5 quickest Test match wins ever

Test match is the longest form of cricket and arguably the toughest of all three formats. There are currently twelve nations that play Test match cricket.

It is called as 'Test' match for the right reasons. It is the best test of your cricketing basics and skills. It also tests the mental strength, character, and endurance of a player over the course of five days.

It may not be as thrilling as One Day Internationals and Twenty20, but, it offers a really high standard of cricket. The shortest test match ever played was between Wst Indies and England in 2009 at the North Sound, which lasted only 10 balls because the bowlers were unable to get any solid foothold in an overly sandy outfield.

There were a couple of more occasions where a Test match lasted less than 100 balls and one of them involved India. The interesting fact is, quite a number of Test matches has yielded a winner in less than 150 overs or within the first two days.

Without much ado, let's take a look at the 5 quickest Test match wins ever (in terms of the number of overs. Also, there were Test matches in the 18th-century which had 4 balls per over, which has been converted to a 6-ball over in this article).

#5 England beat South Africa, Capetown, 1889

This was the second test of the series in the England tour of South Africa that happened almost 130 years ago at the Cape Town. England captain Monty Bowden won the toss and elected to bat first.

England were all out for 292 runs in their first innings in 123.1 overs (4-ball over). Batting next, South Africa were dismissed for a paltry 47 runs in their first innings and were asked to follow-on by the English captain.

Following on, South Africa folded for 43 runs in their second innings in just 28.2 overs and England won the game by an innings and 202 runs. The game lasted only 132.4 overs, which is the fifth quickest win in Test match history.

#4 Australia beat England, Lords, 1888

England Captain Allan Steel

Australia came into the first Test of the England tour in 1888 on the back of seven successive defeats to England. Also, Australia had never won an Ashes Test in England.

Australia won the toss and elected to bat first at the Lords. Australia were dismissed for 116 runs in their first innings in 71.2 overs (4-ball over). Batting second, England were all out for 53 runs in 50 overs.

Batting in their second innings, Australia were all out for 60 runs in their 29.2 overs. England were set a target of 124 runs to win the game. Chasing a paltry score, England got all out for 62 runs in 47 overs and lost the game by 61 runs. Converting from a 4-ball over to a 6-ball over, the game finished in 132 overs.

#3 England beat Australia, Manchester, 1888

English batsman Billy Barnes

This happened in the third test of the same series. Australia won the first test by 61 runs and England leveled the series by an innings and 137 runs. In the final game of the series, England won the toss and elected to bat first at Manchester.

England made 172 runs in their first innings and Australia were dismissed for 81 runs in their first outing. Following on, Australia's top four batsmen were dismissed for 0 and their innings folded for just 70.

Only two of their batsmen reached a double-digit score in the second innings. England won the game by an innings and 21 runs and clinched the series 2-1. The game finished in just 131.2 overs.

#2 England beat West Indies, Bridgetown, 1935

English legend Wally Hammond

This was one of those really low-scoring Test matches where none of the teams scored more than 102 runs in any of the four innings. In the first Test of the England tour of West Indies in 1985, England won the toss and elected to field first at the Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados.

Batting first, West Indies were all out for 102 runs in 47 overs. England then declared their first innings at 81 for 7. West declared their second innings at 51 for 6 in 19 overs and set a target of 73 for England.

England chased the score in 16.3 overs to win the game and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Though four innings happened in the game, the test match lasted only 112 overs over the course of three days.

#1 Australia beat South Africa, Melbourne, 1932

Sir Donald Bradman

This was the quickest Test match win in the history of the sport. This happened during the South Africa tour of Australia in 1932. South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first in the fifth Test on the series.

They were dismissed for 36 runs in their first innings in just 23.2 overs. Australia then posted a score of 153 runs in 54.3 overs. South Africa needed 117 runs to make Australia bat again in the match.

The Proteas were dismissed for 45 runs in 31.3 overs. They lost the game by an innings and 72 runs and Australia won the 5-match series 5-0. Australia defeated South Africa in just 109.2 overs, which is the least number of overs taken by a team to win a Test match.