In cricket, India is one of the most potent and feared teams in the world, and it’s by no surprise. In India, cricket is part of the culture, and everybody dreams of becoming a legend in cricket. So with a nation of more than one billion people, it’s logical that they can assemble the most powerful team in the world. We will look at the three most iconic run chases, so let’s go:
India Against Australia 2021 (329/7)
Every person who loves cricket remembers when India won the Border-Gavaskar trophy back to back, and they were coming from a deficit. That is and will stay for a long time, one of the most iconic and unforgettable run chase in the history of cricket. Team India was down 36 runs, and their morale was down. On top of all that, all the senior team members were out for some reason. So naturally, no one believed that they could survive this. But the young India team has managed to pull it off and end the 32-year-old winning streak at Gabba.
Australia has set a target of 238 runs to chase on the final day of the match. First, Subman Gill did 91 runs to start, and then Pujara Cheteshwar did 56 of 211. And the cherry on top was Rishabh Pant, who did 89 off 138 balls, and India won the series 2-1.
India Against England 2008 (387/4)
It happened in 2008 at the first match played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The game was against England, and the English team batted first. After their first bat, they scored 316 runs. India struggled in their first inning and got all out of 241 runs, with only MS Dohi reaching 53 or a half-century. At the start of the second inning England has once again passed the 300-run mark. Many fans have given up and said England would win because India has to chase 387 runs in the fourth inning, which rarely happens.
But, against all odds, India was going to win this one. First was Gautam Gambhir with 66 runs and Virender Sehwag with 83 off 68 balls. Then Sachin Tendulkar made 103 runs, and Yuvraj Singh 89 runs. With that, they have their second-highest chase. They have made 387/4 in 98.3 overs.
India Against West Indies 1976 (406/4)
It was India’s most successful run chase and third in the world. It happened on April 7th, 1976. It happened at a match between India and the West Indies at Port-of-Spain. West Indies were batting first, making 359 in their first inning; Viv Richards did 177 359. India struggled in their inning to pull off only 228 runs, meaning the Caribbean team had a lead of 131 runs in the first inning.
So, West Indies had declared 271/6, giving India a target of 402 runs to chase. Naturally, this was as hard as possible, but Team India wouldn’t back off. They have a century from Sunil Gavaskar (102) and Viswanath Gundappa (112*), and these two had a massive impact on chasing the target. As a result, they managed to achieve 406/4 in 147 overs.
Closing Thoughts
So, that’s it. These are the top three run chases in India’s history. Of course, these records are unachievable, but everything is possible in how we look at it and how India’s cricket is better every year.
