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India will play Australia in the second Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Delhi. They will be looking to carry the momentum forward from the Nagpur Test, where they won by an innings and 132 runs. They have played 34 Test matches at this venue - winning 13, losing 6 and drawing 15.
India last played a Test at this venue against Sri Lanka in 2017. The match ended in a draw as the visitors saved the Test thanks to a defensive masterclass in the fourth innings chase.
In this piece, we will take a look at the three best Test innings by Indian batters at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
3 best Test knocks by Indians at Arun Jaitley Stadium
#1 Virat Kohli - 243 (287) vs Sri Lanka, 2017
India won the toss and elected to bat first in the third match of the series. It was an important game for both teams in the context of the series, in which the hosts led 1-0. Captain Virat Kohli walked out to bat in the 21st over of the innings after Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara were dismissed.
Kohli batted with an attacking approach throughout his stay at the crease. He almost adopted an ODI-like approach, milking singles and doubles easily and getting boundaries - he hit 25 fours - on a regular basis. His partnerships with Murali Vijay and Rohit Sharma were integral in setting up a big first innings total. However, the match ended in a draw due to solid rear-guard action from the visiting batters in the fourth innings.
#2 Vinod Kambli - 227 (301) vs Zimbabwe, 1993
India won the toss and elected to bat first in the one-off Test against Zimbabwe. Vinod Kambli walked out to bat after Manoj Prabhakar was dismissed. He stitched together crucial century partnerships with Navjot Singh Sidhu, Sachin Tendulkar and captain Mohammad Azharuddin for the second, third and fourth wickets respectively.
He oozed class in his near seven-hour stay at the crease. His presence never really allowed the Zimbabwe bowlers to settle down and bowl attacking lines. He exhibited the talent he possessed with some sumptuous shot-making - hitting 28 fours during the course of his innings. The hosts scored 536/7 in the first innings and won the Test comfortably by an innings and 13 runs.
#3 Gautam Gambhir - 206 (380) vs Australia, 2008
India won the toss and batted first in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Gautam Gambhir opened the batting with Virender Sehwag. However, the hosts lost the early wickets of Sehwag and Dravid. Tendulkar joined Gambhir in the 11th over. Their partnership allowed them to calm the initial jitters and set up a solid foundation for the rest of the batters.
Gambhir's partnership with VVS Laxman was the defining one - they added 278 runs for the fourth wicket. They also scored runs quickly against a quality attack comprising Brett Lee, Stuart Clark, Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson. The visitors missed the presence of a quality spin bowler on a pitch that had some turn and bounce.
However, it was still a great pitch to bat on for settled batters, and Gambhir made full use of it. He was constantly involved in verbal altercations with the fielders. He was out in the middle for 550 minutes - one of his longest Test knocks.
