Hyderabad, Sept. 23 -- Few sporting contests can match the drama of a Test cricket match that ends in a perfect tie. A victory, a defeat or a draw are familiar outcomes, but a tie is something extremely rare. It is a moment when two teams, after five days of exhausting competition, finish absolutely level. Test cricket began in 1877 and since then more than 2,600 matches have been played. But only two have ended in a tied result.

The first was in Brisbane when the West Indies and Australia battled each other to a standstill in 1960. The second one occurred in Chennai when India and Australia fought it out but couldn't vanquish each other in 1986. The 40th anniversary of that historic match fell on September 22 this year.

The Chennai tie...