A new milestone beckons Shubman Gill’s Indian cricket team as they are set to turn up for their 600th Test match, becoming just the third Test-playing nation to have ever achieved the mark. The upcoming first Test against Sri Lanka at Galle from Saturday onwards is not just a game crucial for India’s World Test Championship chances, but a match that will enable them to join Australia and England in an elite list of nations that have won 600 or more Test matches. The start of the Test on August 15 is in itself a historic occasion for India as the nation celebrates its 80th Independence Day.
New Delhi, Aug 14 (IANS) A new milestone beckons Shubman Gill’s Indian cricket team as the Men in Blue are set to turn up for their 600th Test match, becoming just the third Test-playing nation to have ever achieved the mark.
India’s current Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill has been left overwhelmed by the occasion, admitting that leading the side in the 600th Test “is an honour and doing so on Independence Day is an even bigger honour. As the Indian team gears up for its 600th red-ball game, IANS takes a look at five of the country’s five greatest wins in Test cricket’s history. But India defied the logic. The next day, the Trinidad Express had the headline, “India defy history, whip West Indies. Indeed, it was a logic-defying victory. Bruised and trailing Down Under. It was a depleted team, going into the match without Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, Hanuma Vihari, and Umesh Yadav. A team hit with injuries left, right and centre was up against the powerhouse Aussie side.
Chasing a target of 403 in that time against West Indies in their own backyard is surely a dream. Only once before had a team hunted down a target of over 400, and that was by the invincible Australian side in 1948 against England. Needing 269 more to win on the last day of the match, the Little Master scored a sublime century (102), while Gundappa Viswanath made 112 as Bishan Singh Bedi’s team chased down the huge target in a marathon chase. India’s win in Brisbane 2021 stands as one of their most epic wins. “For these 60 overs, they should feel like hell out there. Virat Kohli had a special pep talk for his Indian team as it looked to eke out a result from the Lord’s Test in 2021. There was not much to separate the two teams at the end of the first innings when England scored 391 in reply to India’s 364. A special KL Rahul century was nearly neutralised by Joe Root’s masterclass of 180 runs. In the second innings, India did just enough, thanks to a lower-order fight from Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah; the visitors put up 298/8d.
