5 Highest Individual Test Scores for India outside Asia

#3 Sunil Gavaskar 221 v England, The Oval, 1979

This was the first 200 by an Indian in England

Gavaskar again. This time in England. Having lost the first Test by an innings, and drawn the next two, India headed into the fourth and final Test of the series knowing nothing less than victory would do.

The pace troika of Willis, Botham, and Hendrick earned England a first-innings lead in excess of 100, and a Boycott century in the second outing meant India were set an improbable target of 438. The highest successful chase in Test Cricket until then was 406- by India against the West Indies, three years before. The man who had laid the foundation to that win- Sunil Gavaskar, was at it again at the Oval.

Gavaskar and Chauhan skillfully negated the final session of Day 4- going to stumps without any batsman dismissed. On the final day, with 362 needed with all 10 wickets in the bag, the duo launched into the English attack. A double century partnership with Chauhan and a 150-partnership with Vengsarkar put India right on top, but with time running out, big blows were the need of the hour.

Kapil came out at number 4 but was sent packing without bothering the scorers. Gavaskar soon followed having cracked a majestic 221 and gone past Bill Edrich's mark of 219 for the highest Test score in the fourth innings of a match. As many as five batsmen sat padded up at the same time, keeping the English second guessing who would come in next. Vishwanath came out and struck some boundaries as wickets kept tumbling and the Test headed towards a climactic finish with all 4 results possible- an English win, an Indian win, a Tie, and a Draw.

But the series of wickets dented India's hopes, and with 15 needed off the last over with only two wickets in hand, India ended up 9 runs short of the target and the match ended in an exhilarating draw,