennai 98. Very little about it in Cricinfo but i remember the game "The head-to-head contest between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne was the key to this opening encounter. Warne's quick conquest of Tendulkar in the first innings gave Australia the initial advantage. But Tendulkar retaliated so devastatingly in the second, scoring 155 not out, that India were able to declare with a lead of 347, and 105 overs to bowl Australia out on a spinners' pitch. They had three men out overnight and won in comfort on the final afternoon. " "Two masters, one winner It's rare enough that in the middle of the fourth day a Test match is evenly poised. To then have one team's champion facing his opposite number with the game hanging by a thread is heaven for a cricket fan. That's the way it happened in Chennai in 1998. Sachin Tendulkar was facing Shane Warne with India and Australia both battling for supremacy. The defining moment came just after lunch, when Warne went round the wicket with Tendulkar having just passed his fifty. In the lead up to the Test, Tendulkar had approached former Indian allrounder Ravi Shastri and asked for advice on what to do when Warne adopted this ploy. Shastri told Tendulkar: "You must find an attacking method to combat Warne when he comes round the wicket." Tendulkar then spent four days in the nets with a spot outside leg stump scuffed and former Indian leggie L Sivaramakrishnan bowling round the wicket into the footmarks. When Warne made his move round the wicket, Tendulkar took to his offerings like a kid offered a lolly-shop gift voucher. A brace of sixes and fours from lofted sweep/pull shots to the midwicket region convinced Warne to abort this tactic. Tendulkar's preparatory work had proved to be a masterstroke. Tendulkar won the battle and India went on to win the war by 179, just a few runs in excess of the maestro's second innings contribution of 155 not out. This was a battle of the champions to savour."

[Deleted_User_1]

Sachin 155*(191) against Aus in Chennai 98. Very little about it in Cricinfo but i remember the game "The head-to-head contest between Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne was the key to this opening encounter. Warne's quick conquest of Tendulkar in the first innings gave Australia the initial advantage. But Tendulkar retaliated so devastatingly in the second, scoring 155 not out, that India were able to declare with a lead of 347, and 105 overs to bowl Australia out on a spinners' pitch. They had three men out overnight and won in comfort on the final afternoon. " "Two masters, one winner It's rare enough that in the middle of the fourth day a Test match is evenly poised. To then have one team's champion facing his opposite number with the game hanging by a thread is heaven for a cricket fan. That's the way it happened in Chennai in 1998. Sachin Tendulkar was facing Shane Warne with India and Australia both battling for supremacy. The defining moment came just after lunch, when Warne went round the wicket with Tendulkar having just passed his fifty. In the lead up to the Test, Tendulkar had approached former Indian allrounder Ravi Shastri and asked for advice on what to do when Warne adopted this ploy. Shastri told Tendulkar: "You must find an attacking method to combat Warne when he comes round the wicket." Tendulkar then spent four days in the nets with a spot outside leg stump scuffed and former Indian leggie L Sivaramakrishnan bowling round the wicket into the footmarks. When Warne made his move round the wicket, Tendulkar took to his offerings like a kid offered a lolly-shop gift voucher. A brace of sixes and fours from lofted sweep/pull shots to the midwicket region convinced Warne to abort this tactic. Tendulkar's preparatory work had proved to be a masterstroke. Tendulkar won the battle and India went on to win the war by 179, just a few runs in excess of the maestro's second innings contribution of 155 not out. This was a battle of the champions to savour."

I can't seem to find a video of this.

[b555]

sachin`s 200* i watched every ball of it live sachin`s 98 against pakistain in 2003 wc sachin`s 141 against pakistan in 2004-05 series

[Zap_Brannigan]

I can't seem to find a video of this.

When you do, post it here. The inside out drives seems to be etched in my mind. This game was preceded by another great innings, a 200 by Sachin targeting warne albeit in the warm up game. The series was built up as the 1st time Warne would be bowling in india esp. against Sachin. This game was the start to an unforgettable Aussie tour which ended with the "Desert Storm".

[Sir john]

trescothik 193 against pak in first test at pak.:yay:

[Rajan]

2 innings - carl hooper 126 Vs pakistan in lahore or somewhere azhar's 150+ Vs SL in india in the early 90's.he patented the paddle and tormented SL spinners on a turning track ofcourse the 155* by SRT takes the pride of place- shane warne,huge pressure of expectations at home, traditional ,spin friendly chennai track ,1st innings deficit, 1st innings failure:two_thumbs_up:

[Lord]

Lara against Murali in THAT series

[The Outsider]

Agree with OP - that innings by Gavaskar shades anything ever played against spin.

[Gunner_Mania]

I've only heard havent seen the Sunny innings, but that Tendulkar innings, oh yes I was at Chepauk that day and all the days of that test. What an innings that was. IIRC he was out for 4 in the first innings and it was a disappointment. he made up for it in the 2nd.

[TheWall]

For me, it was my childhood idol Gavaskar's last test innings..... http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63456.html Although India lost (they came close due to Sunny's effort), but what an innings it was!! I saw it live on TV. The pitch was grossly underpreprared, a square turner with vicious and unpredictable bounce. Pak had Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed bowling, who were just average to above average spinners, but on a crumbling 4th day pitch, it was almost impossible to play them. Around Sunny, wickets kept falling like nine pins in the second inning, but he showed to the world how to play spin. Everytime the ball was tossed up, he danced down the wicket to smother the spin and defend or drive it for runs, thus minimizing the pitch to come into play. It was a display of sheer concentration and skill for me. He missed a ton by 4 runs. The ball that he got out to was literally unplayable, spinning and kicking off the pitch dangerously. Added to this drama was the constant intimidation of the umpires by the Pak players (every time there was an appeal, and there were many, they would literally all converge towards the umpire yelling). I do not think any current day player could score runs on that wicket. I have not seen all great innings, but for me that was the best innings against spin that I have ever witnessed. And after the test, he walked away from test cricket on top. :hatsoff: Here is an article: http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153101.html "......But on the fourth day, on a pitch which allowed even an off-spinner to bowl bouncers, Gavaskar gave a masterly exhibition of technique and judgement. Only when he was out, having batted 5 hours 23 minutes and faced 266 balls for his 96, caught at slip off a ball that kicked off a good length, could Pakistan assume victory......."

++++1. rememberr watching this match (in b/w TV)

[Rajan]

// What is the best batting against spin you have ever witnessed? For me, it was my childhood idol Gavaskar's last test innings..... http://www.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/63456.html Although India lost (they came close due to Sunny's effort), but what an innings it was!! I saw it live on TV. The pitch was grossly underpreprared, a square turner with vicious and unpredictable bounce. Pak had Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed bowling, who were just average to above average spinners, but on a crumbling 4th day pitch, it was almost impossible to play them. Around Sunny, wickets kept falling like nine pins in the second inning, but he showed to the world how to play spin. Everytime the ball was tossed up, he danced down the wicket to smother the spin and defend or drive it for runs, thus minimizing the pitch to come into play. It was a display of sheer concentration and skill for me. He missed a ton by 4 runs. The ball that he got out to was literally unplayable, spinning and kicking off the pitch dangerously. Added to this drama was the constant intimidation of the umpires by the Pak players (every time there was an appeal, and there were many, they would literally all converge towards the umpire yelling). I do not think any current day player could score runs on that wicket. I have not seen all great innings, but for me that was the best innings against spin that I have ever witnessed. And after the test, he walked away from test cricket on top. Here is an article: http://www.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmana...ry/153101.html "......But on the fourth day, on a pitch which allowed even an off-spinner to bowl bouncers, Gavaskar gave a masterly exhibition of technique and judgement. Only when he was out, having batted 5 hours 23 minutes and faced 266 balls for his 96, caught at slip off a ball that kicked off a good length, could Pakistan assume victory......." =================== if i recall correctly, he was declared caught but the ball touched his "arm guard".he was in tears when he reached the pavilion.he was not out.the umpire pissed out.

[Andy]

sachin`s 200* i watched every ball of it live sachin`s 98 against pakistain in 2003 wc sachin`s 141 against pakistan in 2004-05 series

You call that Quality spin? Sachin's Innings at Chepauk was the best i saw against Spin by an Indian.

[Deleted_User_1]

Agree with OP - that innings by Gavaskar shades anything ever played against spin.

Too bad we do not have good video to watch it again, folks would realize how difficult was to bat on that wicket.

[SachDan]

I haven't seen Gavaskar's innings but from what I read it was one of THE best innings against spin that too in his last test! Sunny :hatsoff: Of the ones I've watched live, nothing can match Sachin's 155* against Australia at Chennai :two_thumbs_up: As Zap mentioned the build-up to that series was unprecedented for a player to player battle! Here was Warne tormenting opponents after opponents on his first tour to India (even then considered as the best players of spin) against a batting line-up comprising of Siddhu, Dravid,Sach, Azhar and Ganguly! TBH media hype reached mammoth proportions only after Sachin's double ton (incidentally his first in FC cricket) against them playing for Mumbai. So in that Chennai test Sach came to bat with India in a commanding position. Perfect recipe for him to pwn Warne and co. but all he could do was score a boundary off Warnie, a gentle push which went past mid-off and barely managed to reach boundary ropes and IIRC in the same over he edged Warnie to Taylor who took a one-handed brilliant catch. 1-0 Warnie! As was the case those days our lower-middle order crumbled like pack of cards and we were dismissed or a paltry score. Australia in their 1st innings managed to take a lead of nearly 100 runs thanks to irritating stand between Healy and Robertson on day- 3! India had another good start to the innings..couple of fine p'ships between Sddhu-Mongia and then Siddhu-Dravid. Siddhu was dismissed early on day-4 and having taken the lead, onus was on us to push for the victory. In walked THE GREAT MAN with lot resting on his shoulders and if we are to believe Gaekwad, the then coach Sach said something to him on the lines of "main karloonga...main karloonga." (I'll do it..I'll do it..right? :) What happened from then on was simply sublime! All the bowlers came in for severe punishment at the hands of The Master..Pacers Kaspa and Paul Reiffel had no clue how to bowl to him..Then Taylor brought in p'ship breaker Blewett who was hit for two straight massive sixes...Sach scored his century through a flick to deep fine-leg off Kaspa.. Oh! about his battle with Warnie...on a wearing 4th day wicket Some of the shots I can vaguely remember from that contest.. Warnie with an attacking field bowls over the wicket..bit short but spinning a great deal.. Sach goes back on the crease and slaps it through covers for a great boundary.. Warnie tries one of his venomous flippers...straight bat meets the ball and in no time it speeds through the off-side for another delightful boundary.. Tired of bowling over the wicket...Warnie and Taylor decides to change the line of attack..Warnie comes around the wicket, which was always an attacking line for him with too much rough out side the leg stump...And what did Tendulkar do ? greeted him with a cross-batted 'slog swept' six over mid-wicket and followed it with another one which pierced mid-on and mid-wicket and thudded in to the boundary hoardings...and recalling Warnie's face that day ? all one can do is :hysterical::hysterical: It was THE best innings I ever saw against a top class spinner and also best Sach innings until Chennai 2008 vs Eng :hatsoff: btw Sach v Warnie..it's 20-1 in favor of Sach :--D

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[punjabi_khota]

John Stewart on O'Reilly factor.

[The Outsider]

Too bad we do not have good video to watch it again' date=' folks would realize how difficult was to bat on that wicket.[/quote'] Yeah, I am yet to see a more difficult pitch to bat on. By the last innings the pitch was so bad that in modern times the match might have been called off. The much maligned Bombay '04 would be a couple of notches better than this one. Funnily enough, both teams batted much worse in the first innings when the pitch was at it's 'best'. The way both batting sides went for extravagant shots in the first innings was amazing. I think Pakistan just weren't sure of what to do with the turn and bounce in the first innings and the Indian middle order got overconfident after overtaking the Pakistani score and threw their wickets away. Had India batted with any sense in the first innings, the match would have been a one sided win for them. Also, Kapil's captaincy was pretty bad. He opened with Maninder in the second innings and virtually bowled him throughout the innings even though he was not bowling well at all. Azhar also batted really well in the second innings and I was pretty sure we would win till he was there with Gavaskar. I still can't forget the frustrating feeling of seeing him get caught and bowled to Qasim. He had played with the turn throughout the innings and all of a sudden decided to whip Qasim through mid wicket. It was also criminal to lose Srikkanth and Amarnath to fast bowlers in the last innings. It was a gut wrenching defeat, certainly ranks as one of the worst Indian defeat for me. What a fairy tale ending it would have been for Gavaskar! The manner in which he played was surreal. He was reading everything after the ball had pitched or was getting to the pitch of the ball. There was no semblance of predictability left in the wicket where one could predict the bounce and turn from where the ball had pitched. I can't see any modern batsman score the 96 he scored there, Tendulkar and Laxman included, whom I rate as the best modern players of spin. He was given out incorrectly off the arm guard, but can't really blame the umpires too much. There were 2 loud appeals going on every over and I am sure he would have got the benefit on an occasion or two himself.

[Guest BossBhai]

-- Removed on request of the user --

[The Outsider]

It just appears that way Proff ... the Mumbai match lasted 201 overs and the 4th inngs was over in 30 overs flat ... whereas the Bengaluru match lasted 301 overs of which 188 were in the 2nd inngs ( 93 in the 3rd and 94 in the 4th inngs). No inngs lasted more than 68 on the Mumbai pitch and you cant defend about 100 runs unless the pitch is really helpfull or you are bowling at Padosees.

Innings lasting 'X' overs is just a red herring. The scoring rates of '87 and '04 are very different. Of course, the Bombay '04 pitch was really helpful. Bangalore '87 was a nightmare. And anyhow, Laxman and Tendulkar batted only against one trashy spinner, Hauritz. The fast men did most of the damage for Australia with their cutters till Clarke bowled his spell. Moreover the likes of Azhar, Vengsarkar, Gavaskar, Amarnath, Miandad, Shastri, Kapil, Imran, Malik were on balance much better players of spin than the batsmen which featured in '04.