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Best Border-Gavaskar Trophy Tests: No.1

Laxman and Dravid stand defiant against Waugh's all-conquering Australians in Kolkata classic

India play Test No.500 against New Zealand in Kanpur next week, and to mark the occasion, cricket.com.au is counting down the best seven India v Australia Test matches since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy was introduced in 1996.

The two nations have played out some absolute classics in those 20 years, and they'll add another chapter to the rivalry when Australia tour India in February.

Best Border-Gavaskar Tests

7) A masterclass from the Little Master

6) An emotional tribute to a lost mate

5) Clarke heroics seal controversial victory

4) Waugh's words spur Dravid to heroic Test

3) Harbhajan the hero as India seal series

2) Injured Laxman the hero in Mohali thriller

1) Australia 445 (S Waugh 110, Hayden 97, Gillespie 46, Harbhajan 7-123) and 212 (Hayden 67, Harbhajan 6-73) lost to India 171 (Laxman 59, McGrath 4-18) and 7-657 declared (Laxman 281, Dravid 180) by 171 runs

The tale of the 2001 Kolkata Test has been told countless times in the 15 years since it took place and will be told over and over again as long as the game of cricket exists.

Of all the records that were broken and all the historic moments made, one fact stands out above the rest; nearing the end of the third day, India were four wickets down, 61 runs in arrears and facing the very real prospect of defeat by more than an innings, which would have sewn up an unassailable 2-0 series lead for the tourists.

But not only did the hosts show some fight, they wiped off the deficit, gained a whopping 383-run advantage and then spun their way to a victory that ended Australia's record run at 16 consecutive Test wins, a mark that has been equalled since but remains the benchmark in Test cricket.

The packed house at the iconic Eden Gardens witnessed incredible drama from the opening day; young off-spinner Harbhajan Singh claimed the first-ever Test hat-trick taken by an Indian, reducing the Aussies to 8-291 at stumps having been 1-193 earlier in the day.

Image Id: 8B09CE9ED1094E23B17950A1D5036AEC Image Caption: Harbhajan Singh took 13 wickets, including a hat-trick // Getty

Day two saw another sizeable momentum shift as Steve Waugh (110) and Jason Gillespie (46 from 147 balls) ground their way to a record 133-run partnership that propelled the Aussies to a total of 445, before their bowlers ripped out the hosts for just 171 in reply.

Having routed India for less than 220 three innings in a row, and with a 274-run lead, Waugh showed the ruthlessness that defined his captaincy; he enforced the follow-on and backed his bowlers to finish the job.

Image Id: 3D97DA17E12A417FA3C124FF674E98C9 Image Caption: Steve Waugh made a brilliant hundred on day two // Getty

It looked to be a shrewd move when Gillespie removed the dangerous Sachin Tendulkar with the hosts still 159 runs behind and even though VVS Laxman moved to his second Test century just before stumps on day three, the Australians woke on the fourth morning in complete control of the match.

What followed is arguably the greatest moment in India's Test cricket history, a career-defining 376-run union between Laxman and Rahul Dravid, the pair adding 335 unbeaten runs on that fourth day to turn the match, the series and - briefly - cricket's world order on its head.

Laxman's innings is regarded as one of the best in the history of the game, a boundary-laden 281 that defied the precarious situation of the match and sparked delirium and disbelief among the raucous capacity crowd.

Only Waugh himself and wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist were spared the carnage at the bowling crease, with the great Shane Warne hammered for almost 4.5 runs an over, as Dravid's magnificent 180 was incredibly overshadowed by his rampant batting partner.

With the tide of one billion rapturous fans behind them, India could not and would not be stopped.

Image Id: D36E1AF9B9BC4E188848A56D751BED7E Image Caption: Laxman and Dravid - heroes of Kolkata // Getty

Even when Laxman and Dravid fell early on the final morning, the victory target of 384 was always well out of Australia's reach.

Harbhajan claimed another six wickets to finish with 13 for the match and one of the greatest comebacks in Test history was complete as a remarkable series braced itself for a similarly dramatic finale.

Eden Gardens 2001 remains only the third time in the history of the game that a side has won after being forced to follow-on and only the 21st instance of a team going wicketless for an entire day.

But for all who witnessed it, and even those who didn't, it's a match that means so much more than the broken records it left in its wake.