Top 6 first innings scores in an innings defeat

The India-England series that came to a close with India reclaiming the Anthony De Mello Trophy was a carnival for statisticians and trivia-gatherers. Several records were broken even in the fifth and Final Test at Chennai. That we even got a match after the cyclone that hit the city days before the match was a miracle. That we got a result on a dead pitch like that was another miracle.

That the result came in the final session of the final day made it an enthralling piece of entertainment for the fans, mostly Indian supporters. England’s long tour finally came hurtling to a tragic close and they’ll be thankful Christmas is at their doorstep.

England gave themselves a good chance to reclaim some lost pride in the final Test, firstly by winning the toss - for the fourth time this series – and secondly by posting an impressive 477. It is not every day that you lose Test matches after scoring 477 in your first innings, mostly never if you are in India where the pitches deteriorate day after day as the match progresses.

However, such has been England’s fortune that they managed to lose 10 wickets in two sessions, six in the final alone to lose a Test they had no business losing, the series ending with a 4-0 score-line. India finally settled the scores for the nightmarish 0-4 tour they had in 2011.

Interestingly, 6 times, only 6 times in the history of Test cricket has a team lost by an innings and change after scoring 400 or above in their first innings. England has lost four of those six matches. Only four times have teams lost by an innings after scoring 400 in the first innings of the Test.

Two of them are England’s defeats, both coming in consecutive Tests in the PayTM series, showing how poor they’ve been and how good a young Indian side has been. We take a look at the top 6 first innings’ scores of teams in innings defeats. In 3 of those 6 games, it was India which was the winning side, something they can be proud of! (Stats courtesy: Cricinfo)

#1 477 - England lost to India by an innings and 75 runs (2016)

Batting first England posted a mammoth total of 477 on a pitch that hardly responded to pace or spin. India started their innings under pressure. Their usual top contributors, Kohli, Vijay and Pujara were dismissed cheaply. India still managed to amass a whopping 759, their highest Test score, thanks to 199 from Lokesh Rahul and a maiden century converted to a triple hundred by Karun Nair, only in his third Test.

England had to bat out a little more than a day in their second innings to save the game. The match seemed headed for a draw after England managed to survive until lunch of the final day without losing a wicket.

However, they collapsed from 103 for no loss to 207 all out. They lost 6 wickets in the final session going from 192 for 4 to 207 all out in the space of 16 overs. India made history, thanks to Ravindra Jadeja, who picked up career-best figures, with a 7-for – almost super-human on that pitch – and a brilliant outfield catch!

#2 432 – England lost to Australia by an innings and 25 runs (2001)

England crumbled in the second innings

Australia won the toss and chose to bat first at Kensington Oval. They posted a colossal 641 and that too, at a run-rate of 4.21 giving them a lot of time. That was thanks to centuries from the Waugh brothers and one by Justin Langer.

In reply, England scored 432 in their first innings, thanks to a ton by Mark Ramprakash. However, they couldn’t save the follow-on falling short by 9 runs. Asked to follow on, they were skittled out for 184. Shane Warne won the Player of the Match for a massive match haul of 11 wickets, including a 7-for in England’s first innings.

#3 407 – Pakistan lost to India by an innings and 52 runs (2004)

The 2004 tour of Pakistan was memorable for India for many reasons

At Multan, in their own den, Pakistan were up against a mountain they couldn’t climb. Batting first, India posted 675 for 5 declared, with Virender Sehwag scoring 309 and Sachin Tendulkar remaining unbeaten on 194*.

In reply, Pakistan managed 407 but had to follow on. Even though Mohammad Yousuf scored a century, all Pakistan could manage was 216 as Anil Kumble tormenting them with a 6-for. Sehwag was obviously the Player of the Match, for scoring the third fastest triple century of all time.

#4 405 – England lost to Australia by an innings and 39 runs (1930)

Percy Hornibrook ran through the English middle order in the second innings

Way back in the era of timeless Tests, England scored 405 thanks to 161 from their legendary opener, Herbert Sutcliffe. In reply, Australia posted 695, Don Bradman scoring a double-ton.

England started their second innings with a deficit of 290 runs but were bundled out for 251, Percy Hornibrook taking a 7-for and running through the English middle order. This record of highest first innings score by a side to lose by an innings, survived for 71 years before England managed to do worse and lose after scoring 432.

#5 400 – Sri Lanka lost to England by an innings and 14 runs (2011)

Sri Lanka were bundled out for mere 82 in their second innings

In Cardiff, Sri Lanka won the toss and chose to bat. They posted an impressive 400, thanks to a century from their wicketkeeper, Prasanna Jayawardene. England managed to go past that score, reaching 496 thanks to a double ton by Jonathan Trott, who added 251 for the third wicket with Alastair Cook who scored 133.

Sri Lanka though hardly showed any mettle on the final day and were bundled out for just 82, Chris Tremlett and Graeme Swann picking four-wicket hauls. Sri Lanka lasted all of 24.4 overs, 20 by Thisara Perera their highest individual score.

#6 400 – England lost to India by an innings and 36 runs (2016)

The Indian spinner ripped into the England batting line-up

At Wankhede, when England won the toss on what looked like a treacherous track, they nursed hopes of coming back in the series after being down 0-2. They posted 400 thanks to Keaton Jennings’ century on debut. India needed something special on a dangerous track and their skipper played one of the knocks of the decade. Kohli scored a dazzling 235 runs.

Murali Vijay, who opened the innings, scored 136 and the highlight of the innings was Jayant Yadav’s 104, making him India’s first No.9 to score a century. Thanks to a record-breaking 241 run eighth wicket partnership between Kohli and Yadav, India posted 631. In their second innings, England were all out for 195 in just 55.3 overs, Ashwin picking up a 6-for.