Chasing a victory target of 383 in the fourth innings of the third and final Test in Bangalore, India suffered a 168-run defeat.

If we take a look at India's performances in the fourth innings of a Test, we will find that out of the 120 instances that India batted fourth, they successfully chased the fourth innings target 30 times. And on 46 occasions they have been bundled out before reaching the target. On 43 occasions the match has ended in a draw and on one occasion it was a historic tie.

A deeper analysis reveals a very startling fact. India have put up a commendable show only when the target has been below 200. Out of 34 instances when India chased a fourth innings target of less than 200, they came out triumphant on 26. The match ended in a draw on 7 occasions. The solitary loss was against West Indies [Images] at Bridgetown in 1996-97, when chasing a victory target of 119, India were bundled out for a paltry 81.

However, when the target is more than 200, the going gets tough for India. Of the 86 such instances, only 4 chases have resulted in wins against 45 losses and 36 draws.

In fact, India have won only once while chasing a target of 300-plus out of 55 such instances, losing 32 and drawing 21.

Break-up of India's performance in the fourth innings of a Test:

4th Inns Target	Instances	Won	Lost	Drawn	Tied
1-200	34	26	1	7	0
201 & above	86	4	45	36	1
TOTAL	120	30	46	43	1

Recent instances of India losing a Test after chasing in the fourth innings:

Target	Total	Opponent	Venue	Season
383	214	Pakistan	Bangalore	2004-05
542	200	Australia	Nagpur	2004-05
456	239	Australia	Bangalore	2004-05
567	397	England [Images]	Lord's	2002
407	252	West Indies	Kingston [Images]	2001-02
375	195	Australia	Melbourne	1999-00
395	110	Australia	Adelaide	1999-00
278	232	Pakistan	Calcutta	1998-99
270	258	Pakistan	Chennai	1998-99
234	173	Zimbabwe	Harare	1998-99
119	81	West Indies	Bridgetown	1996-97
426	144	South Africa	Cape Town	1996-97
394	66	South Africa	Durban	1996-97
466	137	South Africa	Calcutta	1996-97
357	114	West Indies	Mohali	1994-95
441	141	Australia	Perth	1991-92
371	333	Australia	Adelaide	1991-92
471	224	England	Lord's	1990