Reliving 3 of the best resistances from the tail to win Test matches

#1 Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando (Sri Lanka tour of South Africa - Durban, 2019)

Perhaps the Greatest Test match innings ever from Kusal Janith Perera

Sri Lanka 191 (Kusal Perera 51, Dale Steyn 4-48) and 304 for 9 (Kusal Perera 153*, Dhananjaya de Silva 48) beat South Africa 235 (Quinton de Kock 80, Vishwa Fernando 4-62) and 259 (Francois du Plessis 90, Lasith Embuldeniya 5-66) by one wicket

The Sri Lankan captain Dimuth Karunaratne won the toss and put the Proteas into bat. Vishwa Fernando and Kasun Rajitha bowled with discipline to dismiss the Proteas for 235 runs, with Quinton de Kock playing a counter-attacking knock of 80 runs. The Sri Lankans were dismissed for a meagre 191 runs, with Kusal Perera top-scoring with 51 runs. Dale Steyn, with 4 wickets, was the destroyer-in-chief.

The Sri Lankan bowlers Vishwa Fernando and Lasith Embuldeniya picked up 4 and 5 wickets respectively in the second innings, restricting the Proteas to 259 runs. A target of 305 was a big ask, especially against a bowling attack with the likes of Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada.

The Sri Lankan batting collapsed for the umpteenth time. Little did we know, that what would follow would be one amongst the greatest fourth innings knocks ever played in the history of Test match cricket.

Chasing 304, Kusal Perera walked in when the scorecard read 52-3. Despite Sri Lanka was reduced to 110-5 Kusal Perera kept on playing aggressively as usual. He was joined by Dhananjaya de Silva, with whom he stitched a valuable 96-run partnership. Sri Lanka needed 98 runs for the win when De Silva lost his wicket. 3 wickets fell rapidly.

When number 11 Vishwa Fernando joined Perera, Sri Lanka still needed 78 runs to win. Vishwa Fernando entirely focussed on surviving the next 95 balls saw Kusal Perera single-handedly script Sri Lanka's greatest Test victory. Sixes and fours off Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Kagiso Rabada and Dale Steyn followed.

Vishwa Fernando, with all his might, survived 27 deliveries. Perera got to his century, but the landmark meant nothing to him. Luck seemed to favour the Lankans as Dean Elgar missed a throw at the stumps that would have run Fernando out. The Proteas were tactically erroneous. Keshav Maharaj was possibly over-bowled and there were plenty of fielding mistakes. The Proteas had no answer to Perera, who had switched into T20 mode. The moment finally arrived. Sri Lanka won the game with a wicket to spare.

This knock was a reflection of Perera's tactical awareness, ability to switch modes when necessary, and his immense self-belief.

A Test match for the centuries. An innings for the ages.

Perhaps the greatest innings ever in Test cricket.