Which was the best innings ever in a losing run chase?

[Harsh Thakor]

Yesterday with Virat's classic knock I wished to ***** which was the best innings ever by a batsmen in a losing cause in the 4th innings.After great contemplation I chose Sunil Gavaskar's 96 at Bangalore v Pakistan just above Derek Randall's 174 in the 1977 Centenary test.Gavaskar exhibited unparalleled genius on that day which Bradman may not have equaled while Randall exhibited the flair which even Viv Richards would not surpass.Just a shade below I would place Sachin Tendulkar's 136 at Chennai versus PakistanThey all brought their teams so close but yet so far to victory. Below is my list in order of merit of best innings in a 4th innings losing cause. 1.Sunil Gavaskar's 96 at Bangalore Cricket's ultimate batting exhibition on a bad,broken wicket Gavaskar was like a technician and surgeon rolled into one tackling the turning ball like a magician. 2 Derek Randall's 174 at Melbourne in the Centenary test One of the best ever exhibitions of strokeplay against a great bowling attack.Randall exhibited the flair of great batsmen like Viv Richards or Greg Chappel executing a huge range of strokes.Whether driving,hooking,cutting or or pulling Randall exhibited the imperious command of a military general.He took England on the brink of acheiving the almost impossible target of 463 to clinch a historic victory. 3.Sachin Tendulkar's 136 at Chennai Had he taken India across the line to win it would have ranked amongst the top 5 innings of all time.On a broken wicket Sachin exhibited supreme mastery like a soldier battling in the most alien conditions.He executed some of the most imperious drives . 4.Bevan Congdon's 176 at Nottingham in 1973 Almost created history in the cricket world with a controlled batting onslaught.One of cricket's great innings. bring New ealand within 38 runs of acheiving a world record 4th innings runchase of 479 runs. 5.Virat Kohli's 141 at Adelaide in 2014 Above all scored 2 centuries in the game.His 4th innings knock exhibited mastery of strokeplay rarely seen against the turning ball and in addition he mastered the bounce.His judgement of length was near perfect and he made the bowlers hapless.Almost took India to what would have been one of it's most famous wins of all time.His drives posessed the flow of a river. 6.Alan Border's 123 n.o at Old Trafford in 1981 Chasing a daunting target of 506 runs to win the game Australai fought resolutely to recah a score of 402.Alan Border ,inspite of a finger injury bravely stood up like a soldier to score an unbeaten 123.I have sen few innings which such single-minded defiance and Border simply batted like a wall that day.The turning and bouncing deliveries were played on their merit in addition to the moving ball. 7.Alan Border's unbeaten 79 at Melbourne v England in 1982-83 When all seemed lost with the victory target 83 runs away a defiant 79 last wicket partnership between Border and Jeff Thomson took Australia to within 3 runs of the winning target.It was characteristic Border knock. 8.Asif Iqbal's 135 at Kingston in 1977 Chasing 440 runs on a pitch of lightning pace Pakistan floundered to lose by 135 runs.The only saving grace was a most majestic batting exhibition by Asif Iqbal.He who displayed the calmness of a stream when even the top order batsmen like Majid,Zaheer Miandad and Wasim Raja were at sea.It was a sight to behold. 9.Geoff Boycott's unbeaten 99 at Perth in 1979-80 On a quick Perth track Boycott showed the cricket world why he was rated amongst the greatest defensive batsmen of all time.His innings was a lesson in a coaching manual for a schoolboy.When starts like Gooch,Gower,Randall and Botham failed Boycott majestically rose to the occasion and defied critiques who were critical of his ability against genuine pace. 10.Mohinder Amarnath's 86 at Adelaide in the 5th test in 1977-78 Mohinder proved his mastery when a team's back is to the wall and defiantly resisted the bowling attack.With the aid of Vishwanath and Vengsarkar Amarnath brought India within touching distance of what would have been the record 4th innings winning total. of 493 to win a test.

[kubrickian]

I have only seen Sachin and Kohli's innings. They were both superb innings but if I have to pick one, I would rate Kohli's innings higher.

[sensible-indian]

Sachin's came against a better overall attack (Saqi main and Wasim support) in a decent pitch (Saqi's doosra was more of an issue than the pitch). Kohli's came in against a inferior overall attack (for the pitch - only Lyon) in a comparatively worse pitch on Day 5 that had a HUGE rough. Add in the fact that its 4th innings that TOO in Aus, Kohli wins for me. Easily.

[mancalledsting]

Sachins came against Wasim, Waqar and Saqlain, in the highest profile match in world cricket (at a Time when test matches used to mean a lot in India) and it was far more of a lone hand as at least Kohli had vijay helping him out at the other end. The only thing better about Kohlis innings was that it was away from home Hence Id say Sachin's...EASILY

[Crookbond]

Tendulkar 136 is great but there are other ones which deserve mention and aren't included. Sangakkara 192 vs Australia 2010 Hobart (Target : 507, SL 410/10) [Note : Sangakkara was wrongly given out] 7aO3BLDDIFA Nathan Astle 222 (168b) vs England 2002 Christchurch (Target : 550, NZ 451/10) PE8q2l2gRAk Azharuddin 106 vs Australia 1992 Adelaide (Target 372 : Ind 333/10) [Marred with umpiring controversies errors] fDPdvXe40Ck

[Yoda-esque]

There's no best innings in losing

[keith]

David Warner 123 vs NZ, Hobart, 2011. Noone else in the Test scored more than 56. cIFYhLXM89w

[Sidhoni]

Astle fastest 200

[BlueBee]

You wished to **** because Kohli got a century

[sensible-indian]

Overall I dunno which is the best 4th innings for a losing cause.

[fineleg]

Among Indians: Gavaskar 96 and SRT 136 and Kohli 141 all are quite fabulous (with M.Vijay 99 a notable mention but since he was plumb LBW, I lower his 99). Gav was a minefield and against rivals Pak, SRT very good Pak attack and against Pak very high pressure, and Kohli was the one who did it in Australia against a clinical Aus team (not in India like Gav or SRT). So various reasons, various parameters but all 3 are excellent. All 3 - the fans had heartbreak. Are these 3 the Top 3 that caused heartbreak to Indian fans in the last 3 decades? (Test match innings, where fans were left with a heartbreak at end of Test) I think so, maybe I'm missing any other innings. Thoughts?

[KFC_Zinger]

Sunny's 96 followed by sachin's 136... Kohli's has to be third

[CoverDrive]

this one looks epic gavaskar's 221 to almost chase down 438 http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/when-sunil-gavaskar-almost-masterminded-an-epic-chase-at-the-oval-17628

[Marut]

this one looks epic gavaskar's 221 to almost chase down 438 http://www.cricketcountry.com/articles/when-sunil-gavaskar-almost-masterminded-an-epic-chase-at-the-oval-17628

This was not in a losing cause though.

[adi B]

Warner's 120 odd in Hobart ,astle's 200 ,gavaskar's 96

[putrevus]

Azhar century in 1991 on this same ground should also be in the list that was sublime batting from him.