Australia thought a forced follow would put India in an embarrassing situation, but India scripted one of the greatest comebacks

Today, i.e., March 15, marks a special day in Indian cricketing history. After all, 25 years ago on this day, India pulled off one of the greatest victories ever in the history of Test cricket at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

#OnThisDay in 2001, the end of an UNFORGETTABLE series 🔥

India 2-1 Australia, with a sensational finale in Chennai - Harbhajan Singh took 15 WICKETS in a Test 🙌 pic.twitter.com/IzE9aMtqDc

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 22, 2025

Australia’s initial dominance

Having won the first Test at Wankhede by 10 wickets, Australia were in a completely dominant mode as they started the second Test at Eden Gardens.

Batting first, Australia put on 445 runs on the board, with 97 runs coming off Matthew Hayden’s bat, whereas the then skipper Steve Waugh scored 110 runs in 203 balls. Michael Slater and Justin Langer had also contributed 42 and 58 runs, respectively.

India’s First Test Hat-trick#OnThisDay in 2001, @harbhajan_singh took the first hat-trick for India in a Test match (against Australia in Kolkata).

Rahul Dravid went crazy with the celebration, and he didn't even took the catch.

The atmosphere, the commentary, the start of… pic.twitter.com/eu1KanAxFt

— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) March 11, 2026

Although the Indian bowlers were ineffective in stopping the runs, Harbhajan Singh grabbed headlines with his seven wickets.

India’s frustrating first

India’s first innings was frustrating to watch as six of the batters went back to the pavilion with single-digit runs. The only notable batting came from VVS Laxman, who scored 59 runs, but at the end of the innings, India made only 177. In short, Australia was leading by over 200 runs, so they could have forced a follow-on, and they did. The mighty Aussies gave their best to put all the pressure on India.

The comeback

Unlike the first innings, the second innings saw Shiv Sunder Das and Sadagoppan Ramesh score 39 and 30 runs, respectively, giving India a decent start. But when Ramesh left, a determined VVS Laxman took the crease and decided to improve his stance. Laxman gave a heroic effort, scoring 281 runs single-handedly while the Aussies silently watched the game slip away from their control.

#OnThisDay in 2001, VVS played an innings that changed the history of Test cricket forever!
True grit was shown by @VVSLaxman281 (281) and #RahulDravid (180), as they defied Australians at home and turned around the match in favour of #TeamIndia who won the Test Series!#Cricket pic.twitter.com/9A7r5jWIUC

— Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) March 14, 2024

Skipper Sourav Ganguly also added 48 runs, but India was still far away from a victory. That’s when Rahul Dravid joined the run-scoring bandwagon and added 180 runs.

Collectively, the team made 657 runs in the second innings, and Sourav Ganguly declared, giving Australia a target of 384 runs to be chased within 75 overs on the final day of the match.

Singh’s six

Harbhajan Singh ignited the Australian batting line-up by taking six crucial wickets. Surprisingly, Sachin Tendulkar also contributed by taking three wickets, leaving the mighty Aussies with only 212 runs on the board and all wickets lost.

Sachin Tendulkar in the famous Kolkata Test Picked his wicket too.

Sachin was the 2nd highest wicket taker from India in the 2001 Test Series vs Australia .

3rd Highest Run getter with 304 Runs in 3 Tests (Avg - 50.7)pic.twitter.com/YE5JvtJfaY https://t.co/j1QHnEeTQk

— 𝑨𝑻10 (@Loyalsachfan10) July 29, 2025

The crowd at the Eden Gardens went bonkers, and VVS Laxman was awarded the Player of the Match award for his 59 and 281 runs. India not only won the game but also ended Australia's record 16-match winning streak. Not to forget, the game became only the third occasion when a team won after following on.

India went on to win the series in Chennai with a scoreline of 2-1.