Temba Bavuma’s fighting innings has made India’s chances of winning the Kolkata Test a bit uncertain. India needs 124 runs to win, but chasing runs in the fourth innings at Eden Gardens has always been very difficult.
Even though 124 doesn’t look like a big target, the pitch is helping the spinners a lot. In just two days, more than 20 wickets have fallen, which shows how tough batting has become.
History also makes this chase tricky. In more than 90 years of Test matches at Eden Gardens, successful run-chases in the fourth innings are very rare. Only once has a team chased more than 100 runs here — and that was India in 2004.
Back then, India chased 117 against South Africa, with Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar guiding the team to victory.
Other successful chases at this ground have been much smaller:
India chased 79 vs England in 1993
England chased 41 vs India in 2012
Australia chased 39 vs India in 1969
So today, India’s target of 124 is the highest total anyone has ever tried to chase at this ground. With the pitch already difficult and spinning a lot, even a target of around 100 would have been hard. That’s why this chase is considered a big challenge.
