The 199 Club of Test Cricket!

In cricket, just as in life, most of us always view the glass as being half-empty. In case of a batsman, the ignominy of failing to achieve the elusive run to achieve a major milestone (read double-hundred) often overpowers the happiness of achieving 199 of them.

That said, getting a double hundred in Test cricket is the zenith of batsmanship, as it bores testimony to a batsman's technique as well as his temperament of concentrating for long hours and willing to score the ugly runs when the bowlers are on top.

In the 200 years long history of Test cricket there has been a set of coveted batsman who had to suffer the anguish of not being to able achieve that elusive run.

Here's the compilation:

#1 Mudassar Nazar, Pakistan

When: Pakistan vs India, 2nd Test Faisalabad, 1984

After 995 matches and a century-long existence, Test cricket finally had its first member of the 199 club. Mudassar Nazar, a batsman who holds the record for the slowest Test hundred had pleasant memories of India's bowlers when the teams last clashed in 1983. He (231) and Javed Miandad (280*) became just the fifth set of a pair of batsmen scoring double hundred in the same innings.

Come 1984 series, the memories had become a distant past. The event happened in a rather mundane Test match between India and Pakistan at Faisalabad where more than 1100 runs were scored with Pakistan yet to finish their first innings reply to India's 500 all out, engineered on the pristine partnership between Sandeep Patil (127) and Ravi Shastri (139). The hosts piled on 6 for 674. Nazar, who opened the innings, fell to a loopy off-break from Shivlal Yadav offering a modest catch to Syed Kirmani, constituting him the first batsman to join the 199 club.

#2 Mohammed Azharuddin, India

When: India vs Sri Lanka, Kanpur 1986

The only player to face the agony of getting out on 199 was the wristy magician and former India's captain Mohammed Azharuddin as he never managed to breach the barrier in his career ever again. Azhar's batting at his best was a sight to behold. With his wristy flicks and pristine drives, Azhar's batting exuded poetry set in motion.

Azhar joined the dreaded club in another drawn Test, this time between Sri Lanka and India in the winter of 1986. The hosts after bowling Sri Lanka out for 420 pilled on 6-674, glittered with Sunil Gavaskar's 34th and his final ton. The Indian innings saw career-best performances by Kapil Dev (163) and Azharuddin (199), who missed his double hundred when he was trapped leg before wicket by medium-fast bowler Ravi Ratnayake.

With 22 hundred, Mohammad Azharuddin became the batsman with most Test hundreds without a double century.

#3 Matthew Elliott, Australia

When: England vs Australia, Leeds, The Ashes 1997

It was business as usual for Australia when they hammered England by an innings and 61 runs in the fourth Ashes Test of 1997. The Test, though a usual script evident from the eventual outcome of the game had a few interesting subplots that made it a memorable affair. Jason Gillespie registered his career-best figures of 7-37 as he ran through the English top order to help the Aussies dismiss them for 172.

The second intriguing passage of play came when Matthew Elliot, who had scored his second hundred of the tour in challenging conditions became the first player to get out on 199 in an Ashes Test when his stumps were rattled by Darren Gough. Elliot, who was tipped very highly in Australian cricketing circles, never managed to get past the 199 mark and played just 10 Tests thereafter.

#4 Sanath Jayasuriya, Sri Lanka

When: Sri Lanka vs India, 2nd Test Colombo, 1997

The 1997 Test series between India and Sri Lanka turned out to be a graveyard for bowlers. With pitches as flat as a highway, the batsmen made merry and amassed plethora of records.

Jayasuriya had mixed emotions in that regard, as the series that saw him achieve his career best of 340 also witnessed him joining the 199 club in the second Test at Colombo. Jayasuriya scored a belligerent 199 off 226 balls when he was bowled by Abey Kuruvilla, making him the only batsman to be dismissed on that score in the second innings of a team.

#4 Steve Waugh, Australia

When: West Indies vs Australia, 3rd Test Bridgetown, 1999

A Test famously remembered for Brian Lara's breathtaking 153 in the fourth innings of the Test to secure a 1 wicket win for the Windies, also saw it's the newest entrant to the 199 club.

Australia buoyed by two crushing wins over the hosts batted first in the third game with the intention to further pile on the agony. Their captain decided to lead from the front as Steve Waugh arrested the top-order slide and formed an invaluable partnership of 281 runs with Ricky Ponting (103).

On the ground where he had scored a double hundred that ended the West Indian era of dominance, Waugh fell excruciatingly short by one run when he was adjudged leg before wicket off Nehemiah Perry.

#5 Andy Flower, Zimbabwe

When: Zimbabwe vs South Africa, Harare 2001

In a game completely dominated by the Proteas, Andy Flower's twin hundreds were the only light at the end of a very dark tunnel for Zimbabwe.

South Africa, powered by their top three, each of whom made a hundred piled on 3 for 600 before declaring. Barring Andy Flower's 142, the Proteas faced virtually no resistance from the Zimbabweans as they folded for a mere 286. Flower followed his 142 with an awe-inspiring 199 not out and single-handedly made South Africa bat again. Flower en route to 199 also became the first batsman to be not out on 199 in a Test innings.

#6 Younis Khan, Pakistan

When: Pakistan vs India, 1st Test Lahore, 2006

When Younis Khan last played a Test against India, he scored a match-winning 266 to help Pakistan draw level the 3-match series. That was at Banglore, 2005. One year later, Younis found himself in the same situation on a docile track against the same opposition at Lahore.

In a game that saw a plethora of hundreds including a 410-opening partnership between Virender Sehwag (254) and Rahul Dravid (128), Younis squandered the opportunity with a needless run out, making him the first batsman to be dismissed in that fashion on 199. The next time Younis came near the dreaded mark, he went on to make a triple hundred.

#7 Ian Bell, England

When: England vs South Africa, 1st Test, Lords 2008

While Younus squandered the opportunity of getting a double hundred in 2006, Ian Bell, in an attempt to bring the milestone with an extravagant drive off left-arm spinner Paul Harris, offered a simple caught & bowled and entered the dreaded list.

It was the first Test of the South African tour of England in the summer of 2008 at Lords when England batted first and posted a mammoth 8-593 declared. The innings was engineered on the genius of Kevin Pietersen who scored a pristine 152 and compiled a 286-run stand with Ian Bell. Bell was at his menacing best with his drives and cuts in full flow. Bell compiled a magnificent 199 before offering a modest catch to spinner Paul Harris, making him the first batsman to get out on the dreaded score in that particular fashion. Bell was adjudged Player of the Match in a game that eventually ended in a draw with South Africa, powered by hundreds from their top three, batted with grit to defy England.

#8 Kumar Sangakkara, Sri Lanka

When: Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Galle 2012

Just like Andy Flower, the former Sri Lankan captain Kumar Sangakkara too was left stranded on 199. It was the first Test of Pakistan's tour of the island nation in the summer of 2012. The home side while batting first piled on a massive 472 engineered on the tenacity of Dilshan (101) and Sangakkara (199*).

Sangakkara thought he had achieved his ninth double hundred with a six and started celebrating. In a bizarre turn of events that ensued, it came to notice that scoreboard, due to a technical glitch, displayed an extra run which was not to be. His partner Nuwan Pradeep lost his stumps in the next over to Mohammed Hafeez, leaving Sanga a run bereft of his double hundred. It didn't have any bearing on the game though as the hosts knocked Pakistan over for 100 & 300 to gobble the game by 209 runs. Sangakkara eventually finished with eleven double hundreds and the next time he reached 199, he converted it into a triple hundred.

#9 Steve Smith, Australia

When: West Indies vs Australia, 2nd Test Kingston, Jamaica 2015

The 199 club had to wait for another three years for its next entrant. Their wait though bore fruits as it was none other than the current Australian skipper and World's No. 1 Test batsmen Steve Smith. It was the 2nd Test of the 2015 Frank Worrell trophy between Australia and the hosts West Indies. Smith played a huge part in Australia posting a competitive yet eventually match-winning total of 399. He, however, missed his first First-class double hundred when he was beaten by a fast inswinging yorker by Jerome Taylor and was trapped LBW.

Smith though didn't have to wait much longer as two months later, he piled on the agony on England with a breathtaking 215, becoming the first Aussie cricketer to score an Ashes double hundred at Lords. Smith added another double hundred to his kitty against the same opposition in the recently concluded Ashes series at home.

#10 KL Rahul, India

When: India vs England, 5th Test Chennai, 2016

KL Rahul has had a peculiar career ever since he made his debut for India at the McG in 2014. From overwhelming highs to a series of single-digit scores, Rahul's career is a prime example of hits and misses.

In the winter of 2016 against England on a track flatter than the Mumbai-Pune highway, Rahul's highs were at the fore albeit partially. Rahul led the charge for his team after England had amassed 477 in the first innings. He went into the 190s with a six off Moeen Ali and hardly looked flustered. However, completely against run of play, Rahul had a brain fade moment when he lobbed an innocuous looking delivery from Adil Rashid straight to point.

Before scoring a 199, Rahul, out of his five 50 plus scores, had four hundred including two scores of above 150. The three figures had since then derided Rahul as he recorded a string of fifty-plus scores in the next season and is yet to score a hundred post that 199.

#11 Dean Elgar, South Africa

When: South Africa vs Bangladesh, 1st Test Potchefstroom, 2017

With a flat deck on offer, Mushfiqur Rahim's decision to bowl first after winning the toss attracted heavy scrutiny from all counters. The ludicrousness of the decision was further vindicated when the Proteas led by Dean Elgar stiched valuable partnerships to pile on the agony.Elgar compiled a 196 run opening stand with the debutant Aiden Markram (97), the latter falling short by three runs of his first hundred when a horrible mix up between he and Elgar accounted for him.

It wasn't the only ignominy that Elgar had to fave during the course of that Test match as he was foxed by a cutter from Mustafizur Rahman, entrusting him in two minds.A top edge ended Elgar's innings, making him the first South African to join the 199 club.