#4 India tour of West Indies, 3rd Test: West Indies v India at Port of Spain, Apr 7-12, 1976
With West Indies at the helm of test cricket in the 1970s, to beat them at their home ground was an uphill task for any team. India were not as good a team as they are currently, and they were the underdogs when they toured the mighty West Indies in 1976.
India did the seemingly unthinkable in this test match as they went on to achieve what was then the second highest run chase ever. They were the only team after Australia to have chased down a target greater than 400 in a test match. Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath’s heroics proved too good for the fiery West Indies bowlers as they went on to defeat Clive Lloyd’s men emphatically by 6 wickets as they chased down a target of 404.
Batting first after winning the toss, West Indies scored a respectable total of 359 thanks to a fantastic 177 run knock by Viv Richards. India did not respond well as they were bundled out for 228 with not one even players scoring a half-century.
Led by Alvin Kallicharan’s century in the 2nd innings, West Indies were going strong and they decided to declare at 271 with the loss of 6 wickets, thus setting a target of 404 for the Indians. West Indies thought they had the game in the bag, but Gavaskar and Gundappa had other ideas in mind.
The duo smashed brilliant centuries on the final 2 days of the Test to take India home with 6 wickets to spare, thus creating history. Although India went on to lose the series 2-1, this particular win will be etched in the memories of Indian fans forever.
Result: West Indies 359 and 271 for 6 wickets declared lost to India 228 and 406 for 4 by 6 wickets.
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