The great escapes

After the recent Johannesburg Test, which Australia won by two wickets, a reader, Matt May, asked what has been the farthest a team has been from a target at the fall of each wicket before going on to still win the match. At the Wanderers, Australia were 95 runs away from victory when they lost their sixth wicket, that of Michael Hussey, but they went on to achieve the target of 310 to level the series.

This week's column contains lists of Tests in which a team was farthest from the target at the fall of the fifth wicket through to the ninth wicket but went on to win. Click here for the lists of matches for the first to the fourth wicket.

Bellerive Oval, Hobart, 1999. Chasing 369 for victory, Australia were 125 when they lost Ricky Ponting, their fifth wicket, against a Pakistan attack comprising Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq and Azhar Mahmood. They needed another 244 runs to win with Justin Langer and one-Test old Adam Gilchrist at the crease. Akram was certain he had Langer caught at the wicket on the fifth morning but umpire Peter Parker did not agree. A fabulous partnership followed. Langer scored 127, a painstaking innings complied over seven hours, while Gilchrist blitzed 149 off 163 balls. They added 238 in 59 overs and were separated only five runs away from victory, which Gilchrist sealed in the company of Shane Warne.

Most runs needed at the fall of the fifth wicket in a Test win

Team	FoW	Req	Score	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Australia	126/5	243	369/6	v Pakistan	Hobart	Nov 18, 1999	Test 1469
England	48/5	215	263/9	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1902	Test 74
West Indies	105/5	203	311/9	v Australia	Bridgetown	Mar 26, 1999	Test 1453
South Africa	89/5	195	287/9	v England	Johannesburg	Jan 2, 1906	Test 88
Sri Lanka	137/5	189	326/5	v Zimbabwe	Colombo (SSC)	Jan 14, 1998	Test 1395
Australia	95/5	179	275/8	v England	Sydney	Dec 13, 1907	Test 96
Pakistan	99/5	162	262/9	v Bangladesh	Multan	Sep 3, 2003	Test 1658
West Indies	124/5	158	282/7	v England	Port of Spain	Feb 5, 1998	Test 1398
Sri Lanka	201/5	151	352/9	v South Africa	Colombo (PSS)	Aug 4, 2006	Test 1812
Australia	165/5	145	310/8	v South Africa	Johannesburg	Nov 17, 2011	Test 2018

Old Wanderers, Johannesburg, 1906. South Africa were playing a Test after more than three years and were struggling at 105 for 6, chasing 284, against England. Gordon White and Dave Nourse revived the innings by adding 121 runs for the seventh wicket. White was dismissed for 81, with South Africa 58 runs away from victory, and the hosts soon slipped to 239 for 9. Nourse, who finished unbeaten on 93, added the required 45 runs with the No. 11, Percy Sherwell, who made 22, to give South Africa victory by one wicket.

Most runs needed at the fall of the sixth wicket in a Test win

Team	FoW	Req	Score	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
South Africa	105/6	179	287/9	v England	Johannesburg	Jan 2, 1906	Test 88
Australia	124/6	150	275/8	v England	Sydney	Dec 13, 1907	Test 96
Pakistan	179/6	135	315/9	v Australia	Karachi	Sep 28, 1994	Test 1268
India	122/6	132	256/8	v Australia	Mumbai (BS)	Oct 10, 1964	Test 567
West Indies	288/6	130	418/7	v Australia	St John's	May 9, 2003	Test 1645
Pakistan	132/6	129	262/9	v Bangladesh	Multan	Sep 3, 2003	Test 1658
England	93/6	128	221/7	v South Africa	Johannesburg	Feb 26, 1910	Test 108
West Indies	159/6	107	268/8	v Pakistan	Bridgetown	Apr 22, 1988	Test 1097
England	157/6	106	263/9	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1902	Test 74
India	119/6	97	216/9	v Australia	Mohali	Oct 1, 2010	Test 1972

National Stadium, Karachi, 1994. Mark Taylor was leading Australia in a Test for the first time, having succeeded Allan Border as captain. He made a pair but was well placed to begin his term with a victory because Pakistan, chasing 314, needed 131 more when they lost Basit Ali, their seventh wicket. Inzamam-ul-Haq, batting at No. 8, lifted the chase from 184 for 7, adding 52 for the eighth wicket with Rashid Latif. At 258 for 9, however, with last man Mushtaq Ahmed for company, Inzamam was battling to avert Pakistan's first defeat in Karachi. They batted aggressively against an attack depleted by injuries to Craig McDermott, who did not play the match, and Glenn McGrath. The last-wicket partnership was worth 57 in 8.1 overs, the winning runs coming through four leg-byes after Inzamam charged Warne and Ian Healy failed to collect and complete a stumping.

Most runs needed at the fall of the seventh wicket in a Test win

Team	FoW	Req	Score	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Pakistan	184/7	130	315/9	v Australia	Karachi	Sep 28, 1994	Test 1268
Pakistan	164/7	97	262/9	v Bangladesh	Multan	Sep 3, 2003	Test 1658
India	122/7	94	216/9	v Australia	Mohali	Oct 1, 2010	Test 1972
Australia	185/7	89	275/8	v England	Sydney	Dec 13, 1907	Test 96
West Indies	180/7	86	268/8	v Pakistan	Bridgetown	Apr 22, 1988	Test 1097
England	198/7	84	282/9	v Australia	Melbourne	Jan 1, 1908	Test 97
England	187/7	76	263/9	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1902	Test 74
New Zealand	217/7	61	278/8	v Pakistan	Dunedin	Feb 9, 1985	Test 1012
West Indies	248/7	60	311/9	v Australia	Bridgetown	Mar 26, 1999	Test 1453
South Africa	226/7	58	287/9	v England	Johannesburg	Jan 2, 1906	Test 88

Mohali, 2010. It was the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and India needed 216 in the fourth innings to beat Australia. At 124 for 8 that looked unlikely. Australia had not yet dismissed VVS Laxman, though, and he had Ishant Sharma at the other end. Ishant contributed 31 to an 81-run partnership for the ninth wicket before falling lbw to Ben Hilfenhaus. Laxman, who had Suresh Raina for a runner, then shepherded India to their first one-wicket victory in Tests. He finished unbeaten on 73 after showing rare emotion on the field, yelling at Pragyan Ojha because of his running between the wickets during a tense finish.

Most runs needed at the fall of the eighth wicket in a Test win

Team	FoW	Req	Score	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
India	124/8	92	216/9	v Australia	Mohali	Oct 1, 2010	Test 1972
Pakistan	236/8	78	315/9	v Australia	Karachi	Sep 28, 1994	Test 1268
England	209/8	73	282/9	v Australia	Melbourne	Jan 1, 1908	Test 97
West Indies	248/8	60	311/9	v Australia	Bridgetown	Mar 26, 1999	Test 1453
West Indies	207/8	59	268/8	v Pakistan	Bridgetown	Apr 22, 1988	Test 1097
Pakistan	205/8	56	262/9	v Bangladesh	Multan	Sep 3, 2003	Test 1658
Australia	219/8	55	275/8	v England	Sydney	Dec 13, 1907	Test 96
South Africa	230/8	54	287/9	v England	Johannesburg	Jan 2, 1906	Test 88
New Zealand	228/8	50	278/8	v Pakistan	Dunedin	Feb 9, 1985	Test 1012
England	214/8	49	263/9	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1902	Test 74

St. John's, Antigua, 2000. Justice Qayyum's report on match-fixing had been published on the eve of the third Test between Pakistan and West Indies. Wasim Akram was on fire, and finished the match with 11 for 110. It wasn't enough for Pakistan, though. They had 216 to defend in the fourth innings and were on course to do so after West Indies crashed from 144 for 3 to 197 for 9. The last pair, Courtney Walsh and Jimmy Adams, were stuck at the same end at one point but Saqlain Mushtaq fluffed the run-out opportunity. West Indies had plenty of other fortunate moments earlier in the innings as well. Walsh eventually survived 24 balls, and Adams batted 212 deliveries for his 48 without hitting a boundary, as they added the 19 West Indies needed to win the series.

Most runs needed at the fall of the ninth wicket in a Test win

Team	FoW	Req	Score	Opposition	Ground	Start Date	Scorecard
Pakistan	258/9	56	315/9	v Australia	Karachi	Sep 28, 1994	Test 1268
South Africa	239/9	45	287/9	v England	Johannesburg	Jan 2, 1906	Test 88
England	243/9	39	282/9	v Australia	Melbourne	Jan 1, 1908	Test 97
Australia	222/9	38	260/9	v West Indies	Melbourne	Dec 31, 1951	Test 345
West Indies	197/9	19	216/9	v Pakistan	St John's	May 25, 2000	Test 1497
England	248/9	15	263/9	v Australia	The Oval	Aug 11, 1902	Test 74
India	205/9	11	216/9	v Australia	Mohali	Oct 1, 2010	Test 1972
West Indies	302/9	6	311/9	v Australia	Bridgetown	Mar 26, 1999	Test 1453
England	168/9	5	173/9	v South Africa	Cape Town	Jan 1, 1923	Test 149
New Zealand	100/9	4	104/9	v West Indies	Dunedin	Feb 8, 1980	Test 873