Best Test innings by a batsmen scoring below 100 against great PACE bowling?

[Harsh Thakor]

My selection of best 50's not converted into centuries against top pace,in order of merit.

1.Mohinder Amarnath 91 at Barbados in 1983


2.Sunil Gavaskar 90 at Ahmedabad v West Indies in 1983-84


3.Gundappa Vishwanath 97 n.o v West Indies at Madras


4.Alan Border 98 n.o at Trinidad in 1984.


5.Wasim Raja at Barbados 71


6.Dilip Vengsarkar 76 v Pakistan at Lahore in 1978-79


7.Viv Richards 76 at Adelaide in 1981-82.


8.Wasim Raja at Karachi 77 n.o in 1980 v West Indies.


9.Anshuman Gaekwad 81 n.o at Kingston in 1975-76


10.Graham Gooch 83 v West Indies at Oval


11.David Gower 72 at Perth in 1982-83


12.Alan Border 78 at Adelaide v West Indies in 1981-82


My list is highly subjective but I just can't help not placing Amarnath's efforts at the top who fought a battle of attrition at it's highest zenith reminding one of a soldier .He literally took the bull by the horn when hooking ,driving and cutting against the best pace attack ever.On a broken track .

Gavaskar was revelation at Ahmedabad against Marshall,Holding and co taking the attack to the sword.At Madras in 1974-75 Vishwanath took cricketing artistry to regions of the sublime .

At Trinidad in 1984 Alan Border was simply a boulder withstanding the most hazardous of storms.

Wasim Raja was courage personified at Barbados in 1977.Vengsarkar defied Imran and co on the fastest of tracks scoring 76 out of 199 in 1978-79,when even Gavaskar and Vishwanath failed.

At Adelaide on the bounciest of tracks Vin simply blazed away in cavalier style batting like a wizard.At Karachi in 1980 again against Calypsos Wasim Raja displayed undaunting courage.

Anshuman Gaekwad was the ultimate epitome of courage when facing the equivalent of bodlyline bowling at Kingston in 1975-76.

Gooch revealed combat at it's highset level at the Oval versus the Calyposo quicks in 1980.

At Perth in 1982-83 Gower was simply elegance personified .

At Adelaide in 1978 Border resisted the great Calypso quartet with the tenacity of a military commander.

Significantly included 2 innings of Wasim Raja and Alan Border,the ultimate men to bat for your life.Just missed out were Vengsarkar'
s 94 at Antigua in 1983,Bruce Laird's 92 at Brisbane v West Indies in 1979-80 ,and Salim Malik's 69 at Trinidad in 1988.Chose the likes of Viv and Gower as they were up against the top Aussie quicks like Lillee.Pascoe Lawson on fast wickets etc and Vengsarkar because he faced Imran at his fastest on a green top.

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

Sachin scoring 97 against south Africa in 2000 , only one 50+ score was made . Inning was against Donald, pollock and young Kallis .Scores made in 4 innings were 221, 177, 115 and 165 something like this.
Vvs making 95 against Steyn and Morkel on durban 2010 again only one 50+ score.
I am not saying that these innings are best but you should have them in list.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Sachin scoring 97 against south Africa in 2000 , only one 50+ score was made . Inning was against Donald, pollock and young Kallis .Scores made in 4 innings were 221, 177, 115 and 165 something like this.
Vvs making 95 against Steyn and Morkel on durban 2010 again only one 50+ score.
I am not saying that these innings are best but you should have them in list.

Right up there.Great suggestions.Will reconsider.

 

[Navdeep Srivastava]

This is what I don't like about you or Junaid thread , you people think modern batsman can't play good innings . I mean not a single modern age inning.
He'll Hardik made 92 against Vernon, Steyn, Morkel and Rabada on very difficult wicket in a very low scoring match on green , spicy and bouncy wicket against three fast bowlers averaging less than 23.
I am not saying it was very technical or chanceless inning but you ignored any modern day inning.

 

[TM Riddle]

Sunny Gavaskar 96 against Pakistan at Bangalore 1987.

 

[Ab Fan]

AB's 91 vs Australia at Centurion 2014.

 

[jeetu]

Sunny Gavaskar 96 against Pakistan at Bangalore 1987.

That would be among the best inning on a wicket turning square, not this list though.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

That would be among the best inning on a wicket turning square, not this list though.

List of 50's only against great pace.does not include great spin or medium pace.

 

[Tusker]

This is what I don't like about you or Junaid thread , you people think modern batsman can't play good innings . I mean not a single modern age inning.
He'll Hardik made 92 against Vernon, Steyn, Morkel and Rabada on very difficult wicket in a very low scoring match on green , spicy and bouncy wicket against three fast bowlers averaging less than 23.
I am not saying it was very technical or chanceless inning but you ignored any modern day inning.

Tag me if you get a response to this post.

 

[Mobashir]

No mention of Inzi's knock vs South Africa is a crime!

 

[Harsh Thakor]

No mention of Inzi's knock vs South Africa is a crime!

Which knock?

 

[Mobashir]

Which knock?

92 not out at port Elizabeth in 2007.
Came in at number 8, had Sami, Akhtar, Kaneria and Asif as batting partners. Pollock, Ntini, Nel and Kallis were the bowlers. The pitch was very conductive to fast bowling, South Africa being dismissed to 124 and Pakistan on 135 for 6 when the big man came in.

That's one of the best test knocks I have seen.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...d-test-pakistan-tour-of-south-africa-2006-07/

 

[James]

Laxman in Durban against SA

 

[DRsohail]

92 not out at port Elizabeth in 2007.
Came in at number 8, had Sami, Akhtar, Kaneria and Asif as batting partners. Pollock, Ntini, Nel and Kallis were the bowlers. The pitch was very conductive to fast bowling, South Africa being dismissed to 124 and Pakistan on 135 for 6 when the big man came in.

That's one of the best test knocks I have seen.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/series/...d-test-pakistan-tour-of-south-africa-2006-07/

Yes and yonus 50 in 2nd innings.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Laxman in Durban 2010 should be there among the top. How about Dravid's 93 in 2008 Perth?

 

[Savage]

10 out of 12 knocks mentioned in OP were played between 1975-1984.

That's a bit strange.

 

[Hitman]

Laxman in Durban 2010 should be there among the top. How about Dravid's 93 in 2008 Perth?

Very, very scratchy innings. Also was dropped on 10 at the slips, a simple chance. Almost like Sachin's SF knock against Pak in WC 2011.

 

[InziRules]

I find it weird that there's not a single knock from the 90's or 00's, let alone the modern era. Interesting, because so many people would like to believe Cricket was strong in the 90's and not now, but according to older people, Cricket was strongest in the 70's and 80's.

This nostalgia is patently ridiculous, bowlers are faster on average now, have more control, and fielders shell fewer chances. Despite this, we are to believe that it's easier to bat now, and that bowlers were also better in previous times, while pitches were also more difficult to bat on in previous times.

 

[Tusker]

I find it weird that there's not a single knock from the 90's or 00's, let alone the modern era. Interesting, because so many people would like to believe Cricket was strong in the 90's and not now, but according to older people, Cricket was strongest in the 70's and 80's.

This nostalgia is patently ridiculous, bowlers are faster on average now, have more control, and fielders shell fewer chances. Despite this, we are to believe that it's easier to bat now, and that bowlers were also better in previous times, while pitches were also more difficult to bat on in previous times.

I don't mind people claiming that cricket was better in the 70s and 80s but what is really silly is these people getting really upset when asked to explain this using footage . It should be really easy to do that because it will stand out quite prominently from amongst the supposed mediocrity that's prevalent today. The OP is one such person. You will never ever get him to discuss this.

But instead what I have observed is that most of them will get very upset and start the adhominem attacks which is a telling sign that they have been caught peddling fairytales which is harder to do in the internet age than in old days when people had no means to verify the stories and simply went with the story and added their own masala to it.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Batting was definitely the toughest aspect of the game in the 70s and 80s.m and to an extent in the 90s too. So no surprise to see most picks being from that era.

Things that have changed today :-
Average pace might have improved but too bowlers don’t maintain the pace in test cricket because they are tired and overloaded.

Superior protective gear for batsmen so no fear of being hit.

Amazing bats.


Batting has evolved in these 30-40 years. Attitude has changed thanks to shorter formats that promote big hitting. Now batsmen race away to big scores rather than grinding it out for hours and hours like previously.

 

[big_gamer007]

I would rate kohlis knock against South Africa in the third test on a volatile pitch above most of these knocks.. Reue he didn’t score 100 or 90’s but the conditions and quality of bowling was way better than anything on this list..

 

[InziRules]

I don't mind people claiming that cricket was better in the 70s and 80s but what is really silly is these people getting really upset when asked to explain this using footage . It should be really easy to do that because it will stand out quite prominently from amongst the supposed mediocrity that's prevalent today. The OP is one such person. You will never ever get him to discuss this.

But instead what I have observed is that most of them will get very upset and start the adhominem attacks which is a telling sign that they have been caught peddling fairytales which is harder to do in the internet age than in old days when people had no means to verify the stories and simply went with the story and added their own masala to it.

Exactly. If you look at older footage, I would suggest that even the West Indian bowlers were not as fast as legend says. Remove helmets from modern day players, and you'll see the Australian attack, for example, wreak the same havoc. I'd expect our attack to do the same without helmets, and yours as well.

The helmet is the major difference between now and then. They were not faster bowlers who swung the ball more.

 

[Ab Fan]

Laxman in Durban was a magical inning as well.

 

[introvert]

from recent times I remember Joe root's unbeaten 106 in 139 balls was great knock on tricky wanderer pitch against decent RSA attack.

 

[Harsh Thakor]

Laxman in Durban was a magical inning as well.

Very good choice