5 narrowest victories in Test matches in the last decade

People call it boring, they say the format is dying, they say it cannot match the thrill of T20s. Well they couldn't be more wrong. Here is a look at some of the closest victories in Test matches in the last decade based on the number of runs or the number of wickets remaining. A true exhibition of battling for survival, which can never be matched by an entire season of mindless slogging put together.

#5 India vs Australia, Fourth Test, Mumbai, 2004

Winner- India

Margin- 13 runs

On a wicket, which was no more than a dustbowl, the Indian spin trio of Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Murali Kartik, pulled off one of the most dramatic wins in recent times. On a surface where 200 seemed like 400, Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman scripted superb half centuries to take India past 200 and set the Aussies a target of 107 to chase. The spinners began in the right earnest and has the Australian batsmen on the backfoot with the scorecard reading 24 for three. Every run scored and every run saved seemed like gold. Hayden was out there in the middle and he cut and slogged effectively. But he perished playing one sweep too many to one ball pitched outside leg, and the ball trickled onto the stumps via glove and pad, and with this the Aussie hopes were shattered. Kartik soon got the better of Clarke and Gilchrist, and India was back in the driver's seat. But Hauritz and Gillespie stitched together a vital partership before Kumble managed to trap Hauritz LBW. At 78 for eight, Kasperowicz joined Gillespie. Then began an eight over ordeal for the Indians as these two showed immense determination with their defence and added fifteen runs to the total. But India's trump card against the Aussies, Harbhajan Singh came back into the attack and cleaned up the tail in the span of three balls, giving India one of its closest victories.

#4 New Zealand vs Australia, Second Test, Hobart, 2011

Winner- New Zealand

Margin- 7 runs

In this low scoring Test, fortunes swung like the pendulum every couple of overs. Having been set a target of 241 runs to win by the Kiwis, the Aussies started of brilliantly with Warner and Hughes smashing the ball around and scoring at nearly four runs an over and not losing a single wicket before the close of play on the third day. On the fourth day morning though the New Zealand pacers made full of the conditions and came back into the game by picking wickets at regular intervals. But Warner was in a differrent zone altogether and looked unbeatable. The session after lunch however saw a sudden Aussie collapse, with Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc falling in successive overs. Australia had slipped from 193 for five to 200 for nine, while Warner watched hopelessly from the other end . The match had turned on its head. With 41 runs still to get and only the number eleven, Nathon Lyon for company, Warner resumed his assault. Lyon too was resolute with his defence and stuck around. New Zealand hadn't won a Test against the Australians for seventeen years and the two batsmen looked to ensure that the Kiwis were kept waiting. But Bracewell who had already helped himself to a five wicket haul had other plans. With seven runs neede to win, he bowled a ripper to get through Lyon's defence and grabbed this nail biter.

#3 Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Second Test, Colombo, 2006

Winner- Sri Lanka

Margin - 1 wicket

Set 352 for victory, Sri Lanka seemed to be cruising along at 341 for the loss of six wickets on the back of yet another century by their skipper Mahela Jayawardene. In a situation where hitting the winning runs should have been a mere formality, Jayawardene got out. Chaminda Vaas pushed at an away swinging delivery two overs later, only to edge it to the slip cordon. Murali walked in ahead of Malinga, only to walk back to the pavilion in the same over, trying his trademark heave over mid wicket. With two runs still to get and only one wicket in hand, all three results were possible. Maharoof was on strike and was to face the left arm spin of Nicky Boje. He went to sweep the first ball of the over, only to have missed it completely. Better sense prevailed as he knocked the next ball for a single and Malinga kept his cool to hit the next delivery to long on and take the Lankans to victory.

#2 India vs Australia, First Test, Mohali, 2010

Winner- India

Margin- 1 wicket

A fourth innings chase, an uneven track and Australia as opponents, the hero of this story had to be VVS Laxman. The game was firmly in Australia's grasp when Ishant Sharma walked in at number 10 to join Laxman, with 92 runs yet to be scored. Battling a sore back which forced him to bat with a runner, his innings was a lesson in focus and determination. He was tested with short balls and loopy deliveries, both difficult to score off with a dodgy back. But his pull of the back foot, the flick off his wrists to guide the ball through the leg side along with Ishant's determination to consume balls and score a vital 38, gave the Indian fans hope with every run scored. When Ishant Sharma departed with 11 runs still to be scored, the game was back in the balance. Almost every seemed delivery produced another dramatic twist. With seven runs still to get, Laxman hit the ball to the cover region. Raina, his runner set off for the single but Ojha, who was at the non-strikers end wasn't so sure. Laxman yelled, he was furious, perhaps for the first time we were getting a chance to see another side of Laxman. The drama didn't end there. A couple of deliveries later, Ojha was hit on the pads, and the batsmen rushed for a single. Steve Smith had a shy at the stumps and the ball raced away to the boundary. Five precious runs these. Two balls later, the ball clipped his pads and the batsmen scampered across for the winning runs, with the entire dressing room screaming.

#1 England vs Australia, Second Test, Birminghan, 2005-06

Winner- England

Margin- 2 runs

If it is Test matches, it has to be the Ashes. The match widely remembered for the visual of Andrew Flintoff consoling Brett Lee, will certainly go down in history as the best match ever played, for it had the perfect recipe right from the toss. Ricky Ponting's decision to field first on a sunny morning and a bare pitch had a stamp of arrogance all over it. But if anyone in cricket deserved to be arrogant, it was him as he had a dream team, a team that did not know to lose. The following three days had everything, amazing stroke play, an amazing exponent of swing and pace, the sheer brilliance of Shane Warne's spin and the power hitting of Andrew Flintoff. But as if all this wasn't enough, the fourth day promised a finish surely not meant for the faint hearted. With 107 runs to chase for the Aussies and with just to wickets in hand, they began in right earnest with Shane Warne and Brett Lee finding the boundary rope regularly. Warne soon departed and Lee was joined by Michael Kasperowikz. Then began the barrage of bouncers from Flintoff and Harmisson, probably bruising every single part of their body. But more importantly, both of them were still out there and the scoreboard kept ticking, all thanks to leg byes, no balls and edges to a point where Australia needed three runs for victory. But Flintoff had other plans, or was it the umpire? Or was it fate? Flintoff banged in another short delivery, Kasprowicz tried to get out of the way but just managed to glove it, the ball ballooned up towards the keeper and Geraint Jones took the catch and the whole of England errupted. But was the bat in his hand when the glove made contact with the ball? After billions of replays and almost a decade later, we still do not have an answer.