On September 4, 1979, a miracle was about to take place between England and India in the Test match at The Oval. Chasing 438 for an unbelievable win, Sunil Gavaskar smashed a brilliant double century and notched up the highest score by an Indian in Tests against England at that time. India needed 49 runs off 46 balls with just an hour to go for the match to end. However, Gavaskar fell for 221 to Ian Botham. India lost wickets at crucial junctures and in the end, they ended up nine runs short of what would have been an epoch-defining win for India in Tests.

India’s tour to England in 1979 at the very beginning was an unprecedented disaster. They were eliminated in the 1979 World Cup league stage, which was punctuated by a humiliating loss to Sri Lanka, who were Associates at that time. The mood in the Indian camp was not helped when they lost the first Test in Birmingham by an innings and 83 runs, undone by David Gower’s 200 and Ian Botham’s seven wickets in the match. After draws in Lord’s and Leeds, the series shifted to the finale at The Oval with India needing a win to draw the series.

Beginning of a miracle

England notched up 305 but they managed a healthy lead of 103 with Botham again taking four wickets. Gundappa Viswanath was the top scorer with 62. England extended their lead thanks to a brilliant 125 from Geoffrey Boycott and an attacking 59 from David Bairstow, the father of current international star Jonny Bairstow. India needed 438 with just one and a half days remaining. In those days, a side notching up 300 runs in a day took some doing. Gavaskar and his opening partner Chetan Chauhan strung a solid opening partnership. Both Gavaskar and Chauhan were cautiously aggressive but their 213-run stand ended when Bob Willis broke through. However, the game was only beginning. Gavaskar then stitched a superb 153-run stand with Dilip Vengsarkar. At 366/1, England were fearing the worst.

However, Vengsarkar fell to Phil Edmonds and Kapil Dev, not yet known for his big hitting was dismissed by Peter Willey for 0. Gavaskar, though motored along to 221 but when he fell with the score on 389, India lost momentum. Five wickets for 20 runs and suddenly, England seemed to have pulled the rabbit out of the hat. However, Karsan Ghavri and Bharath Reddy, the keeper survived as India fell short by just nine runs. Had Gavaskar carried on, India would have surely achieved the highest run-chase in Test history and Gavaskar’s knock would have gone down as one of the greatest ever.