19 December 2020 will be a day etched in the minds of cricket fans in India and across the world. With an impressive performance by the Aussie fast bowlers, coupled with poor batting performance by the Indian batting department, the Indian cricket team now has its lowest ever total in a Test inning.
The Indian cricket team has transformed into a batting powerhouse in the cricket world but the collapse against Australia will haunt the team for the time to come.
Today we are taking a painful nostalgic trip and will be taking the time to discuss the 7 lowest test scores put upon by the Indian cricket team in International test cricket.
#7- Against West Indies, 75 runs, 1987
Decades before the Aussies captivated the crowds by their bowling spells, The West Indian lethal bowling attack were the most feared in International cricket.
Indian cricket team were hosting the West Indian team in a Test series but it was a horrific beginning for the hosts. Winning the toss, Indian side chose to bat first but quickly realized that it was a terrible decision. The team could only put a score of 75 runs in their first inning and crumbled under the bowling spell of Patrick Patterson, a bowler frequently lauded as the fastest amongst those who played him.
The Indian team however tried to comeback by giving a tough fight in the second inning, bowling out the West Indian batsmen with 127 runs on the board.
#6- Against Australia, 67 runs, 1948
It was a start-studded line up on both side with the likes of Sir Don Bradman and Sid Barnes adding enough horsepower to disseminate any team on the Australian side and the likes of Vijay Hazare, Lala Amarnath adding fuel to Indian defence.
The Australian team winning the toss, chose to bat first and send the balls to all direction. By the end of their inning, they posted a mammoth total of 575 runs and gave the visitors a herculean task.
The Indian side showed their mettle and although they couldn’t give the Australian side a trail to follow for their second inning, they ended up putting a respectable total of 331 runs on the board.
The Australian side made the wise decision of not wasting much time and declared their innings with 8 runs on board, giving the Indian team a total of 252 runs to win in less than two days.
What followed was a ballad of bowl and stumps. Indian cricket team found themselves succumbing to the pressure and ended up being bowled out at 67 runs.
#5- Against South Africa, 66 runs, 1996
Winning the toss and elected to field first the South African team scored 235 with Andre Hudson scoring a half-century. Indian Team came and could only score 100 runs, a foreshadowing of what was to transpire later in the innings.
With a stable lead of 135 runs, the South African team scored 259 runs in the second innings and in the test’s third inning, giving a surmountable target of 394 runs to Team India.
Later in the test, India continued on their poor form and the entire team was sent to the dressing room with just 66 runs on board. Allan Donald, often known as the “White Lightning” broke the batting lineup’s spine by clinching 4 crucial Indian wickets.
#4- Against England, 58 runs, 1952
India’s tour of England was remembered as one of the darkest moments for the Indian cricket team’s batting performance all throughout this test match.
In the test played in Manchester, the hosts won the toss and chose to bat first. The England team posted a challenging total of 347 runs and declared their inning with still one wicket to spare.
The Men in Blue crumbled against the pace of the Englishmen and ended up scoring only 58 runs in their first inning, which was their lowest score in a test inning to date. With only 58 runs on the board, the guests gave a massive lead of 289 runs to the England cricket team.
With an assuring lead, England decided to give their guest the massive challenge to follow on the trail. But as we said above, the darkness didn’t end for the Indian team as the entire team collapsed with 82 runs on the board. The England cricket team went on to win the game with a huge margin: an innings and a whopping 207 runs.
#3. Against Australia, 58 runs, 1947
After England, if there has been a team to trouble the Indian cricket team’s line up, it has been the Australian cricket team. Who can forget the stealth and pace of the Australian bowling department that troubled Indian batsmen for over two decades; 1990-2000 & 00-2010. With Brett Lee’s pace, Glen McGrath’s accuracy, and Shane Warne’s stealthy spins, the Australian bowling department was surely one of the best.
But it was during the year 1947, the year of Indian independence that India’s cricket team saw another deadly bowling spell from Australia. In the Brisbane Test, the Indian cricket team was given another insurmountable total by the Australian team. The hosts scored a total of 382 for the loss of 9 wickets in their first inning, showing their form and style.
Indian cricket team failed to take the challenge head-on and fell prey to the Australian cricket team’s bowling attack by getting all out on 58 runs. The horror didn’t end here as the Aussies let the visitors follow on and the Indian team again crumbled at the score of mere 98 runs.
#2. Against England, 42 runs, 1974
The Lord’s cricket ground is etched in the mind of every cricket fan. Yuvraj Singh’s-Mohammad Kaif’s run-chase, Saurav Ganguly’s shirt wave from the pavilion gallery, the match had all the ingredients for a memorable match.
But the cricket ground is also infamous for being the witness to one of India’s heartbreaking batting displays in Test cricket. Taking on the hosts, the visitors already had a mammoth total of 629 runs to make and then give a lead. But all was not lost in the match as the Indian cricket team managed to hold their footing and scored 302 in the first inning.
However, as it always happens, the true pain awaited in the third act of the match. The Indian cricket team was invited to follow on and the world of cricket saw a flurry of wickets as the Indian batting department succumbed to the pressure of a big total and was bowled out for only 42 runs.
#1. Against Australia, 36 runs, 2020
With a disastrous performance by team India, it seems that the year 2020 is in no mood to give respite to people.
Fans of Indian cricket team have always cheered its team for giving their fans a great show and going to the record books for their performance. But during the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy, Indian team’s batting performance was marked in the history books for a humiliating reason: having put the lowest total in Test cricket history.
The visitors won the toss and that’s where the silver lining ends. The Indian cricket team were able to score a measly 233 runs in their first innings.
The Indian bowlers however gave its batsman a chance to come back as they restricted the Kangaroos at just 191 runs. However, the horror came about during the third inning when the Australian pace attack disintegrated the Indian cricket team. With not a single Indian batsman reaching double figures, it was a shocking experience for cricketing fans worldwide. The Indian cricket team was restricted to 39 runs for the loss of 9 wickets after the tailender Shami was ruled out retired hurt.
This is now the lowest total in a Test innings for India in their cricketing history, a record cricket fans would love to forget, and one which the team would never think of breaking.
