Top of the charts in a roller-coaster journey

India's record in Test matches may not be that great but there have been stirring shows by both batsmen and bowlers

BATTING
Laxman's 281(vs Australia, Kolkata, 2001)Ranked sixth in the Wisden top 100 innings, Laxman’s 281 is easily the best innings played by an Indian in more sense than one. The significance of that innings far outweighs the sheer number of runs. Australia, sitting on a 16-match winning streak and having crushed India just a week before in Mumbai, were on course for another big win in Kolkata. India, dismissed for 171 against Australia's 445, were 52/1 after being forced to follow on. Laxman walked in and when he was out India were 605 for 5. It was an attacking innings when he spared none from the Aussie attack. He also had great support from Rahul Dravid (180) at the other end. Harbhajan Singh then bamboozled Australia with his tweakers to script India’s win.

Sehwag’s 309 
(vs Pakistan, Multan, 2004)
India had produced batsmen of better quality before but none had managed a triple century in a Test. Sehwag was least expected to achieve the mark given his style of play that attached little importance to milestones. But the right-hander became the first Indian to reach an innings of 300 when he bulldozed his way to 309 against Pakistan. The knock set-up an innings win despite India declaring at 675/5 and Pakistan scoring 407 all out in the first innings.  Such was the pace of Sehwag’s innings (309 off 375 balls, 39x4, 6x6) that India had plenty of time to bowl Pakistan out twice despite close to 1100 runs coming in the first two innings of the match.

Rahul Dravid’s 148 

(vs England, Leeds 2002)
Early to mid-2000s clearly belonged to Dravid. During the period came a gem of an innings at Headingley where overcast conditions and seaming pitch made batting an extremely difficult proposition. But the right-hander from Bengaluru exhibited immense concentration and brought to fore his technical expertise to conquer the hostile conditions en route his 148 after Sourav Ganguly had opted to bat first. Once the difficult part was over, Tendulkar and Ganguly too hammered tons and India went on to win the match. Though Tendulkar scored 193, Dravid was adjudged the man of the match.  

Vengsarkar's 102 

(vs England, Leeds, 1986)

While Dilip Vengsarkar’s performance in overseas conditions wasn’t that encouraging, he enjoyed exceptional run in England. Besides being the first overseas batsman to score three 100s at Lord’s, he also scored an unbeaten 102 at Leeds in the third innings total of 237 all out that helped India, who were reeling at 35/4, win the match and the series in 1986. That the next highest score was 31 by Kapil Dev put Vengsarkar’s effort in perspective. 

Viswanath's 97 
(vs West Indies, Chennai, 1975)
This knock against the formidable West Indies was a top-quality innings. A strong bowling attack led by Andy Roberts had reduced India to 24 for 2 when the Viswanath walked in. The score then became 117 for 8 but Viswanath added an invaluable 73 for the last two wickets and remained unbeaten on 97 which came off 166 balls. India went on to win the low-scoring match by 100 runs.  

BOWLING
Kumble's 10/74
(vs Pakistan, New Delhi, 1999)
Kumble's historic 10-wicket haul, only the second such instance in Test cricket, is ranked second in the Wisden top-100 bowling performances. Pakistan, chasing 420 runs for a win, were hoping for a draw and they were well on course after reaching a comfortable 101 for no loss when Kumble took his first wicket. 

He took the next nine wickets as well with some outstanding spin bowling. Along with Laxman's 281, this effort will rank as one of the two definitive moments in the history of Indian cricket. 

Harbhajan Singh's 8/84
(vs Australia, Chennai, 2001)
After the great turnaround in Calcutta, where Laxman’s 281, Dravid 180 and Harbhajan’s 7-for combined to stun Australia, the off-spinner once again spelt doom for Steve Waugh’s men in Chennai. India had a first innings lead of 110 in the decider but with the pitch deteriorating fast, restricting Australia to somewhere around 250 was crucial. And Harbhajan did exactly that claiming 8 for 84 and dismissing Australia for 264. India hung in for a narrow two-wicket win, the margin only adding value to Harbhajan's spell. The victory also handed India the series 2-1.  

Kapil Dev's 7/56 
(vs Pakistan, Chennai, 1980)
On an unresponsive Chepauk pitch and faced with a formidable Pakistani batting, which included the likes of Javed Miandad, Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal, Kapil almost single-handedly led the demolition act. He dismissed both the openers before Pak could reach 20. He later dismissed Zaheer Abbas and Asif Iqbal and sustained the pressure to return a rich haul of 7 for 56. India chased down a 78-run target with ease and the win gave the hosts the series as well. 

BS Chandrasekhar’s 6/38 
(vs England, the Oval, 1971)
This bowling effort is significant in more sense than one for India. While Chandrasekhar’s six-wicket haul gave India their first Test win and first series victory in England, it also ended England’s 26-Test unbeaten record. Chandra’s scalps included the likes of Brian Luckhurst, John Edrich, Kieth Fletcher and Basil D’Oliveira and he bowled no more than 18.1 overs for his six wickets that sent England crashing to 101 all out in 45.1 overs. This meant India were left with a target of 174, which they reached after some hiccups for a four-wicket win.

Kapil Dev’s 5/28 
(vs Australia, Melbourne, 1981)
This was the Test which is more known for Sunil Gavaskar’s protest when he was given lbw off Dennis Lillee. The skipper nearly forfeited the game dragging his partner Chetan Chauhan along with him before saner counsel prevailed. But the Test ended on a happy note for India with Kapil Dev leading the Indian charge. 

Having batted with a runner and then staying off the field on the penultimate day due to a strained thigh muscle, Kapil wreaked havoc while defending just 143 in the fourth innings. Karsan Ghavri and Dilip Doshi polished off the top four for just 40 before Kapil performed the final rites. He bowled 16.4 unchanged overs to take five of the six remaining Australian wickets to hand India a memorable win.

M J
Only match-winning performances have been taken into account