A shes 1936-37: Australia lost the first two Tests under Don Bradman on home soil. In the third Test, on an atrociously wet pitch, he famously reversed the batting order in the third innings, and waited for the pitch to dry out before scoring 270 batting at number 7, still the highest score by a batter at that position.

Inspired, Australia completed the most audacious of comebacks to clinch the series 3-2 and retain the Urn, still the only team to win a Test series after losing the first two matches.

March 2017, round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League: Barcelona hosted PSG at Camp Nou, having been demolished 4-0 in the first leg. When Edison Cavani scored for the away side after going 3-0 down, Barcelona required 3 more goals in less than 30 minutes to advance, because of the away goals rule. Sergi Roberto scored in the 95th minute after two Neymar goals, for the outright record of the biggest deficit overturned in a two-legged match. Remontada [comeback]!

Sport has a wonderful way of tossing up instances where extraordinary comebacks are conjured up from the pitfalls of defeat. A few instances redefine sporting culture altogether, like the couple mentioned above.

Max Verstappen may not have matched Michael Schumacher’s record of five consecutive championships, but he cemented his status among the greats of the sport

This year, we witnessed another one of these, albeit one which fell just short, but which will forever be remembered not just as a comeback of astronomical proportions, but also as one of the greatest defences of a championship.

2025 Formula 1 Championship

It was evident from the onset that McLaren would be the dominant car in the 2025 season. While Max Verstappen stole a couple of races — Suzuka (Japan) and Imola (Italy) — Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri split the rest of the races between them. As the season progressed and the Red Bull of Max Verstappen regressed, growing uncompetitive with each passing race, it felt inevitable that it would be a two-way battle for the title between McLaren’s papaya cars.

When the........

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