#2 Chennai, September 1986, Match Tied With Australia
In more than 2000 Tests, this is one of the only two Tests ever tied. This was not exactly a match India were supposed to win. This was a match India almost snatched out of the jaws of defeat. Almost.
Batting first Australia scored a mammoth 574 thanks to a double century by Dean Jones and two centuries from Allan Border and Boon. India scored 397 all out. K Srikkanth gave them a blazing start with a 62 ball 53 but none of the batsmen could capitalize on their starts. Kapil Dev scored a 138 ball 119 to push the score to respectability. Nevertheless, the huge deficit meant Australia could declare after 49 overs scoring 170 to set India a target of 348 in 87 overs.
India chased fabulously thanks to excellent contributions from the top order, including a 90 by Gavaskar. Ravi Shastri took India to the doorstep with a 40 ball 48. However, he was stranded at the non-striker’s end and the whole of India held its breath when Maninder Singh was out LBW off the penultimate ball of the match. It is still spoken about in the cricketing world as the ‘tied Chennai Test’.
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