Fighting the follow-on

The follow-on has been an endangered species in Test cricket ever since Steve Waugh's decision to enforce it backfired so spectacularly at Eden Gardens in 2001. And the events in Napier this week will have weakened its case further. Leading by 314 runs in the first innings, New Zealand asked India to bat again. The visitors responded by batting 180 overs - Gautam Gambhir did not budge for nearly 11 hours - and scoring 476 for 4. It was the 12th highest total in a follow-on.

The highest total in a follow-on is 657 and both Pakistan and India have scored it. Pakistan were playing West Indies for the first time in Tests, at the Kensington Oval in 1958, and they were bowled out for 106 in 42.2 overs. They began their second innings on the third of six days, trailing by 473, facing a seemingly impossible task. However, Hanif Mohammad entrenched himself in the middle and played the longest innings in Test cricket. He defied an attack comprising Roy Gilchrist, Eric Atkinson, Collie Smith, Alf Valentine and Garry Sobers for 970 minutes and scored 337 - the highest individual score away from home and the only triple-century to date in a team's second innings. At the end of the third day, Pakistan were 162 for 1, trailing by 311 runs. By stumps on the fourth, they were 134 behind with eight wickets in hand, and by the end of the fifth, they were only 52 ahead with seven wickets left. Pakistan reached safety only on the final day and declared on 657 for 8 after batting for 319 overs, the second-longest innings in Tests.

India's 657 came against Australia in Kolkata in 2001, after facing a deficit of 274 because they had collapsed for 171 in the first innings. India slipped to 232 for 4 in the follow-on before VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid added 376 for the fifth wicket. Laxman made 281, while Dravid made 180, and they scored quickly enough to allow India to declare on the fifth day with a lead of 383, giving their bowlers enough time to bowl Australia out.

Laxman made a vital contribution during India's follow-on in Napier too. He came in early on the final day, with India trailing by 54 and only seven wickets in hand, and scored a fluent century. It was his second three-figure score in a follow-on; he has a half-century against New Zealand in Mohali as well. Laxman has an aggregate of 493 runs in the four times he has batted in a follow-on, and his average of 246.50 in such innings is by far the highest.

Michael Vaughan has scored three hundreds in follow-ons, the most by any batsman. The first was against Sri Lanka at Lord's in 2002, the next against Australia at the MCG in December that year, and the third against West Indies in Antigua in 2004, the game in which Brian Lara scored 400.

Apart from Dravid and Laxman, India had another person in their dressing room this week who had experience of forcing a draw against the odds. Their coach, Gary Kirsten, played the second longest Test innings to draw a match against England at Kingsmead in 1999. Kirsten batted 878 minutes and scored 275 - the third-highest score in a follow-on - to help South Africa wipe out a deficit of 210 and surge into the lead. Their total of 572 for 7 was also the third-highest score in a follow-on.

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