The 10 Greatest Test-Saving Performances Of Modern Cricket

ISLAMABAD: While Pakistan stare at defeat at Lord’s, chasing an imposing 389-run target against England, a few days earlier in Colombo, Sonal Dinusha and Sri Lanka produced a match-saving masterclass against India.

That heroic act serves as the perfect prompt for WE News English to rank the 10 greatest last-day escapes since 2000, performances that turned certain defeat into glorious draws against all odds. From Sydney to Wellington, these are stories of defiance, patience, and cricketing courage that saved the game when hope seemed lost.

The criterion

This list does not include innings or partnerships that resulted in victories. It only considers performances that stretched into the final day of drawn Test matches, beginning on or after January 1, 2000. These are the acts of defiance that saved the game, even when winning was out of reach.

Ten greatest test match-saving acts of the 21^st century

Hanuma Vihari and R Ashwin – Sydney, 2020/21

At 250/3, India looked set to chase 407 for a historic win. Then two quick wickets fell, and Vihari suffered a hamstring injury that forced India to shut up shop.

🇦🇺 1 – 1 🇮🇳

R Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari bat through the session; the Test ends in a draw

We go to Brisbane with the series on the line#AUSvIND

— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) January 11, 2021

With more than three hours left, a back-stricken Ashwin joined his partner. Ravindra Jadeja waited in the pavilion with a dislocated thumb, unable to bat. Australia threw everything, bouncers, verbal barbs, and relentless aggression, but Vihari and Ashwin stood firm. India saved the Test and went on to clinch a historic series victory in the next match.

Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan – Karachi, 2021/22

On a lifeless pitch, Pat Cummins dared Pakistan to chase 506 or bat out nearly two full days. From 21/2, Shafique (96) and Babar (196) fought valiantly into the final day. Australia struck twice more, but Babar found another ally in Rizwan (104*), adding 115 crucial runs.

Pakistan did not go for the kill, but they did not lose either. Babar’s ten-hour vigil ended with Pakistan on 392, and Rizwan ensured the Test was saved.

Sonal Dinusha and Co. – SSC, Colombo, 2026

Spiritually similar to several entries on this list, this performance deserves its place. Sri Lanka, bowled out for 290 on the fourth morning, faced India’s massive 503/9.

🇱🇰 WHO IS SONAL DINUSHA? 👀

From a financially struggling background to becoming India biggest headache in this Test series.

Dinusha once dreamed of becoming a left-arm spinner, but worked relentlessly on his batting. His coach revealed that he would spend 2 – 3 hours… pic.twitter.com/ZyuiR8PQLp

— Mufaddal Atif (@MufaddalAtif) August 27, 2026

At 229/6 at stumps on day four, India sensed victory. But they had not reckoned with Dinusha. Scoring his second hundred of the Test (and third of the series), Dinusha found unlikely allies in Keshara Nuwantha (150 balls of defiance) and Lahiru Kumara (90 balls). India threw everything, but Dinusha stood unbeatable until the final ball.

Kusal Mendis and Angelo Mathews – Wellington, 2018/19

Trailing by 296 in the first innings, Sri Lanka slipped to 13/3 on the third evening. New Zealand could not take another wicket after that.

Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, and Ajaz Patel bowled their hearts out, but Mendis (141) and Mathews (120) batted through the entire fourth day and into the fifth. Rain eventually arrived to seal the draw, but by then, the pair had already secured a famous escape.

Darren Bravo – Dunedin, 2013/14

This was a third-innings masterclass after West Indies followed on, trailing by 396 runs with over two and a half days left. It was an unwinnable position, but Bravo knew a draw was possible. He batted for nine and a half hours to score 218, continuing until the innings defeat had been averted.

Daren Sammy then pushed New Zealand’s target to 112, and Shane Shillingford’s quadruple strike ensured the hosts could not reach it before rain arrived.

Gautam Gambhir and Co. – Napier, 2008/09

At 10 hours and 43 minutes, Gambhir’s 137 is the longest innings on this list. He came to bat on the third evening after New Zealand asked India to follow on with a 314-run lead. He batted well into the final day, finding support from Rahul Dravid (62 in four hours) and VVS Laxman (124* in four and a half hours).

India drew the Test, held on to the series lead, and eventually won their first series in New Zealand since 1975/76.

Shai Hope, Justin Greaves, Kemar Roach – Christchurch, 2025/26

Hope had not scored a Test hundred since Headingley 2018, but he ended that drought in the previous Test. Here, he walked in at 72/4 chasing 531, partnering with Greaves (who averaged just 23 at the time). The pair added 196, but New Zealand struck twice.

Then came Roach, without a Test fifty in 85 matches, who batted for nearly five hours alongside Greaves to save the game. This stunning effort misses the top three only because two Kiwi bowlers, Matt Henry and Nathan Smith, were injured, making the resistance slightly easier.

Abdul Razzaq and Kamran Akmal – Mohali, 2004/05

Similar to Dinusha’s effort, this one ranks higher because it came in an overseas Test, and the Indian bowlers were not fatigued by consecutive innings. With a 204-run lead, India had Pakistan at 257/6 at stumps on day four. But Razzaq (71) and Akmal (109) refused to surrender.

Captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was so anxious he chose not to watch most of the day. He could have; Anil Kumble found little support from the fast bowlers, and Pakistan escaped.

Brendon McCullum and Co. – Wellington, 2013/14

McCullum lifted New Zealand from 94/5 in the second innings, needing another 152 just to make India bat again. They batted for more than two days. BJ Watling (124) stayed eight and a half hours alongside McCullum, adding 359.

New Zealand’s first Test triple-centurion 🇳🇿#OnThisDay in 2014, Brendon McCullum went big against India in Wellington 🙌 pic.twitter.com/lmMXwFm2vv

— Cricinfo (@cricinfo) February 18, 2023

Debutant Jimmy Neesham’s hundred then took the game beyond India’s reach. After 15 wickets in 87 overs, India managed just three more in the next 167.2 overs. McCullum’s 302 remains the highest individual Test score for New Zealand and only the second triple-hundred in the third innings of a Test.

Faf du Plessis and Co. – Adelaide, 2012/13

What if you defend and do nothing else? Down to 45/4 in the fourth innings, South Africa realised that strokeplay, and even runs, were irrelevant. AB de Villiers defended for four hours to score 22.

🏏 110* off 376 balls
🏏 466 minutes#OnThisDay in 2012, Faf du Plessis played a marathon innings on debut to hold Australia to a draw in Adelaide.

Is this your favourite Faf du Plessis knock? pic.twitter.com/gVQNH6lYxz

— ICC (@ICC) November 26, 2020

Jacques Kallis stayed put for two and a half hours. At the other end was debutant du Plessis, whose impregnable defence the Australians found impossible to breach.

As the tail chipped in, du Plessis followed his first-innings 78 with a 466-minute 110 not out. He and his teammates gave the cricketing world the word “blockathon.”

Now, as Pakistan’s batsmen sweat under overcast Lord’s skies, staring at an improbable 389-run target with their top order already back in the pavilion, they would do well to draw inspiration from the heroes on this list.

Dinusha’s latest heroics at the SSC against India serve as a timely reminder that on the final day of a Test, runs matter less than time. The clock becomes the batsman’s greatest ally, and the boundary line fades into irrelevance.

For Pakistan, the equation is simple yet brutal: bat out nearly 90 overs against a fired-up England attack, or surrender the series. History shows that miracles are possible, but they require not just skill, but extraordinary character.

Whether Babar Azam and his men can summon their own “blockathon” moment at Lord’s remains to be seen. But as the sun sets on the fourth day, one thing is certain: Test cricket’s capacity to produce theatre, tension, and timeless defiance remains unmatched.