Although England lost the second Test against India in Visakhapatnam, they managed to create a record. A target of 399 runs on Indian soil was always going to be too steep for any visiting team, but Brendon McCullum’s boys did well to score 292 runs.
Among the 261 Test matches played in India, England’s total at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium is the second-highest by a visiting team in the fourth innings. Here, we take a look at the top five fourth innings scores by a visiting team in India:
#5 West Indies 270/7 (1967)
This was from January 1967, on what was only the 61st home Test match for the Indian cricket team, even before the era of the Vengsarkars and the Richards.
India batted first in Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium, which was then known as the Madras Cricket Club Ground. Thanks to Farokh Engineer and Chandu Borde’s centuries, the hosts scored 404 runs in the first innings.
In response, West Indies scored 406 runs. While none of the visitors’ batters managed to get into double figures, both Rohan Kanhai and Sir Garfield Sobers came very close. India was then bowled out for 323 runs, as Charlie Griffith and Lance Gibbs picked up four wickets each.
West Indies needed 322 runs, but surprisingly, India got the upper hand in the game when they picked up 7 wickets by conceding only 193 runs. But once again, a match-saving partnership prevented the hosts from getting a win. Sobers and Griffith put up a 77-run stand, as the match ended with West Indies scoring 270/7. While Sobers scored 74 runs, Griffith was not out on 40.
#4 New Zealand 272/6 (2003)
India and New Zealand locked horns in a two-match Test series in October 2003. While the second match was played in Mohali, we will talk about the first match here, which was played in Ahmedabad’s Sardar Patel Stadium – which now can only be found in history books, with the elegant Narendra Modi Stadium standing on its site.
Batting first on a completely flat track, India scored 500/5 before declaring. Rahul Dravid scored 222 runs, while skipper Sourav Ganguly remained unbeaten on 100 runs. In response, New Zealand managed to score 340 runs, thanks to Nathan Astle’s century.
India tried hard to get a result from the game and came out swinging in the second innings, scoring 209/6 before asking the Kiwis to bat again. Dravid once again led the charge, although VVS Laxman stole the show by scoring 44 runs in only 35 balls.
Chasing a target of 370 runs, New Zealand once were headed straight to a defeat, after losing six wickets for only 169 runs. But a 103-run seventh-wicket stand between Craig McMillan and Astle saved the day for them. While McMillan remained not out on 83, Astle scored 51 runs, taking the team’s total to 272/6.
#3 West Indies 276/5 (1987)
For the third mention on our list, we have to go way back in time to 1987. We arrive once again at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, although it was then called the Feroz Shah Kotla. Batting first in the first Test of the four-match Test series against West Indies, India were bowled out for 75 runs as Balfour Patterson got a five-wicket haul.
In response, the West Indies batters struggled too and could only score 127 runs, as Chetan Sharma got a fifer. India’s batting performance was much better in the second innings, where the hosts scored 327 runs. Dilip Vengsarkar, who was then the captain of the team, scored 102 runs, while wicket-keeper Kiran More scored 49 runs.
Sir Vivian Richards’ 109 helped West Indies defeat India
West Indies faced a steep target of 276 runs, but while the hosts were the favorites to win the game, the boys from the Caribbean managed to chase the total down in 85.3. The start of the show was Sir Vivian Richards, who scored 109 runs and remained unbeaten. Besides him, Gus Logie also played an important knock of 46 runs.
#2 England 292/10 (2024)
England’s total of 292 runs in the second Test is only the second occasion of a visiting team scoring over 280 runs in the fourth innings in India. Batting first, the hosts scored 396 runs, thanks to a double century from Yashasvi Jaiswal.
In response, England could only manage to score 253 runs. Zak Crawley and Ben Stokes were the only two batters who showed some fight, as Jasprit Bumrah ran riot against Bazball. The Indian pacer picked up six wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav got three wickets too.
Then India scored 255 runs in the second innings, setting up a 399-run target for the visitors. Crawley was superb with the bat once again, scoring 73 runs from 132 balls. However, none of the other English batters could follow suit as Stokes’ men were bowled out for 292 runs.
#1 Sri Lanka 299/5 (2017)
On his Test debut, Roshen Silva played a match-saving knock for Sri Lanka
When Sri Lanka came to Delhi seven years ago, the pitch at the Arun Jaitley Stadium was not a typical turner as it often behaves these days. Instead, it was the exact opposite as the track suited the batters, and from Day 1, a draw seemed to be the likeliest affair.
Batting first, India scored 536/7 before declaring, with Virat Kohli scoring a double century and Murali Vijay getting a century. In response, Sri Lanka had two centurions from their camp as well as Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal put up 100+ runs and they managed to score 373 runs.
India scored 246/5 before declaring and in the run chase, it once seemed that Sri Lanka had lost the plot as they were struggling at 147/5. But a 152-run stand between Roshan Silva and Niroshan Dickwella ensured the Lankans got a draw, scoring 299/5.
Interestingly, it was also the debut Test of Silva, who scored 74 runs from 154 deliveries. But his career went haywire after a promising start and he could play only 11 Tests after this match.