#Thread

On its 3rd anniversary in 2003, Wisden Asia, helped by some of the most eminent jury members, chose 25 greatest innings played by Indian batsmen in tests.

NSG takes a walk down the memory lane through these 25 great innings.

All photo credits : Wisden Asia

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25) Chandu Borde : 96 Vs WI, Delhi, 1959. Came against WI attack comprising of Gilchrist & Hall. DK Gaekwad recalls there was a bit of Hazare in his game

24) Vijay Manjrekar : 133 Vs Eng, Leeds, 1952. Vijay Hazare says, pace & spin came alike to Manjrekar that day

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23) Mohinder Amarnath : 91 Vs WI, Barbados, 1983. Amarnath was in the form of his life. Rajan Bala calls it one of the bravest innings.

22) Azharuddin : 121 Vs Eng, Lords, 1990. Harsha Bhogle says Azhar only seemed to hit the gaps every time he hit the ball.

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21) Lala Amarnath : 118 Vs Eng, Bombay, 1933. 22 year old debutant showing confidence agst seasoned Eng side made Madhav Mantri bristle with pride.

20) Rahul Dravid : 270 Vs Pak, Rawalpindi, 2004. He was controller, pilot & navigator of Ind innings - Sharda Ugra

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19) Sachin Tendulkar : 136 Vs Pak, Chennai, 1999. Knock played under pressure of most extreme kind agst the likes of Akram, Waqar & Saqlain, is how Dravid puts it.

18) Mushtaq Ali : 112 Vs Eng, Manchester, 1936. India's first maverick and dare devil opener.

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17) Dilip Sardesai : 112 Vs WI, PoS, 1971. Century from the renaissance man underpinned India's 1st victory in the WI.

16) Sachin Tendulkar : 114 Vs Aus, Perth, 1992. Teenager scoring a century at Perth left many Australians wanting for more. One of his very best.

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15) Dilip Vengsarkar : 102 Vs Eng, Leeds, 1986. Subroto Sirkar - In cold conditions, no Eng batsman made over 45. Vengsarkar alone scored 61 & 102*

14) MAK Pataudi : 75 Vs Aus, Melbourne, 1967. Astonishing innings played with one leg and one eye - KN Prabhu

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13) Rahul Dravid : 180 Vs Aus, Kolkata, 2001. Though overshadowed by masterful knock of 281 by VVS, Dravid's innings was equally crucial, says Bhogle.

12) GR Vishwanath : 139 Vs WI, Calcutta, 1974. India were 0-2 down, when GRV played sublime knocks of 52 & 139.

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11) Rahul Dravid : 148 Vs Eng, Headingley, 2002. It was not Dravid's stroke play which won the match so much as his leaving of the ball, says Scyld Berry.

10) S M Gavaskar : 220 Vs WI, PoS, 1971. His dedication, concentration & determination were awesome - Wadekar

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9) SR Tendulkar : 155 Vs Aus, Chennai, 1998. Siddhu dented Warne's confidence by attacking him from the go. SRT took over from there

8) SM Gavaskar : 221 Vs Eng, Oval, 1979. He was so assured - never in a rush or afflicted by lapse in concentration - Peter Willey

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7) Vinoo Mankad : 184 Vs Eng, Lords, 1952. Test was known as Mankad's test. He scored 72 & 184 & took a 5fer

8) SM Gavaskar : 96 Vs Pak, Bangalore, 1987. @BishanBedi says SMG batted intelligently. His patience was monumental & took great pride in his technique

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5) Vijay Hazare : 145 Vs Aus, Adelaide, 1948. He played beautifully and made it look easy. His hands moved up & down like a flute player - Dungarpur

4) V Sehwag : 309 Vs Pak, Multan, 2004. A virtuoso effort of controlled & cleverly calculated aggression - Dravid

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3) GR Vishwanath : 97* Vs WI, Madras, 1975. For several days after that innings the topic of discussion in every club was Vishy - V Sivaramakrishnan.

2) What I remember best from his innings is self denial. There have been few better team players - @sambitbal

1) VVS Laxman : 281 Vs Aus, Kolkata, 2001

Roebuck - It was not a dull attempt to delay defeat, but rather a display of inspired & thrilling cricket

Dravid - What impressed me the most was the quality of shot making

McGrath - It is something you would rather not remember

We at NSG enjoyed doing this thread.

We can only imagine how much exciting it must have been for all of you as jury members

@BishanBedi @sanjaymanjrekar @bhogleharsha @gulu1959 @cricketwallah @Ram_Guha @sureshnmenon @kaypeem @ClaytonMurzello @g_rajaraman @BoriaMajumdar