Monday, July 23, 2007

Closest draws in Test cricket

The rain gods saved India from a certain defeat at Lord's. This provided the 16th instance in Test cricket history of a side hanging onto a draw with 9 wickets down in the fourth innings of a Test. This was the second such instance for India. Interestingly first ever such instance also belonged to India - vs England at Manchester in 1946.Twice India have been at the receiving end - both times against West Indies.The following table lists the all such instances:


Country Target Total Opponents Venue Season
India 278 152-9 England Manchester 1946
Australia 460 273-9 West Indies Adelaide 1960-61
England 234 228-9 West Indies Lord's 1963
England 308 206-9 West Indies Georgetown 1967-68
Australia 360 339-9 West Indies Adelaide 1968-69
West Indies 306 251-9 Pakistan Bridgetown 1976-77
West Indies 369 258-9 Australia Kingston 1977-78
West Indies 335 197-9 India Calcutta 1978-79
Australia 247 230-9 New Zealand Melbourne 1987-88
Pakistan 372 341-9 West Indies Port-of-Spain 1987-88
New Zealand 288 223-9 Australia Hobart 1997-98
West Indies 373 207-9 Zimbabwe Harare 2003-04
England 323 210-9 Sri Lanka Galle 2003-04
Australia 423 371-9 England Manchester 2005
West Indies 392 298-9 India St.John's 2005-06
India 380 282-9 England Lord's 2007