The Great Game Called Cricket...

Smallest margin of victory (by wickets)
Winner Margin Opposition Ground Match Date Scorecard
England 1 wicket v Australia The Oval 11 Aug 1902 Test # 74
South Africa 1 wicket v England Johannesburg 2 Jan 1906 Test # 88
England 1 wicket v Australia Melbourne 1 Jan 1908 Test # 97
England 1 wicket v South Africa Cape Town 1 Jan 1923 Test # 149
Australia 1 wicket v West Indies Melbourne 31 Dec 1951 Test # 345
New Zealand 1 wicket v West Indies Dunedin 8 Feb 1980 Test # 873
Pakistan 1 wicket v Australia Karachi 28 Sep 1994 Test # 1268
West Indies 1 wicket v Australia Bridgetown 26 Mar 1999 Test # 1453
West Indies 1 wicket v Pakistan St John's 25 May 2000 Test # 1497
Pakistan 1 wicket v Bangladesh Multan 3 Sep 2003 Test # 1658
Sri Lanka 1 wicket v South Africa Colombo (PSS) 4 Aug 2006 Test # 1812
India 1 wicket v Australia Mohali 1 Oct 2010 Test # 1972
England 2 wickets v Australia The Oval 11 Aug 1890 Test # 34
Australia 2 wickets v England Sydney 3 Dec 1907 Test # 96
England 2 wickets v South Africa Durban 16 Dec 1948 Test # 306
Australia 2 wickets v West Indies Melbourne 10 Feb 1961 Test # 506
India 2 wickets v Australia Mumbai (BS) 10 Oct 1964 Test # 567
Australia 2 wickets v India Perth 16 Dec 1977 Test # 811
West Indies 2 wickets v England Nottingham 5 Jun 1980 Test # 880
New Zealand 2 wickets v Pakistan Dunedin 9 Feb 1985 Test # 1012
West Indies 2 wickets v Pakistan Bridgetown 22 Apr 1988 Test # 1097
Pakistan 2 wickets v England Lord's 18 Jun 1992 Test # 1190
Australia 2 wickets v South Africa Port Elizabeth 14 Mar 1997 Test # 1360
England 2 wickets v South Africa Centurion 14 Jan 2000 Test # 1483
Sri Lanka 2 wickets v Pakistan Rawalpindi 26 Feb 2000 Test # 1485
England 2 wickets v West Indies Lord's 29 Jun 2000 Test # 1503
India 2 wickets v Australia Chennai 18 Mar 2001 Test # 1539
Australia 2 wickets v South Africa Johannesburg 31 Mar 2006 Test # 1795
Australia 3 wickets v England Manchester 16 Jul 1896 Test # 51
England 3 wickets v South Africa Johannesburg 26 Feb 1910 Test # 108
England 3 wickets v Australia Melbourne 29 Dec 1928 Test # 178
England 3 wickets v South Africa Port Elizabeth 5 Mar 1949 Test # 313
Australia 3 wickets v West Indies Brisbane 9 Nov 1951 Test # 340
South Africa 3 wickets v England Manchester 7 Jul 1955 Test # 410
Australia 3 wickets v West Indies Georgetown 31 Mar 1978 Test # 822
India 3 wickets v West Indies Chennai 12 Jan 1979 Test # 841
England 3 wickets v Pakistan Leeds 26 Aug 1982 Test # 933
Pakistan 3 wickets v England Karachi 2 Mar 1984 Test # 978
Pakistan 3 wickets v Sri Lanka Faisalabad 2 Jan 1992 Test # 1182
West Indies 3 wickets v England Port of Spain 5 Feb 1998 Test # 1398
England 3 wickets v West Indies Port of Spain 13 Feb 1998 Test # 1399
Pakistan 3 wickets v Zimbabwe Harare 21 Mar 1998 Test # 1412
England 3 wickets v Sri Lanka Kandy 7 Mar 2001 Test # 1532
South Africa 3 wickets v Sri Lanka Centurion 15 Nov 2002 Test # 1626
West Indies 3 wickets v Australia St John's 9 May 2003 Test # 1645
England 3 wickets v Australia Nottingham 25 Aug 2005 Test # 1762
Australia 3 wickets v Bangladesh Fatullah 9 Apr 2006 Test # 1797
New Zealand 3 wickets v Bangladesh Chittagong 17 Oct 2008 Test # 1888
Pakistan 3 wickets v Australia Leeds 21 Jul 2010 Test # 1965
Records includes the following current or recent matches:
India v Australia at Mohali, 1st Test, Oct 1-5, 2010 [Test # 1972 - Live]
» India 216/9 (58.4 ov, PP Ojha 5*, VVS Laxman 73*, MG Johnson 0/50) - Match over
England v Pakistan at Lord's, 4th Test, Aug 26-29, 2010 [Test # 1971]
England v Pakistan at The Oval, 3rd Test, Aug 18-21, 2010 [Test # 1970]

Australia's bowlers had been wary of VVS Laxman, despite his bad back, going into the fifth day at Mohali, Ricky Ponting has said. Laxman overcame his injury to play another nerveless innings against his favourite opposition and shepherd the tail to victory.

"Just having some dinner last night with a few guys I was sitting with, I really felt that [we should beware] the wounded player [Laxman], and batting down the order I felt he would make a big contribution today," Ponting said. "I was trying to make sure that we weren't thinking they were going to be a batsman down again in the second innings and get too carried away."

Laxman batted at No. 10 in the first innings and sat out the fourth morning as Australia set India a target. He could not bat at his usual No. 6 position on the fourth evening as India's chase ran into rough weather. The Indian team said he would bat on the last day if required, and he walked out at the fall of the nightwatchman Zaheer Khan. Laxman stood tall as India lost wickets and guided the tail to victory.

"Even with that [bad back] today he showed what sort of class player he is," Ponting said. "He has been a bit of a thorn in our side there's no doubt about that, I guess him and Sachin [Tendulkar] would be the two who've done the most damage over the years, a couple of guys who've played a lot against us and have got good records against us. I hope his back's pretty sore for next week as well and he can't play."

Things went against Australia through the fifth day. Doug Bollinger, who had joined the team late after the Champions League, was forced off the field with an abdominal strain in the middle of a very good spell. Then, with India's last pair requiring six runs to win the game, Pragyan Ojha survived a close lbw shout and Steven Smith missed a direct hit that could have ended the match, but ended up conceding four overthrows.

"That's what we expect from our guys, we expect that when there's a half chance there that they'll want to take it. There's no blame at all towards Smith for having a shot at the stumps, if that was me I would have done exactly the same thing.

"It probably doesn't help," Ponting said of Bollinger's hurried preparation for the game after the Champions League. "But he had been bowling, and that was one positive for Doug, that he had been playing competitive cricket. He probably hasn't been bowling the amount of overs in the Champions Leauge that some of the others have had coming over here, but he has been playing and arrived a couple of days before the game.

"I thought his spell today was probably the best he's bowled during the game, so disappointing for him to go down at the end there. I went to grab his hat off him for the start of his next over and he said he felt some pain in one of his abdominals, and being a fast bowler and having that sort of injury I just sent him off the ground straight away."

The match was marred by some questionable umpiring decisions. Michael Hussey and Gautam Gambhir got rough calls on the fourth day, while Ishant Sharma was sent on his way today with the game in the balance, before the lbw appeal against Ojha. After a match of such close margins, Ponting reaffirmed his faith in the UDRS, the use of which had been refused by India at the start of this series.

"I'm a big supporter of the UDRS, I actually queried the ICC before the series started about the reason why we weren't using the system," Ponting said. "One thing I know about the system so far is that you definitely get more correct decisions in a game of cricket than you do without it, we understand how difficult a job it is for the umpires out there. There's no doubt, take this Test match alone, with the use of the system here I think we would've have a lot more right decisions in the game."

MS Dhoni hailed the duo of VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma for their match-winning stand of 81 that helped India fight back after being reduced to a seemingly hopeless 124 for 8. Laxman played a decisive role in guiding India to a second successive win while chasing, following up his unbeaten century against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval with 73, also undefeated, to seal a one-wicket win and spark off wild celebrations.

"VVS was really remarkable in this match. He helped the team overcome a batting collapse. Laxman remained at the crease, hit boundaries, rotated the strike and kept the scoreboard moving all the time," Dhoni said after the match. "For me, it was a very special innings by Laxman."

Laxman's performance stood out as he played with a sore back, a niggle that forced him to drop down the order in the first innings and bat with a runner in the second. He was supported admirably by Ishant, who scored a determined 31 to revive India's hopes after Australia's seamers had put their team in sight of a win. "Ishant showed good character when the batting collapse took place. It was no doubt a big task. Only two-three batsmen remained and Laxman was on the other end. But they supported Laxman well and that worked for us," Dhoni said. "Our heart rate went up. Nobody could imagine such an ending in four-and-a-half days when the match started."

India's target of 216 was not the most intimidating but Australia's fast bowlers hit back on the fourth evening to limit India to 55 for 4, and continued to make steady inroads on the final day to leave the hosts reeling. Ricky Ponting, the Australia captain, rued the unavailability of Doug Bollinger - who had to leave the field with abdominal stiffness - against the lower order. "We failed to take a couple of wickets quickly," he said. "Bollinger's injury probably didn't help us there; we needed a fresh bowler to give it a shake but that's the game.

"Full credit to India; they outplayed us today. We tried our best. It was satisfying effort from the boys. I told them to just take the scorecard out of the mind. The partnership between Ishant and Laxman was great and it made the difference."

VVS Laxman overcame his sore back to become the hero of a nail-biting one-wicket victory for India, who retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in dramatic fashion in Mohali. In one of the most memorable finishes in recent history, Pragyan Ojha picked up two leg-byes off Mitchell Johnson to seal the result, which until that delivery could also have been a tie or an Australian win.

The match was firmly in Australia's grasp when the No. 10 Ishant Sharma joined Laxman with 92 runs still required, but the pair ground Australia down and left a dejected Ricky Ponting still winless as a Test captain in India. The visitors' hopes were raised again when Ben Hilfenhaus (4 for 57) trapped Ishant lbw - although the ball would have missed leg stump - with 11 runs needed.

In the final, chaotic scenes, Australia continued to attack, desperate for one wicket. They thought they had it two balls before the winning runs were struck, when Mitchell Johnson rapped Ojha on the pads only to have a strong lbw shout denied. Adding to the commotion, Ojha wandered out of his crease and a throw from gully that would have found him short missed the stumps and ran away for four overthrows.

When the winning leg-byes arrived, the Indian players streamed onto the field as the Australians thrust hands on heads. For sheer on-field tension, the finish ranked up there with Australia's last-minute SCG win of 2007-08. But that match was overshadowed by claims of poor sportsmanship; this time there should be no such post-script.

On that occasion Ishant was the last man out as the sun set over Sydney; in Mohali he was every bit as important as Laxman, with a defiant innings of 31 in their partnership of 81. But Laxman was the star. The Australians will wonder how they let such a golden opportunity slip; the answer lies in the hands, or wrists, of one of their chief tormentors of recent years.

Entering the final day, Ponting's men feared Sachin Tendulkar, who went to stumps unbeaten on 10, much more than they were concerned about Laxman. They knew that in the first innings VVS had been very, very sore. He'd batted at No. 10, with a runner, and was hampered in his strokeplay. Two days later, the man with the most unique initials in cricket was very, very stubborn.

Again he had a runner, Suresh Raina, but just as important were the eight boundaries he struck in his 73, which came from 79 deliveries. Had he not started to farm the strike in the dying stages, he would have finished with a strike-rate of more than 100 for only the fourth time in his 188 Test innings.

Laxman flicked the ball through gaps and was always looking to counterattack as Ponting continued to set aggressive fields. His approach was critical, for Australia had all the momentum in the hour before lunch when Doug Bollinger, who did not take the field after lunch due to abdominal stiffness, made two breakthroughs, including the key wicket of Tendulkar for 38.

But try as they might, Australia under Ponting simply haven't been able to close out a victory in India. In 2008 he was over-defensive, failing to push for wickets and grab opportunities when they arose. This time Ponting didn't do much wrong; Laxman was just too good.

India began the day needing 161 runs and for an hour they were cruising, as Tendulkar and Laxman brought the target down with a rapidity that alarmed Ponting. Nathan Hauritz had picked up the night-watchman Zaheer Khan, caught at slip, but was leaking runs and when he conceded 14 off an over, Ponting knew the fast men were his only option.

Cheers went around the ground as Tendulkar passed 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the sixth time in his career, and it seemed that he was destined to deliver India to victory. But his desire to score quickly brought his undoing, when he tried to cut Bollinger over the cordon to the vacant third-man region.

The ball was too close to his body and he steered it to gully, where Michael Hussey grabbed the sharp chance. Tendulkar was gone, and the atmosphere cooled down slightly as the runs began to dry up. Then came the second big moment of joy for Australia, when the presence of a runner cost MS Dhoni his wicket.

Laxman drove Bollinger to mid-on and his runner Raina took off for what should have been a comfortable single. But Dhoni appeared confused by Laxman remaining in his ground and the hesitation was enough to give hope to the fielder Hilfenhaus, whose superb direct hit at the striker's end finished Dhoni's stay on 2.

When Bollinger's fast, well-directed bouncer had a fending Harbhajan Singh caught at slip two balls later, Australia were in control. Laxman and Ishant had other ideas, and the rest is history. The great shame is that this is only a two-match series.

Smart Stats

* This was India's first one-wicket victory in Tests and the 12th such result overall. India's two closest victories previously were by a margin of two wickets, both coming against Australia.
* This was the 17th occasion when India has won a Test after conceding a lead. In eight of these matches, they have batted second and on the other nine occasions, they have batted first. Nine of these victories have come against Australia.
* The 81-run partnership for the ninth wicket between VVS Laxman and Ishant Sharma was the second-highest against Australia, behind the 89-run stand between Harbhajan Singh and Irfan Pathan in 2004. It was also the second-highest ninth-wicket stand for India in the fourth innings of Tests.
* During that 81-run stand, Ishant played 71% of the total deliveries (92 out of 130).
* Laxman is one of the few batsmen who averages more in the second innings in Tests. He averages 45.67 in the first innings, but 50.47 with five centuries in the second innings.
* India have a win-loss ratio of 4.00 in Mohali, the best among all home venues that have hosted ten or more matches.
* Sachin Tendulkar became the only batsman to aggregate 1000 runs in a calendar year for the sixth time, surpassing Ricky Ponting, Brian Lara and Matthew Hayden, who have done so on five occasions each.