In the year 1979, just a few days after the culmination of second-ever Cricket World Cup, India had managed to nearly pull-off one of the greatest run-chases by any team in Test match history. The match had taken place at the Kennington Oval, and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar had played one of the best knocks in the format while chasing.
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The target was a daunting 438. The venue was sparsely filled with spectators on the final day’s play. An England win was all but a given, while a draw would have been hailed as an achievement for the visitors. Having said that, the opening pair of Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan had already added 76 runs by Stumps, Day 4.
Former India batter Yajurvindra Singh, who was set to bat at No. 7 during the chase, later went on to remark that Gavaskar had given the team a chance of nailing the target looking at the nature of the pitch the previous evening.
When India Nearly Chased Down a 438-Run Target In An Oval Test
Come Day 5, the Gavaskar-Chauhan pair had taken the team total to 169/0 by the end of the morning session. Continuing with their stellar batting, the duo had the fans gradually fill up the stadium with the scorecard reading 213/0 by the drinks break during the post-lunch session.
The match reached at a point where India required 76 more runs in the remaining 12 overs with as many as nine wickets still remaining in the bank. Gavaskar, meanwhile, had smashed a fine double hundred.
However, India soon lost a couple of wickets and while Gavaskar still stood ground at one end, wickets kept tumbling from the other. With 47 required off the final eight overs, England’s legendary all-rounder Ian Bothom removed Gavaskar at the individual score of 221 (443). Bothom scalped a couple of additional wickets in his four-over spell to make way for a thrilling finish.
Ultimately, 15 runs remained to be scored off the final over with India eight wickets down. While wicket-keeper batter Bharath Reddy did smash a four, the two captains agreed on a draw with nine runs required off the final delivery. India’s scorecard read 429/8.
Not only it would have been the highest-ever target chased down by a team in a Test match, India would have registered only their second Test victory in England. The hosts had won the four-match series 1-0, with Gavaskar fittingly adjudged the ‘Player of the Match’ in the Test for smashing his third Test double century.
Can India Win WTC Final 2023?
44 years later, India yet again find themselves in a more-or-less similar situation at the same stadium. Having already lost three wickets before Stumps on the penultimate day of the match, captain Rohit Sharma‘s men have been handed a mountainous 444-run target by Australia in the ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023 final.
Not only will it be the highest successful Test run-chase at The Oval, but also in Test cricket history, if achieved.
While the task is as uphill as it can get, the team will surely take inspiration from their triumph against this very side two years ago in Brisbane. Playing a second-string side, India had chased down a 328-run target in what was the highest-successful run-chase at that venue in Tests.
Having said that, a lot will depend on the number of wickets India have in the bank at the end of the day’s play today. If they do lose any more wicket on Saturday, it is highly likely that they will push for a draw on Day 5 in order to jointly share the championship title.
