Top 5 partnerships involving the Fab Four

Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been amongst the greatest batsmen that India have ever produced. These four players mesmerized crowds and were nightmares for even the finest bowlers for more than a decade. As a result, they are fondly remembered as the Fab Four of Indian batting.

All four have produced some sensational innings and have stitched many memorable partnerships among themselves.

Here are the top 5 partnerships involving the Fab Four.

#5 256 - Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar vs Sri Lanka in Mumbai, 1997

This is one of the finest partnerships between the duo

It was the final Test of Sri Lanka’s tour of India in 1997-98. Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium was the venue for the match and India batted first. They lost opener Nayan Mongia early and Navjot Sidhu scored 35. Rahul Dravid scored a fine 93 and added 160 for the third wicket with Sourav Ganguly.

Following Dravid’s dismissal, Sachin Tendulkar joined Ganguly at the crease. Both players began to smash the Sri Lankan bowlers who were without Muttiah Muralitharan for the match. Both players reached their hundreds and added 256 for the 4th wicket which was India’s highest 4th wicket partnership in Tests at the time.

The partnership was broken after Sourav Ganguly was dismissed by Kumara Dharmasena for a then career-best 173. Tendulkar was dismissed shortly after for 148. India’s final 7 wickets fell for just 41 runs and their total was 512. The match and subsequently the series eventually ended in a draw.

#4 281 - Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly vs New Zealand at Ahmedabad, 1999

This is the highest partnership between Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly

It was the final Test of New Zealand’s tour of India in 1999-00. Ahmedabad was the venue and India opted to bat first. Opener Devang Gandhi and Rahul Dravid did not last long but Sadagoppan Ramesh scored a brilliant 110 and put India in a decent position.

Following Ramesh’s dismissal, Sourav Ganguly came in to join Sachin Tendulkar at the crease. Tendulkar and Ganguly were smashing boundaries off the Kiwi bowling attack and India’s position was being consolidated. Both players reached their centuries and added 281 for the 4th wicket, bettering their own record for the highest 4th wicket partnership for India in Tests at the time.

The partnership was broken when Ganguly was dismissed by Nathan Astle for 125. Tendulkar went on to score his first Test double-hundred and ended his innings on a then career-best 217. India declared their innings at 583/7. The match ended in a draw but having already won the second Test at Kanpur, India bagged the series 1-0.

#3 303 - Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman vs Australia at Adelaide, 2003

Dravid and Laxman's partnership was a key factor in India's memorable win at Adelaide

It was the second Test of the 2003-04 Border Gavaskar trophy at Adelaide. Australia put on a mammoth total of 556 on board thanks to Ricky Ponting’s brilliant 242. In reply, India got off to a good start thanks to openers Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag who put an opening stand of 66. However, after the departure of both openers, India began to lose wickets in quick succession as the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly added a combined three runs.

India were struggling at 85/4 when Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman were on the crease. The reliable middle-order duo began handling the Aussie bowlers in their own manner- with calm, composure and poise. Both players reached their respective centuries and added 303 runs for the 5th wicket.

This was India’s highest Test partnership in Australia, scoring 79 runs more than the previous record of 224 set by Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath at Sydney in 1986. The partnership was broken when Laxman was dismissed for 148. Dravid went on to score 233 and India put up 523 in their first innings.

Thanks to some brilliant bowling by Ajit Agarkar and a 72 from Dravid in the second innings, India won the match by four wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series.

#2 353 - VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar against Australia at Sydney, 2004

Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman stitched one of Indian Test cricket's finest partnerships

It was the final Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the series was tied at 1-1. India were off to a brilliant start with openers Akash Chopra and Virender Sehwag adding 123 for the first wicket. However, both openers were dismissed in quick succession and Rahul Dravid was sent back for 38.

At this stage, India were 194/3 with Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman at the crease. The two players were batting brilliantly and smashing one boundary after another. The likes of Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Nathan Bracken and Stuart MacGill were out of options about where to bowl to them. The duo added 353 runs for the 4th wicket, thus setting a new record for India’s highest partnership in Australia.

The partnership came to an end when Laxman was bowled by Gillespie for a magnificent 178. Tendulkar went on to make 241 and India posted 705/7. However, the match eventually ended in a draw.

Nevertheless, the partnership between Tendulkar and Laxman will always be considered among the finest in Indian cricket.

#1 376 - VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid against Australia at Kolkata, 2001

Laxman and Dravid were the key contributors of one of Indian Cricket's finest victories ever

This might be the third highest Test partnership in Indian Cricket but as far as importance and legacy are concerned, there might not be another partnership that can surpass this one. It was the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2001 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Australia posted 445 on the board but India responded with just 171. Aussie skipper Steve Waugh enforced the follow-on and India were in a decent position at 232/4. VVS Laxman who was shockingly promoted at No.3 by Sourav Ganguly was going well. He was joined by Rahul Dravid at the crease.

The duo gave a little glimpse of what would become one of world cricket’s most reliable middle-order duos for a long, long time. Laxman and Dravid began to toy with the Aussie bowlers and batted for more than a day to solidify India’s position. Laxman reached his double century while Dravid scored a brilliant century. Both players added 376 for the 5th wicket which was broken when Laxman was dismissed for a mammoth 281 which at the time, was the highest individual Test score by an Indian batsman.

Dravid went on to make 180 before being dismissed. India scored 657/7 in the second innings which meant that Australia would have to chase down 384 to win. India bowled out Australia for 212 to break their 16-match winning streak and script probably the most memorable win in Indian Test cricket history. The partnership remains India’s highest against Australia in Tests.