Who can forget the four consecutive sixes which Carlos Brathwaite hit to clinch the World T20 title for West Indies a few months back? No one can. Eden Gardens was packed to capacity and the crowd almost took the roof off with their screams, cheering for two foreign outfits. Imagine what it will be like when India take on New Zealand at the “Mecca of Indian cricket” in the second Test match starting from Friday.
The historic venue has played hosts to finals of two World events and is often referred to as the cricket’s answer to the Colosseum, the historic amphitheatre in Rome. However, it was also the setting where Indian infamously lost to Sri Lanka in the 1996 World-Cup semifinal.
From 1934 there have been 39 Test matches, 29 One-Day Internationals and 7 T20s on the hallowed turf and over the course of this time, it has witnessed some majestic knocks too.
Here we look at the top five innings from some of the batting greats on the iconic venue.
#5 Alastair Cook (England), 190 versus India
England were touring India in late 2012 and they were quite handsomely beaten in the first Test of the four-match Test series. They roared back in some style in Mumbai where they clinched the second outing by 10 wickets and they flew into Kolkata.
With all to play for India won the toss and elected to bat. Sachin Tendulkar scored a brilliant 76 to help his side get to a fighting total of 316 in the first innings. But then Alaistair Cook raised his hand up and delivered for the visitors right when in it mattered the most.
The England captain notched a scintillating 190 studded with 23 boundaries and two sixes and propelled the outfit to a massive 523 runs. The knock came as quite a setback for the Indians who were bowled out for 247 in their second innings. England then knocked off the 41-run target quite easily to take a 2-1 lead in the series. They eventually won it owing to a draw in the next game at Nagpur.
#4 Wasim Jaffer, 202 versus Pakistan
Indian domestic cricket in the late 2000s was in awe of a certain Wasim Jaffer who scored tons of runs in the Ranji trophy. But the right-hander could never replicate the form on the international arena and therefore was not a consistent figure in the Indian side. But on certain occasions, the Mumbaikar came up with knocks which even legends would have been proud off. One such instance was in December 2007 when Pakistan were here as visitors. It was the second Test of the series and India started off with a stupendous 202 from Jaffer.
The hosts had already won the first Test and Jaffer had given them an upper hand in the second and they could not let go off the opportunity. They piled on a mammoth 616 and in reply Pakistan came up with 456 all out. The match ended in a stalemate. The next game too was a draw and India won the series 1-0.
#3 Rohan Kanhai (West Indies), 265 versus India
West Indies were a force to reckon with from the late 50s to the early 1990s. They were a brilliant touring side and won most games away. Often they would destroy oppositions like they did to India in 1958-59. They had come to the Eden Gardens on the back of a draw and a thumping triumph but most fans believed India would turn the tables in the third Test. But it wasn’t to be.
West Indies top-order talisman Kanhai scored a magnificent 256, hitting 42 boundaries en route. The knock helped the visitors amass a gigantic 614/5 which the Indians could not overhaul batting twice. West Indies clinched the issue with an innings and 336 runs to spare and with it took a 2-0 lead in the series. Eventually, after five games the Caribbean side won it 3-0.
2# Rohit Sharma (India), 264 versus Sri Lanka (One-Day Internationals)
There are very few sights in international cricket which you can savour as much as watching Rohit Sharma in full flow and that is what precisely happened during a One-Day International at the Eden Gardens in 2014. This time, Sri Lanka were the visiting team and they had already been hammered in the first three One-Dayers with India pocketing all of them.
The Sri Lankans travelled to Kolkata wanting to regain some of their lost pride, but Rohit had other ideas. He smashed the ball, left, right and centre and powered his way to a record-shattering 264 which had 9 big sixes. Till date, it stands as the highest individual score in One-Dayers. India won the tie by 157 runs and claimed the next, in turn, whitewashing the islanders.
Rohit’s love affair with the ground has continued and he seldom misses out on scoring big at the arena.
1# VVS Laxman, 281 versus Australia
During the early 2000s, the visitors were a superpower and no one gave India a chance before the three-match series begun. The visitors went into the ascendancy with a 10 wicket win in Mumbai and were determined to get the job done again at Eden Gardens. They were also on course to fulfilling it but then Laxman played one of the best ever innings in Test cricket which changed the face of Indian cricket.
After electing to bat Australia scored a huge 445 in their first innings and followed it up with a stupendous effort with the ball with skittle out India for 171. The hosts were asked to follow and were again struggling at 115-3. But then Laxman started playing his shots. Be it the legendary Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath he smashed them with disdain. He along with Rahul Dravid knitted a partnership of 376 runs to help India crawl back into the contest. A target of 384 runs was set for Australia and the then world champions fell like a pack of cards for only 212.
India grabbed the next contest too at Chennai and won the series 2-1. Many believe this is the series which changed the face of Indian cricket in recent years.
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