'Cometh the hour cometh the man'. A man's character is tested when he is faced with a gargantuan task and the expectations of millions of supporters rests on his shoulder. Under such circumstances, the weak collapse under the mountain of pressure whereas the stronger men achieve the unthinkable and etch their names in the annals of history.
Test cricket has thrown up such heroes who have performed exceedingly well when the chips were down for their side. When the going got tougher, these tough men got going. Nothing is more satisfying for a test batsman than scoring a hundred in the final innings of a tense test match and carrying his side to victory in the process.
Here we look at five such knocks oozing with steel that managed to change the course of the match and hand their respective sides a victory to cherish, for ages to come.
Sachin Tendulkar 103*: India vs England – Chennai, 2008
In the wake of the horrific Mumbai terror attack, this test match at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai was played amidst heavy security. Things didn't quite go according to plan for Dhoni's men in the first few days with India getting bundled out for 241 in the first innings in response to England's 316.
England scored 311 in the second essay with Andrew Strauss and Paul Collingwood scoring hundreds and Team India were left to chase a gigantic 387 to win the test.
India got off to a flyer thanks to Virender Sehwag's cracking 85 that set the tone for the base. Gambhir too played his part well with a well made fifty. But it was the great man Sachin Tendulkar who saw India through to a magnificent win.
Tendulkar etched out crucial partnerships first with VVS Laxman and then with Yuvraj Singh and continued to attack the English spinners comprising of Monty Panesar and Graeme Swann.
Poms had an impressive pace attack as well with Steve Harmison, James Anderson and Andrew Flintoff in their ranks but Tendulkar played them with authority and struck 9 boundaries in his knock. Tendulkar struck the winning runs to complete his century and handed Team India one of the greatest test match wins ever.
Brian Lara 153* : West Indies vs Australia – Barbados, 1999
This was arguably the greatest fourth innings hundred of all times. Brian Charles Lara scripted a fairytale win for the West Indies by scoring a sensational hundred in the fourth innings of the 3rd test at Barbados against Australia in 1999.
Aussies amassed 490 runs in the first innings and went on to secure a huge lead of 161 runs after bowling the Windies out for 329. However, against the run of play, the Aussies were skittled out for just 146 thanks to an inspired bowling spell from Courtney Walsh.
Needing an improbable 308 to win the Windies were tottering at 78/3 when Brian Lara came out to play one of the magical knocks you will ever see in a high-pressure fourth innings chase. Lara farmed the strike brilliantly and dominated an attack that comprised of McGrath, Gillespie, Warne, and MacGill.
His footwork to leg spin and his judgement against the pacers were exemplary. The way he batted with the tail, especially Curtly Ambrose was a lesson in batsmanship. Windies ended up winning by 1 wicket with Lara scoring the winning runs and staying unbeaten on 153.
Adam Gilchrist 149*: Australia vs Pakistan – Hobart, 1999
Pakistan were on the brink of a huge win when Adam Gilchrist decided to deny them and snatched an Australian win instead, in one of the most remarkable turnarounds you will ever see in a test match. Australia had taken a slender lead in the first innings but Pakistan came back strongly in the second innings courtesy a brilliant century from Inzamam-ul-Haq and a couple of fine fifties from Saeed Anwar and Ijaz Ahmed.
Australia had a horror start in pursuit of a target of 369 and lost half their side for a mere 126. Gilchrist joined Justin Langer to the crease and the rest is history!
Gilchrist started counter-attacking against a high-quality bowling attack made up of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq. The Pakistanis didn't know what hit them after they were carted around the Bellerive Oval by Gilchrist.
He cut and pulled with disdain and forged an unforgettable partnership with Langer. Langer too played a crucial role and scored a fine hundred at the other end.
Gilly's destructive knock of an unbeaten 149 was studded with as many as 13 boundaries and 1 maximum. Thanks to his blitzkrieg, Australia went on to beat Pakistan by 4 wickets and took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match test series.
Graeme Smith 108: South Africa vs Australia – Perth, 2008
Graeme Smith always batted like a dream in the fourth innings. He is the only batsman to have scored more than 1000 runs in successful fourth innings run chases. The former Proteas skipper boasts of 4 match winning hundreds in the fourth innings with an outstanding average of 52.
One of his match-winning efforts came at the Perth test when Proteas were faced with a herculean task of chasing down 414 runs to win. Smith being the gritty fighter that he is never backed down and played a stellar role in this famous victory. He dominated the likes of Brett Lee, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle and like always, peppered the leg side with his trademark boundaries.
Smith maintained a tremendous tempo and scored at a strike rate of 73.46 and the Aussies were all at sea against his aggression. After he departed for an attacking 108 off just 147 balls, AB de Villiers scored a hundred to take South Africa home and ensured that his skipper's innings didn't go in vain.
South Africa defeated Australia by 6 wickets in one of the all-time best chases in Test cricket.
Sunil Gavaskar 102 : West Indies vs India – Port of Spain, 1976
India were trailing West Indies 1-0 when they came to Trinidad with hopes of levelling the series. Windies scored 359 in the first essay while India responded with just 228 runs. In the second innings, Alvin Kallicharran's brisk hundred enabled Clive Lloyd to declare at 271/6, setting India a humungous target of 403 runs; something that had not been achieved till then.
India on the pursuit of a world record, opened with Gavaskar and Anshuman Gaekwad. After a 50 run opening partnership, Gaekwad perished for 28 and Mohinder Amarnath joined Gavaskar at the crease. The Mumbaikar played the quicks – Michael Holding and Bernard Julien brilliantly and scored his runs at a nice pace.
Gavaskar and Amarnath put on a century partnership of 108 to take India closer to the target. Gavaskar played the spinners tactfully in that period and eventually got to his hundred.
He got out to the left-arm spinner Raphick Jumadeen but by then he had laid a solid foundation for the likes of Gundappa Vishwanath and Brijesh Patel in the middle order. Vishy scored a fantastic 112 to help India beat the hosts by 6 wickets and create a world record by doing the unimaginable; becoming the first team to chase a 400 plus total successfully in the final innings of a test match.
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