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India do find themselves in a precarious situation after all having not done themselves any favours after not only losing at Lord's, as seen recently, but even the opening Leeds contest. A fighting win at Edgbaston notwithstanding, the focus right now is on a desperate win that the visitors will hope to achieve, even as statistically speaking and purely from a historical perspective, it might not be that easy to attain, miracles kept aside. Despite hitting five centuries in the same Test as seen earlier on in this particular series, India still went down to England and that particular episode was definitely a shocker. But having said that, having come so desperately close to a win at Lord's, which was eventually defied by England, the focus is on an ailing India. Ailing because several of its players are currently battling injuries as England are a step closer, as most would feel, towards another fine series win. That being said, let us focus on the list of teams to win a test series after trailing 1-2 in a five-match tour.
List of teams to win a Test series after trailing 1-2 in a five-match tour:
West Indies vs Australia in 1992-93
The West Indies in the very early part of the nineties may have seemed a side in which the cracks had begun to appear, but their steep decline, as evident eventually in the years that followed, was still at some distance as far as that time period was concerned.
That team still very much had Ambrose and Walsh with Lara on song.
But after a sedate draw at the Gabba in Brisbane, followed by a sad defeat at the MCG (wherein Australia won by 139 runs), the focus came to Sydney. It's where Brian Lara struck his maiden Test ton ever - an inspiring 277, a herculean effort that led his team to a whopping 606, which was in reply to Australia's 503 in the first inning. Even Richie Richardson led by an example and struck a fiery Test hundred, but Lara's poetic genius came as a whiplash attack to the Aussies, his mega double ton struck at a strike rate of 74.
England versus South Africa in 1998
England were hosting South Africa back in the summer of 1998 when a series of remarkable Test matches truly upheld the spirit of competition underlining the sheer thrill that is international red-ball cricket.
Interestingly, by the time England finished the opening two Tests in that particular five-match series, the hosts had already been blunted and their home grounds breached by typical South African resilience.
The first Test in Birmingham earned a draw, followed by a crushing 10-wicket defeat conceded to South Africa and that too, at Lord's.
Some signs of a comeback were sought immediately at Old Trafford, in Manchester and to a reasonable extent the same was achieved as following Lord's hammering, this game ended in a draw.
But as England looked to the fourth game, led by Alec Stewart, a win still remained elusive. However, it is exactly what came to light in the contest at Trent Bridge, Nottingham as the trinity of Ramprakash, Butcher and Atherton came to the fore and defied South Africa whose Hansie Cronje had hit a fighting century in the fourth Test. The rest was done by Angus Fraser, perhaps still one of the most underrated fast bowlers of his time, of any time!
After restricting the Protea to 208 in the third innings, England silenced their doubters by completing a fine run-chase, taking the proceedings to Leeds for the final Test.
And it was here where Mark Butcher perhaps fired his most important ton against South Africa, scoring a solid 116 at the top with his teammates, Fraser and Gough coming good with the red ball, sharing eight of South Africa's ten wickets between them in the first innings.
Nasser Hussain's crafty 94 in England's second innings gave more credence to the side and in the end, South Africa were shell shocked by a gutsy 6-for by Darren Gough, who bowled 23 overs in that fourth inning. The team emerged triumphant in the end.
The game stretched and eventually ended in a draw. The next contest was in Adelaide, where sir Curtly Ambrose attacked the Aussies, snubbing the hosts, courtesy a fine spell of 6-for in the first inning, which was followed by a 4-for in the fourth innings. Resultantly, the Windies won in a thrilling fashion, by 1-run. An effort sublime in that, they hadn't won a single Test in that series.
Finally, game five of that series took place at Perth's WACA, where the Aussies were bundled out for 119 and 178, thanks to Ambrose and Bishop magic; the dynamic and gutsy pacers claiming 13 of Australia's 20 wickets in the game. Thus, the Windies magically turned a corner in that five-match series, winning a low scoring contest with the might of the red-ball.
Australia against England in 1936-37
Nearly nine decades back in the day, Australia's Test cricket team demonstrated great resilience and a strong sense of team performance to bounce back strongly against England in what was an engaging Test series.
That is when Australia were down and nearly out as far as the series' outcome was concerned, trailing their opponents by a margin of 2-0.
Australia's comeback from a losing position was inspirational and thrilling in equal fashion with the Aussies bouncing back strongly to win the contests in the end by a margin of 3-2 and in so doing, turning the tables quite drastically.
What was legendary about this particular Ashes contest was that this was the first time ever that Sir Don Bradman happened to captain his Australia side. As a matter of fact, his captaincy did come under intense scrutiny after his side lost the opening two games of the series, only to strike a hat-trick of wins in what was to follow.
Memorable centuries from others around Sir Bradman also shone brightly, for instance, Fingleton's strong and defiant ton against the English. It still is the only time a Test team has happened to win a five-game series having lost the opening two Tests. On that occasion, Australia did retain the Ashes.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
So far, how many teams have won a Test series after trailing 1-2 in a 5-match series?
Only thrice in men's Test cricket history has a team won a 5-game series being 1-2 down and trailing the opponent - once each in 1936-37, 1992-92 and 1998.
Have India ever won a 5-game series after trailing 1-2 to its opponent?
Thus far, India have never ever won a Test series after trailing its opponent by a margin of 1-2, which is something evident even right now.
