3 best partnerships by Team India batsmen against England
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Cricket
Virat Kohli and a relatively unknown Jayant Yadav featured in a 241-run stand for the eighth wicket in the Mumbai Test in 2016, the fourth match of a five-match series. England had posted an impressive total of 400 batting first, thanks to a debut hundred from Keaton Jennings.
241 by Virat Kohli and Jayant Yadav - Mumbai, 2016
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Despite Murali Vijay’s 136, the match was in the balance, as Team India found themselves at 364 for 7 in response. Captain Kohli, though, found an unexpected ally in Yadav as the duo frustrated the England bowling. Kohli led from the front, playing a fantastic knock of 235 off 340 balls.
He smashed 25 fours and a six during his 515-minute stay at the crease. Yadav went on to score a fluent 104 off 204 balls, a knock that featured 15 hits to the fence. By the time Yadav was stumped off Adil Rashid’s bowling, Team India had crossed 600.
The hosts were eventually all out for 631. Ravichandran Ashwin’s six-for then helped India roll over England for 195 in the second innings as Team India won the match by an innings and 36 runs.
Team India openers Sunil Gavaskar and the late Chetan Chauhan featured in a famous 213-run stand in the fourth innings of the 1979 Oval Test as the visitors almost pulled off a miraculous chase. England had set Team India 438 to win the Test, and the visitors finished on 429/8.
213 by Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan - The Oval, 1979
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Gavaskar and Chauhan battled it out against Willis and Botham, and as the partnership grew, so did Team India’s hopes of a famous win. Chauhan faced 263 balls for his 80, batting for 314 minutes during which he hit seven fours.
Following Chauhan’s dismissal, Gavaskar battled on. His marvellous innings eventually ended on 221 off 443 balls. Gavaskar’s 490-minute knock included 21 fours. Gavaskar was the fourth man out, with the score at 389. Team India eventually settled for a draw.
Earlier, England made 305 in their first innings, to which India responded with 202. Geoff Boycott’s second-innings 125 set Team India a mammoth target, which the visitors could have achieved if they had not performed hara-kiri.
Team India legends Sachin Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly featured in one of the most famous partnerships in the history of Indian cricket. The duo added 249 runs for the fourth wicket in the 2002 Leeds Test, the third match of a four-Test series.
249 by Sourav Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar - Leeds, 2002
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After winning the toss, Team India decided to bat first. They lost Sehwag for eight, though. However, makeshift opener Sanjay Bangar (68) and Dravid (148) steadied the visitors’ innings. Team India batted England out of the match, thanks to a sizzling fourth-wicket stand between Tendulkar and Ganguly.
India reached 335 by the time Ganguly came out to the middle. However, the Team India captain and Tendulkar killed all hopes England had of making a comeback. Tendulkar batted for 330 balls and hit 19 fours and three sixes, falling seven short of a double ton, trapped lbw by Andy Caddick.
Ganguly, meanwhile, was in sublime form, scoring 128 off 167, hitting 14 fours and three sixes. He was eventually bowled by Alex Tudor. Team India declared their first innings on 628 for 8. The bowlers then took over to inflict defeat on England by an innings and 46 runs.