India's five defeats by smallest margin by runs in Test history

Team India lost the first Test Match of the 5-match series to England in Hyderabad by 28 runs on Sunday. This was despite the home team taking a lead of 190 runs in the first innings. Ollie Pope played the innings of his life to help his side take a lead of 230 runs. 

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Tom Hartley then spun the Indian team in a web of spin as the debutant picked 7 wickets with the ball. The margin of loss was very close as KS Bharat and Ravichandran Ashwin battled to bring India back into the game. 

In this article, we take a closer look at the top five occasions India lost by a narrow margin. 

5- India vs England – lost by 31 runs– Edgbaston -2018

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Batting first England was bowled out for 287 with Joe Root scoring 80. In reply, India was bowled out for 274 with Virat Kohli scoring 149 which was his first century in England. In reply, England at one stage was struggling at 87/7 before Sam Curran’s 63 helped the home team reach 180. 

Ishant Sharma picked 5/51 as India had to score 193 runs to win which seemed pretty gettable. Ben Stokes did the damage with the ball as he picked 4/40 to bowl out the Indian side for just 162. Indian skipper Virat Kohli yet again top scored with 51 to take his match total to 200 runs. 

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4- India vs England – lost by 28 runs– Hyderabad – 2024

England won the toss and chose to bat first and were bowled out for 246 on the first day. India batted well to score 436 runs and take a lead of 190 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja scored fifties to help India reach a massive total. 

Ollie Pope then took over as he frustrated the Indian bowlers with his knock of 196. The young batter received good support to set India a total of 231 to win. In reply, India’s first four wickets were taken by Tom Hartley. Despite a brief resistance from Bharat and Ashwin, England held on to win the contest. The loss in Hyderabad was the smallest margin defeat in the modern era for India. 

3- India vs Pakistan – lost by 16 runs – Bengaluru – 1987

The fifth and final Test between India and Pakistan held special significance. This was the last time Sunil Gavaskar was set to play for India in the whites. After four drawn games the series came to life in Bengaluru. 

Pakistan batted first and were bowled out for 116 with Maninder Singh taking 7/27. In reply, India were all out for 145 as Iqbal Qasim and Tauseel Ahmed picked 5 wickets each. Team India then bowled out Pakistan for 245 as Ramiz Raja top-scored with 47 runs. 

Needing 221 to win, India were bowled out for 204 runs as Iqbal Qasim and Tauseef Ahmed yet again shared the spoils. Sunil Gavaskar playing his final innings was the 8th man out for 96 as India lost the game by the smallest of margins and the series at home. 

2- India vs Australia – lost by 16 runs – loss – Brisbane -1977

It was the start of the series between India and Australia with Brisbane hosting the first Test. The home team were bowled out for 166 as Bishan Bedi picked 5 wickets and Peter Toohey led the charge with 82 runs. India could only muster 153 in reply as Dilip Vengsarkar and G. Viswanath scored 46 and 45 runs each. 

In the second dig, Australia 327 thanks to Bob Simpson’s 89 and Peter Toohey’s 57. Needing 341 to win, Sunil Gavaskar led the spirited chase with 113 runs off 264 balls while Syed Kirmani scored 55. Bishan Bedi himself scored 26 but India suffered one of its Test match narrow losses by 16 runs and went 1-0 down in the series. 

1- India vs Pakistan – lost by 12 runs – Chennai -1999

Playing Test Cricket after nearly ten years, India and Pakistan played out a classic. Pakistan batted first and scored 238 with Moin Khan scoring 60 as Anil Kumble picked 6/70. India were bowled out for 254 thanks to Sourav Ganguly’s 54 and Rahul Dravid’s 53.

Shahid Afridi then took the Indian bowlers to task to score 141 runs off just 191 balls. Inzamam Ul Haq played patiently for his knock of 51 as Pakistan were all out for 286. India was set a target of 271 to win, and Sachin Tendulkar took it upon himself to take his team home. 

From 82/5, Sachin Tendulkar and Nayan Mongia added 136 runs for the sixth wicket. The Indian wicketkeeper in a bid to up the scoring rate was out for 52. From there Sachin waged a lone battle before he was out for 136 with just 17 needed. The rest of Indian batting collapsed as Pakistan won narrowly by 12 runs.