5 best Test matches of the season

Modified Jun 18, 2017 18:51 IST

ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA - DECEMBER 09: David Warner of Australia raises his bat to the sky in tribute to the late Phillip Hughes after his innings of 145 during day one of the First Test match between Australia and India at Adelaide Oval on December 9, 2014 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Michael Dodge/Getty Images) — Cricket is a game rich in its ability to tell stories- those of friendship, trust, life and even death

#2 Pakistan vs England at Lord’s, 14-17 July 2016

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 16: Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq hits the ball in the air only to be caught out by Alex Hales of England during day three of the 1st Investec Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's Cricket Ground on July 16, 2016 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images) — Misbah led from the front to secure a historic win for Pakistan at the home of cricket.

Closeness of result: 4/5Balance between bat and ball: 4/5Context: 4/5Standard of Play: 5/5Aggression: 4/5

The reason Test cricket is not like other sports is because it slow-cooks. It is a story with a finite exposition, conflict and resolution. That is what people tune in to see. In the Lord’s Test, we saw the build up to a tense encounter. Harsh interviews, booing crowds and calls for lifetime bans for Mohammad Amir.

We saw the looks of angry fans when he ran in to bowl his first ball back in Test cricket, the tension in the Pakistan team and finally, his cathartic scream when he dismissed the England captain. The story of this Test match was of a team, returning to where its troubles started and overcoming them, united.

Pakistan were playing against their past as much as they were playing against England and they showed it. Amir swung the ball a long way, Misbah hit a classy hundred and Yasir Shah made good use of the Lord’s slope in his team’s 75-run win. The game set up one of the all-time greatest series, where Pakistan overcame all the disadvantages they came in with.

For England, the game marked the revelation of Chris Woakes, who took 11 wickets in the game. The game makes it to the top 2 because of the context behind it, the closeness of the game, the chivalry with which it was played and perhaps most importantly, Misbah’s iconic push-ups upon winning the game.