5 most thrilling finishes in Test cricket in last 5 years

A Test match can be a lot of things. It can become a classic battle of bat and ball in which a team fights to come back from a follow-on to draw or win a match. It can end in a couple of days if batsmen arent good enough to survive. A lot can happen over thisfive daymarathon.A Test match though, becomes thrilling when the spectator cant tell which team is winning till the very last ball. There is no bigger excitementthan watching such battle of bat and ball.Here, we take a look at such thrilling finishes in Test cricket in last 5 years.P.S. Before the top 5, special mention here for the Australia vs New Zealand thriller in Hobart, which NZ won by just 7 runs in 2011

#5 England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test, June 2014, Lords, London (match drawn)

Day 1, Joe Root, the lord of Lords: Joe Root hit his consecutive ton at Crickets Mecca as Lankan bowlers failed to make any impact.

Day 2, another day of willow: England posted a mammoth 575/9 as Joe Root continued his onslaught to reach a double. This was Roots second consecutive score of 180+ at Lords.

Sri Lanka ended the day looking strong at 140/1.

Day 3, Sangakkara, you beauty:The Sri Lankan legend made his first test century at Lords, veteran Mahela Jayawrdene and skipper Anjelo Matthews supports well as Lankans end the day at 415/7.

Day 4, Garry Ballances shores up England after Erangas explosion: After Sri Lanka finished at 453 as Pradeep smashed his own stumps with his bat, English batting was led by youngster Garry Ballances ton. No one else could really stand along though as Sharminda Eranga wrecked the English top order. English skipper Alastair Cook delayed the declaration, a move that probably rued later.

Day 5, the exhilarating final session: With 390 runs to win, it was an unattainable task for Sri Lankans. They were playing for a draw. They seemed to be on the right track as Sanga-Silva pair slowly saw through the overs. After tea, suddenly the things charged up as wickets tumbled.

James Anderson dismissed first innings centurion, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews with 3 overs left in the day and England had 2 wickets to take in the last 3 overs. The equation remained the same going into the last over of the match when Stuart Broad dismissed Rangana Herath, though the batsman walked without umpire raising his finger. Herath however,had gloved the ball after he took his hand off the handle of the bat, and would have been not-out if he had stood his ground.

On the penultimate ball, No. 11 Nuwan Pradeep was given out lbw, sending England players into wild celebrations but Pradeep used DRS which revealed a huge inside edge. The reversal by technology saved the match for Sri Lanka as Pradeeps edge off the last ball fell just short of the slips.

"I've been compiling a list of Lord's 10 greatest moments to mark the ground's 200th anniversary on Sunday. I think I may have a new entry. Sham Serringham, BBC sport

#4 SA vs Australia, 2nd Test, November 2011, Johannesburg (Australia won by 2 wickets)

Day 1, Kallis’s milestone: Jacques Kallis reached 12,000-run mark, surpassing Brian Lara in the list of highest run-scorers making him the most successful Proteas in Test history. He went on to score a quick 54 off 64 balls but Proteas collapsed for 266 after a steady start.

Day 2, Steyn wrecks havoc, again: If the first match was not enough which saw Dale Steyn single handedly bundle up the Kangaroos 2nd inning for a paltry 47, “Steyn cleaner” again took 4 wickets restricting them for 296 after a strong start by thr openers Watson and Hughes.

Day 3, Amla and de Villiers almost steal the game: Hashim Amla hit a gritty 105 off 243 balls and was supported well by ABD (73) as South Africa crawl to 229/3 at the end of day 3.

Day 4, Cummins’s outburst: Debutant Pat Cummins exploded taking 6 wickets on day 4 to restrict the Proteas at 339 as South African lower order fails again.

Day 5, Haddin and Johnson lead to a surreal Aussie victory: Day 5 started with rain being a villain, washing off the entire first session. Ponting who had already scored his half century got out early after lunch as Aussie batting plundered. It was after tea that out of form Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson held their nerves as Kangaroos magically make a comeback to win the match.

“Australia came back from dead” – Kepler Wessels, Cricket legend

“Will remember this match for a long time” – Michael Clarke

#3 India vs South Africa, 1st Test, December 2013, Johannesburg (Match drawn)

Day 1, Kohli’s rare first inning ton leads India’s battling effort: South African bowing ran wild as Indian batsmen failed on fast Wanderers pitch. Virat Kohli hit a rare first innings century to keep India breathing in the match as wickets fell around him. Dhoni and Rahane made sure of no more casualties as India ended the day at 255/5.

Day 2, Zaheer and Ishant take charge, Philander resists: Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma led an inspired Indian bowling as South African middle order collapsed after a steady start. Vernon Philander resisted on as South Africa struggled at 213/6.

Day 3, Pujara and Kohli blunt the Proteas attack: Cheteshwar Pujara once again showed his class with a majestic century while Virat Kohli continued his elegant form as India look solid at 284/2.

Day 4, Another Batting collapse: After the dismissals of Pujara and Kohli, who missed his century by 4 runs, India saw another batting collapse, one which had become a regular affair on foreign pitches. Yet, men in blue could pose a target of 458 for the home team to chase. As Proteas began their quest, the game was on!

Day 5, Du Plessis, de Villiers and the breathtaking draw: India was fancying chances after picking up Kallis and Petersen early, but it was Du Plessis’s gritty ton along with de Villiers perfection which ensured that South Africa were not out of the game yet. When the day ended, after long to and fro battle, SA were just short by 8 runs from chasing down the biggest target ever with 3 wickets in hands.

“Shocked, SA didn’t push for a win” – Virat Kohli

“India didn’t show enough desire to win” – Graeme Smith

#2 India vs Australia, 1st Test, October 2010, Mohali (India won by 1 wicket)

Day 1, Shane Watsons ton: Shane Watson hit a crucialton for Australia as the visitors struggled against Indian bowlers all day long. Ponting also made a crucial half-century as Australia ended the days play at 224/5.

Day 2, A fine day of cricket:On one hand, Tim Paine played an elegant knock to see Australia through to 428, Indian response was no less impressive.By the end of play, India was 110/2 with Dravid and night watchman Ishant Sharma batting.

Day 3, Tendulkar leads Indian attack, Johnson shines:India cruised on the third day, riding on the half centuries of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Suresh Raina. The Mohali curse struck the maestro again though as he missed his ton by 2 runs, falling leg before to Marcus North. Mitchell Johnson played the villain for India, taking 5 wickets and restricting the opposition 23 runs short of the Aussie total.

Day 4, when the bowlers ruled: Aussie openers started strong in their second innings looking to take big lead. Once the first wicket fell, the visitors soon found themselves collapsing for a pity 192.India too, chasing 216 runs had a shaky start as they were tottering at 55/4 when the day ended.

Day 5, A very very special innings by Laxman: Sachin slowly started the day with Zaheer Khan. It was looking good until he got out when the total was 119. This led to an epic collapse which saw India reduced from 119/5 to 124/8. Laxman, like numerous other times was left with the tail and around 100 runs to chase against the mighty Australians.

With some commendable support from Ishant Sharma, Laxman led India to a thrilling 1 wicket victory which an hour ago looked impossible.

These situations get the best out of me. VVS Laxman

We were vary of Laxman Ricky Ponting

#1 India vs West Indies, 3rd Test, November 2011, Mumbai (Match drawn with scores levelled)

Day 1, a day of Calypso:The West Indian batsmen made a mockery of Indian bowling as top four batsmen score 50+. Nothing happened as far as India was concerned. No one noticed the absence of Chanderpaul either, the youngsters rolled through the day.

Day 2, Caribbean dominance continues, Darren Bravos biggie: Darren Bravo continued from last evening and went on to score a magnificent century as Indian bowlers toiled hard for wickets. When the sun set, the visitors had amassed 575/9.

Day 3, Indias tit-for-tat reply: India answered the Caribbean total in a very strong fashion as all the big guns fired with full fledge. Tendulkar, Dravid and Gambhir got their fifties as India finished the day at 282/3 with the master blaster settled at the crease with VVS Laxman.

Day 4, Ashwins unlikely ton as match crackles up: After the top order performing well, it was R Ashwins time to shine with the bat as he scored his maiden Test century after Sachin missed his 100^thton again, getting out on 94 on his home ground. India bundled up at 482 with Caribbean team having a crucial lead of 108 runs. The visitors looked good at stumps with 2 down for 81.

Day 5, 17 wickets and an unlikely ending: When the visitors collapsed to Indian spinners for 134, India needed 243 runs to win with 2 sessions remaining. Sehwag led the attack as India quickly marched to hundred runs with just 2 wickets down. Suddenly the middle order plundered putting Indian innings in jeopardy.

India needed three runs off six balls to win. West Indies needed two wickets. The Test ended in a thrilling draw with the teams levelled on scores, only the second such instance in history, when Ravichandran Ashwin took a single off the last ball and surprisingly, didnt try for the 2^ndrun.

Ashwins calmness was amazing Sanjay Manjarekar

We took our position for granted. Darren Sammy