When Victory Was in Sight but India’s Batting Gave Up
India's batting line-up has struggled a lot over the past few years in the Test format. Despite dominating while defending the target, the team has not been able to do well when it comes to chases. Recently, India suffered a close loss against England at Lord's by 22 runs.
India has for sure been dominant in the Test format over the last decade, holding the top spot in the ICC rankings from 2017 to 2021. Whether it was Australia, England, South Africa, or even New Zealand, the team was able to perform well. But there has been one issue that has gone unnoticed.
The majority of the wins secured by the Indian team in this period have been while defending the target, and only two times has India been successful in chasing scores above 150. Since December 2013, India has chased targets above 150 in Tests just two times, which remains a major concern for the team.
One of these chases came back when India secured a historic win at the Gabba in 2021, powered by the innings of Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill. The next chase came against England in the home Tests, where India managed to chase the target of 192, with 5 wickets remaining. However, the team has lost 17 and drawn 7 games with targets above 150 in this period.
This remains one of the biggest concerns for the Indian team, bringing pressure not only for the batsmen but also for the bowlers. Recently, in the Lord’s Test, India’s tai lenders gave hope to the team but eventually fumbled in the end, losing out on a well-deserved game. Let’s take a look at some matches when India was almost near to winning the game, but the batting order collapsed.
India vs England 2018: 1st Test
The first Test of the India tour of England 2018 started on a negative note for the Indian team, after they suffered a heartbreaking loss at Edgbaston. Under the leadership of Virat Kohli, India went to the first match at Edgbaston, and England decided to bat first.
| England vs India, 1st Test, Birmingham | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| England: 287 (89.4 Overs) | India: 274 (76 Overs) |
| Joe Root: 80 (156) | Virat Kohli: 149 (225) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin: 4/62 | Sam Curran: 4/74 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| England: 180 (53 Overs) | India: 162 (54.2 Overs) |
| Sam Curran: 63 (65) | Virat Kohli: 51 (93) |
| Ishant Sharma: 5/51 | Ben Stokes: 4/40 |
| England won by 31 Runs | |
The decision surely helped the home team as they gave a fight to the Indian bowlers, ending at the score of 287. Joe Root ended up scoring 80 runs for the team, while Ravichandran Ashwin and Mohammed Shami took 4 and 3 wickets each for India.
When India came to bat in the second innings, their score was powered by the captain, Virat Kohli. He ended up scoring 149 runs off 225 balls with 22 fours and one six, which helped India to reach a total of 274, giving England just a lead of 13 runs. Sam Curran bowled an exceptional spell, taking 4 wickets. Later, England was bowled out for 180, giving India a target of 194.
At one time, the target seemed easy to achieve, with Virat Kohli at the crease. However, he lost his wicket after scoring a half-century, after which India’s lower-order trembled to chase down the score. Eventually, India went on to lose the match by 31 runs, so close to the chase.
India vs Australia 2014-15: 1st Test
During the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15, India saw a new captain, Virat Kohli, who led the team from the front. But in the first match of the series, which was being played in Adelaide, Kohli was left alone in the chase. Australia batted first in this game and scored 517/7 in the first innings, with the help of three individual centuries by Smith, Clarke, and Warner.
| Australia vs India, 1st Test, Adelaide | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Australia: 517/7d (120 Overs) | India: 444 (116.4 Overs) |
| Steven Smith: 162* (231) | Virat Kohli: 115 (184) |
| Karn Sharma: 2/143 | Nathan Lyon: 5/134 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Australia: 290/5d (69 Overs) | India: 315 (87.1 Overs) |
| David Warner: 102 (166) | Virat Kohli: 141 (175) |
| Karn Sharma: 2/95 | Nathan Lyon: 7/152 |
| Australia won by 48 Runs | |
India’s first innings came out to be pretty good, as Captain Kohli scored a century, with 115 runs off 184 balls with 12 fours, dominating the Australian bowlers. The team was bowled out for 444, giving Australia a decent lead ahead of their second innings.
This allowed Australia to continue, as they crossed 290 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in the second innings, before they declared. David Warner once again scored a century, as Karn Sharma took 2 wickets for India. India now had the target of 364 runs to chase to win.
Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay fought well, as the duo helped to put India at the score of 242 for the loss of 2 wickets. But eventually, as Kohli and Vijay got out, the lower order failed to score well, which led to India losing the game by a margin of just 48 runs. Captain Kohli again scored a century in this innings, scoring 141 runs off 175 balls.
India vs England 2025: 3rd Test
After levelling the series 1-1, India and England faced each other at Lord’s, where the ultimate decider would take place. England decided to bat first in this game, as the team played well, with the help of Joe Root’s century. Bumrah took a five-wicket haul, as England were bowled out for 387.
| England vs India, 3rd Test, Lord’s | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| England: 387 (112.3 Overs) | India: 387 (119.2 Overs) |
| Joe Root: 104 (199) | KL Rahul: 100 (177) |
| Jasprit Bumrah: 5/74 | Chris Woakes: 3/84 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| England: 192 (62.1 Overs) | India: 170 (74.5 Overs) |
| Joe Root: 40 (96) | Ravindra Jadeja: 61* (181) |
| Washington Sundar: 4/22 | Ben Stokes: 3/48 |
| England won by 22 Runs | |
Coming out in the second innings, India gave its best to end their score with a lead. But the lower order trembled, allowing the team to finish at the score of 387, levelling England’s first innings total. Now, it was in the hands of England to set a good target for India.
India’s bowling unit showcased its depth in the third innings, as they bowled England all out at the score of 192. Now, the team had to chase down the target of 193 in order to win and get a 2-1 lead. But India’s top order players, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Karun Nair, and Shubman Gill failed to score well.
Eventually, the team stood at the score of 112 runs for the loss of 8 wickets, and everything stood in the hands of Ravindra Jadeja, who came as the lone warrior. Unfortunately, Siraj, at the other end, lost his wicket to Shoaib Bashir, as England won the game by 22 runs.
India vs New Zealand 2024: 3rd Test
Making history, New Zealand had already defeated India in the first two Tests to win the series. But the final match at Wankhede Stadium was almost in India’s hands. Winning the toss in this game, New Zealand decided to bat first. But Indian bowlers dominated, as they bowled the Kiwis all out for just 235.
| India vs New Zealand, 3rd Test, Wankhede | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| New Zealand: 235 (65.4 Overs) | India: 263 (59.4 Overs) |
| Daryl Mitchell: 82 (129) | Shubman Gill: 90 (146) |
| Ravindra Jadeja: 5/65 | Ajaz Patel: 5/103 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| New Zealand: 174 (45.5 Overs) | India: 121 (29.1 Overs) |
| Will Young: 51 (100) | Rishabh Pant: 64 (57) |
| Ravindra Jadeja: 5/55 | Ajaz Patel: 6/57 |
| New Zealand won by 25 Runs | |
Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant scored half-centuries, which helped India to finish at the score of 263, taking up a lead in the second innings. Now, it was in the hands of New Zealand to set up a target for the Indian team to chase at the Wankhede Stadium.
India’s spin duo, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin, took 8 wickets combined, and bowled out New Zealand for a total of 174. India now had to chase the target of 147. Looking at India’s star batting line-up, with players like Gill, Jaiswal, Rohit, Kohli, Pant, it seemed a lot easier.
But only Rishabh Pant stood as the team’s lone warrior, as he scored 64 runs off 57 balls with 9 fours and one six. Eventually, after he lost his wicket, India was bundled all out at the score of 121, missing out on the target by 25 runs only.
India vs Sri Lanka 2015: 1st Test
In 2015, India went to Sri Lanka for a three-match Test series, and the first match was to be played at Galle. Sri Lanka had won the toss in this game as they decided to bat first. The team ended up scoring 183 runs, as Ravichandran Ashwin took 6 wickets for India.
| Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test, Galle | |
|---|---|
| 1st Innings | |
| Sri Lanka: 183 (49.4 Overs) | India: 375 (117.4 Overs) |
| Angelo Mathews: 64 (92) | Shikhar Dhawan: 134 (271) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin: 6/46 | Tharindu Kaushal: 5/134 |
| 2nd Innings | |
| Sri Lanka: 367 (82.2 Overs) | India: 112 (49.5 Overs) |
| Dinesh Chandimal: 162* (169) | Ajinkya Rahane: 36 (76) |
| Ravichandran Ashwin: 4/114 | Rangana Herath: 7/48 |
| Sri Lanka won by 63 Runs | |
In India’s first innings, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli smashed centuries, which helped the team to reach a total of 375 runs, taking a massive lead. Now, Sri Lanka didn’t just have to finish the lead but also set up a good target for India. And fortunately, they were able to do it with ease.
Dinesh Chandimal played an impressive innings of 162 runs, which powered the Sri Lankan team to a score of 367. India now had to chase the target of 176 runs, which seemed a bit easy, considering India’s batting depth. But what happened next was a great collapse.
Rangana Herath took 7 wickets, as India was bowled all out at the score of 112, allowing Sri Lanka to start off the series with a massive win. Only Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were able to score above 25 runs in the chase, while the remaining players failed to score well.
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