Indian Cricket team collapsed early on day four as some brilliant bowling by English all-rounder Ben Stokes and an equally impressive captainship by Joe Root handed England a win in the Birmingham Test. India started the day with Virat Kohli and Dinesh Karthik at the crease. The visitors needed another 84 runs to script a massive victory which could have laid the foundation for even greater things to come in the series. But they were jolted with Karthik departing soon and when Ben Stokes got the prized scalp of Kohli in addition to Mohammed Shami in one over, the writing was on the wall for India. Stokes got the last batsman Hardik Pandya caught at slip as India fell short by 31 runs to hand England the 1-0 lead in the series.

It was not the first time when India have wilted under pressure to collapse and surrender the match when things could have been different if batsmen would have shown some application out in the middle. Here we look at some of the previous instances of Indian batting collapsing in the last innings of a Test. Watch England’s Winning Moment Against India in the First Test at Edgbaston.

West Indies vs India 1997 (West Indies won by 38 runs): This would go down as one of the lowest points in India’s illustrious cricketing history. Set a target of paltry 120 in the fourth innings and with the likes of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Saurav Ganguly in the team, India was expected to coast through. But what happened was beyond explanation as every member of the team barring VVS Laxman departed for single digit score. India folded for 81 and lost the game and to some extent their pride too. There have been reports of Sachin Tendulkar in tears at the end of the game, such was the disappointment of the great man on losing this game.

India vs Pakistan 1999 (Pakistan won by 12 runs): This was the period of Indian cricket when the opposition knew it was Sachin Tendulkar who stood between them and a win whenever they played the Indians, be it home or away. In sultry conditions of Chennai when the heat could take a toll on the fittest of the players, India had to chase down a target of 271 to register a win over arch-rivals Pakistan. The little master struggling with back spasm held on the Indian innings as wickets continued to tumble on the other end. He forged a good partnership with Nayan Mongia as they came quite close to winning the game. When Sachin got out for a brilliant 136, the score was 254 with another 17 runs needed. But the last three batsmen folded for mere four runs as India lost the game which is etched in the memories of fans till date. Virat Kohli Slams Batsmen Following 31-Run Defeat Against England, Says Shot Selection Could Have Been Better.

Australia vs India 2014 (Australia won by 48 runs): Virat Kohli, the stand-in skipper scored hundred in each innings as India looked to upstage Australia in the second Test at Adelaide by chasing down a mammoth 364 runs. At one stage, the visitors were in total control with the score of 242-2 but inexplicably lost eight wickets for 73 runs to hand Australia a win. The sight of Wriddhiman Saha stepping down the track to hit spinner Nathan Lyon out of the stadium and losing his wicket was probably the lowest point for the Indians. The wicketkeeper had already smashed six and his role was only to assist Kohli in seeing out the win. The tail-enders quickly perished and so did Virat under pressure as India snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

South Africa vs India 2018 (South Africa won by 72 runs): The Indian team were on cloud nine after bundling out South Africa for 130 and needed 208 runs to win the game, a tough but gettable total. In reply, the Indian team never looked like getting even near the total right from the onset. The openers departed quickly while the middle order could not cope up with the pace battery of the home team. Vernon Philander grabbed six wickets in the second innings that included making light work of the tail-enders to hand India a crushing defeat.

These stories depict a sad tale of India’s failure in the past but with four more Tests to go in England, the team should regroup and hope to learn from its mistakes to avoid another setback if they are out chasing a total in the fourth innings of the game.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 04, 2018 10:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).