The fine art of chasing

First New Zealand, then India, and now South Africa have elevated the elaborate task of chasing down stiff targets in a Test to a rare art form.

New Zealand scored 317 against Bangladesh in October and now in December, and in less than a week, India and South Africa made 387 and 414 respectively to win Tests in the most thrilling fashion.

All three victories were full of symbolism, significant achievements under adversity and, more pertinently, provided the right antidote to revitalise Test cricket at a time when all concerned seem busy preparing for its funeral.

New Zealand's feat may pale in comparison given the weak opposition, but the fact that it was achieved by a team restricted to 171 in the first innings made it look Herculean and in the end a justifiably heroic effort.

India's and South Africa's victory, on the other hand, were extensive and emotional efforts. Hence those memories and images more stirring and compelling. If Sachin Tendulkar, a Hindu, joined hands with Yuvraj Singh, a Sikh, to produce a match-winning partnership at Chennai, A B de Villiers, a Afrikaner educated in Affies, and debutant J P Duminy, a coloured boy who grew up in Western Cape, were the heroes of South Africa's greatest victory.

Zaheer Khan, a Muslim, joined Tendulkar and Yuvraj in celebrating a famous victory soon after the winning runs were scored to make for the most gripping images since the Taj Hotel was set on fire my mindless militants. It was symbolic of a secular nation sending out a universal message of unity.

In another continent, the South Africans had their own reasons to celebrate. Condemned as chokers for long, Graeme Smith and his men were on a dual mission - not only to erase bitter memories endured by a generation of cricketers before them, but also take a decisive crack at bringing down the world champions.

South Africa achieved both and with a lot of flair and flamboyance, and much to spare. As per records, they have now scored the second highest score in the fourth innings (414-4) behind West Indies' 418-7 against Australia at St John's in 2003.

Incidentally, South Africa could have gone past the West Indies' mark if De Villiers or Duminy had scored a six when the scores were tied on 413. That apart, there is no doubt that the magnitude of South Africa's victory is far greater than that of the West Indians.

After all, the South African victory has come in the first Test of a series while the West Indies' came in a dead rubber following defeats in the first three Tests of the 2003 series.

Talking of batting in the fourth innings. It is incomparable to any aspect of any other sport. It is not as quickfire as a final set tie-breaker in tennis or extra hole playoff in golf. Neither is it as compressed as a game of basketball gone into overtime or a soccer match spilled into a penalty shoot-out.

The fourth innings of a Test is far more complex and cunning even if the target is small but tricky or huge but not impossible. Also, there are as many external factors at play (like weather, the nature of the pitch) as internal strengths and weaknesses.

A team that has scored more than 400 runs in the first innings is not guaranteed to score even half of that in the fourth innings. But the reverse is possible and that in itself adds allure to the fourth innings and with it to Test cricket as a whole.

According to statistics on the Cricinfo website, only 25 times have teams successfully chased in excess of 300 in about 1,900 Tests, the last two coming in the past week. The then record chase of 404 for three, achieved by Australia against England at Leeds in 1948, stood for 28 years till India turned the cricket world on its head by scoring 406 for four to beat West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1976.

Since 2000, this feat has been achieved nine times, the highest in a single decade. According to the same source, it happened six times in the 1990s and just once in the 1980s. That was when Gordon Greenidge scored a sensational double-century to mastermind West Indies' 344 for one against England at Lord's.

To me, this is an anomaly or a baffling aberration. When a team can chase 300 plus in 50 overs of a one-day match at regular intervals, what stops it from going for the same target with at times twice that number of overs and sometimes with a night to plan things out.

Let me stir this up a little more. With the advent of Twenty20, more than half of those runs mentioned are scored in less than half that number of overs. Yet, it's starkly different in the fourth innings of a Test even though the majority of players involved and the pitch the match is played on may be the same.

The game of cricket has rich literature dwelling into its different aspects. There are many coaching manuals too, offering insights into various disciplines of the game right from A to Z.

But there is very little being written about the fourth innings sagas even though some of them are ripe and raw for a rush print. I think Tendulkar's batting in Chennai and Smith's leadership in Perth can make a good opening chapter.

As I sign off, India were 139 for four in the second innings and another Test looks set for a riveting fourth innings. More the merrier!