The Good Old Days

Padmanabh Joshi and Ramakant Desai vs Pakistan, 1960-61
9th wicket: 149

Two genuine tail-enders, for all practical purposes the last pair in because Subhas Gupte didn8217;t bat. Chasing the visitors8217; total of 350, the Mumbai scoreboard showed 300 when this pair came together. Desai, with a career batting average of 13 and Joshi 8 played beyond their credentials; Desai8217;s 85 and Joshi unbeaten 51 took the total to 449 and the partnership to a record that still stands.

Erapalli Prasanna and Dileep Sardesai vs West Indies 1970-71
9th wicket: 122

Day 1 of the First Test, Shillingford and Holder have India reeling at 75/5. But Sardesai wasn8217;t done; he scored 212 and even inspired Prasanna to hit 25. That pair put on 122 runs and India finished at 387. The match ended in a draw but without this stand, could India have gone on to win the series?

Eknath Solkar and Dileep Sardesai vs West Indies 1970-71
7th wicket: 186

Three Tests down the line, the series posed at 1-0, India 70/6 in reply to the islanders8217; 501. That man Sardesai again, rooted at one end while his top-order colleagues walked in and out. Enter Eknath Solkar, whose job profile was to take the shine off the ball for the spinners and then take stunning catches at sniffing distance from the batsmen. But his courageous 65, a gritty foil to Sardesai8217;s 150, with cameos from Venkat and Bedi, saved the follow-on and the match. History was just around the corner.

Sunil Gavaskar and Syed Kirmani vs West Indies, 1983-84
9th wicket: 143 unbeaten

Stinging from their defeat in the Prudential Cup final, the Windies came to India to settle scores and went to the final Test at Chennai leading 3-0. But the draw in the final Chennai Test saw a memorable event for India during an otherwise forgettable series. Sunil Gavaskar scored 236 not out in this rain-affected match. The Little Master8217;s score was the highest individual score until VVS Laxman overtook him last year.

But ask Gavaskar and he will tell you about the contribution of No.10 batsman Syed Kirmani. Kiri8217;s unbeaten 63 played no small role in Sunny reaching that figure.

Sachin Tendulkar and Manoj Prabhakar vs England, 19907th wicket: 160 unbeaten

This, the second Test of the series, was memorable for more than one reason: Anil Kumble made his debut and Tendulkar scored his first Test century.

And for No.7 batsman Manoj Prabhakar8217;s dogged 67, which helped India save the Test. India needed to score 418 on the last day of the Test and, with a session and a half to go, they were 183/6.

Sachin took the opportunity to turn from boy to man, Prabhakar to join the all-rounders8217; club. Both remained not out to score an unbeaten partnership 160 and at stumps India were 343/6.

Match saved and hearts won.

Rahul Dravid and Javagal Srinath vs New Zealand, 1998-99
8th wicket: 144

India down 0-1 before the third and final Test at Hamilton and padding up for another defeat. The openers had failed and, despite Sachin8217;s 67, India were down to 211/7. But not for nothing is Dravid called the Rock; he chipped and grafted his way to 190 he scored 103 in the second innings and, with help from Karnataka mate Srinath 77, took India a long way towards their 411. Too bad the bowlers couldn8217;t do their day job and win the match from there.

Harbhajan Singh and Sameer Dighe vs Zimbabwe, 2001
8th wicket stand: 72

Most would rate the match-winning four-run stand between these two against Australia in the third and decisive Chennai Test in the historic series higher. But in the very next Test, the two players were involved in yet another crucial partnership. At Bulawayo, chasing 173 in the first innings, their stand Bhajji 66, Dighe 47 took India a long way towards a lead of 145. A lead that saw them win the first match overseas for a zillion years. Does anyone believe it was just a year ago?

All Stats by Pervez Qaiser