Greatest Tests: India's record home chase or South Africa's Adelaide blockathon?

In the lead-up to the World Test Championship final between Australia and South Africa at Lord's on June 11, ESPNcricinfo, Star Sports and JioHotstar are inviting you to help us pick the greatest Test of the 21st century. There are 32 contenders, with two Tests pitted against each other until we identify the winner. Get voting now.

India's triumph of belief vs England - Chennai, 2008

It was not a match India were supposed to win. For three days and two sessions at the Chepauk, England were on top. India were staring at a target close to 400, when nothing above 300 had ever been chased before in the country (and the highest target chased at the venue was 155).

But then the English bowlers were met with a belligerent Virender Sehwag, who laid down the platform for India to push for the win on the fifth day. Gautam Gambhir put in the grind at the top. And then Yuvraj Singh, with his Test credentials under the scanner, joined Sachin Tendulkar at the crease to take India over the line on a pitch with awkward bounce.

Tendulkar applied the icing on the cake, hitting the winning runs - which also brought up a fine fourth-innings century. Only six higher totals have been chased in Test history than the 387 by India in Chennai, only two of which have come in Asia, and none in India. It was a win, as ESPNcricinfo's Editor-in-Chief Sambit Bal noted at the time, forged by unwavering belief to go for the jugular and not just settle for a draw.
by Abhimanyu Bose

South Africa's blockathon vs Australia - Adelaide, 2012

If this Test was part of a video game, you'd autoplay the final innings once South Africa were 45 for 4. There were 110 overs to go, Nathan Lyon - who had been the curator at the Adelaide Oval, had a two-for. Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle almost hypnotically kept hitting a good length.

Faf du Plessis, on Test debut, joined AB de Villiers with a South Africa win out of the window. So, they abandoned the search for runs and committed to the blockathon for 408 balls despite nervy moments.

Du Plessis was given out lbw twice but overturned the decision using DRS; he also survived a sharp caught-behind chance with Matthew Wade standing up to the stumps. De Villiers faced 220 balls but when he was bowled by a nip-backer from Siddle, 60 overs still remained in the day.

The partnership between Jacques Kallis and du Plessis - 99 runs in 235 balls - wasn't as stoic but took up nearly 40 overs. Lyon got turn and bounce to dismiss Kallis and Siddle got a couple of tailenders. High resilience and hyper-aggressive fields led to 71 maidens in 149 overs, but couldn't stop du Plessis from getting a maiden ton and staying unbeaten as Morne Morkel played out Siddle.

For nearly four days, only one result seemed possible. Australia had done everything right. They made 550 at a run rate of 5.12 in their first innings on the back of Michael Clarke's 257-ball 230 and Michael Hussey's 137-ball 103. They had taken a 162-run lead and set a 430-run target which should have ensured a win.

There were no caveats or rain, just a once-in-a-lifetime exhibition of defensive batting that denied Australia a series lead. South Africa went on to win the next game and became the first team in the 21st century to win back-to-back Test series in Australia.
by Ekanth