Greatest 4th Inning Knocks In Vain: Benjamin Andrew Stokes almost threatened to take the game away from Australia in the 2nd Test at Lords. England at 45-4 on day four looked gone for all reasons. But as long as Stokes was there England believed. The memories of Headingley 2019 started resurfacing.
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He couldn’t pull it off this time:
Stokes too appeared to be dishing out the same script. He went hammer and tongs once England lost their sixth wicket. Stokes hit 155 off 214 balls a knock that saw him plunder 9 sixes and 9 fours. It didn’t prove to be enough as Australia managed to win the Test. There have been several such iconic fourth-inning knocks that sadly ended up in vain.
We look at a few of the greatest 4th inning knocks that ended in a loss:
#3 Nathan Astle – 222
Long before the Bazball era, Nathan Astle played a knock that was anything but conventional. Required to chase a target of 550 New Zealand was never really in the game. England couldn’t be faulted for thinking far too ahead about the next Test. No team in the history of the game has chased a score of 450+. But Astle in Christchurch 2002 had some other ideas. He walked into bat with the score reading 119-3 and he was the last one to be dismissed with a team score of 451.
Astle ran amok during this period. He scored the fastest double hundred in Test history (153 balls). In a last-wicket partnership of 118 with Chris Cairns who contributed 23 Astle lit up the stadium. His knock comprised 28 fours and 11 sixes. It was his innings that opened up the possibilities of anything being possible in cricket.
#2 Sachin Tendulkar – 136
It remains one of the greatest knocks of Sachin Tendulkar in Tests. Pakistan set India a target of 271 in the fourth innings on a typical Chennai wicket. Saqlain Mushtaq already proved his mettle in the first innings picking up a fiver. India had an uphill battle against them. Their best batter Sachin Tendulkar was out for a duck in the first innings and he was suffering from back spasms. He walked in at 6-2 as India lost both their openers early. The scorecard soon became 82-5. Tendulkar though found an able ally in Nayan Mongia. The duo stitched a stand of 136 for the sixth wicket.
Tendulkar battling spasms kept one end going. He brought up his hundred but was in search of an Indian win. Tendulkar was dismissed on 136 with India’s score being 254-7. India needed just 17 more to clinch a famous win. The side lost their last four wickets for a mere 4 runs. It ended in heartbreak as Sachin’s knock surely deserved a win!
#1 Virat Kohli – 141
It was the start of Virat Kohli’s era in Test cricket. He was the stand-in skipper of the side in the absence of an injured MS Dhoni. Kohli had smashed 115 in the first innings of the Test proving that the scars of 2014 England was well behind him. Australia hammered an inexperienced Indian bowling attack and set India a target of 364 on the final day. Kohli promised India won’t battle for a draw they will go in for a win. India lost Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara early with the score reading 57-2.
Kohli combined forces with Murali Vijay to set the game up for India. The pair put on a 185-run stand harbouring hopes of a famous Indian win. Vijay lost his wicket in search of a personal milestone. He got out on 99. Kohli though continued to wage a lone battle. He was eventually dismissed for 141. Kohli scored them off just 175 balls. The knock saw him hit 16 fours and 1 six.
He seemed to be batting in a different zone. None of the batters from number 5-11 scored more than 13 runs. India lost the game but Kohli’s class and intent drove the team. It made them number 1 soon!
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