Top 5 Test matches of 2014

Cricket fans who follow Test matches closely will definitely be familiar with the question, “Why do you watch this boring Test match ball-by-ball? What is so interesting in seeing the batsman just defending ball after ball? Why can’t you just keep track of the scores alone?”.A die hard fan of Test cricket can only laugh at these questions. Explaining why a Test match is interesting is difficult and one can only understand when they start following Test cricket. Test cricket is not about batsman defending ball after ball. It is about a test of skill and character, about playing on a consistent basis session after session, about grit and determination, about tackling the various faces shown by the pitch as the Test match approaches the final day. A genuine cricket enthusiast will accept that no other format can come close to the 5-day format. A Test match need not have a close finish for it to be interesting. A team fighting it out in its final innings on the final day of a Test match to salvage a draw can be as interesting as a close encounter, as illustrated by the clash between South Africa and Australia at Adelaide in 2012. Here’s a look at the 5 best Test matches of the year:

#5 Australia vs India, 1st Test, Adelaide

The tragic death of Phillip Hughes just a few days before the opening Test made the administrators shift the venue of the first Test from Brisbane to Adelaide. Many believed that this was a blessing in disguise for India as the Adelaide pitch has traditionally been sub-continental in nature. Everyone had a doubt about how aggressive the players would be on the field given Hughes’ unfortunate demise.

Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. David Warner, Steven Smith and Michael Clarke scored centuries, taking advantage of a lackluster Indian bowling performance, and they declared the first innings at 517 for the loss of 7 wickets. The Indian batsmen had a huge task in front of them.

Shikhar Dhawan could not survive for a long time, and he departed for a quick-fire 30. Vijay and Pujara managed to get starts, but they couldn’t make it big. Their captain Virat Kohli was greeted with a Mitchell Johnson bouncer which hit him in the head and caused concerns among the Australians.

Kohli was clearly up against it, but he came back strong to pile a good century on his Test captaincy debut. The lower-order couldn’t contribute much, and they could manage only a score of 444 in reply to Australia’s 517.

Since rain had affected a major part of the second day’s play, the Australians had to bat quickly and declare as soon as possible to give themselves a chance of taking a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

Warner scored a century once again, and Smith & Mitchell Marsh contributed with quick-fire knocks, helping the Australians get to a score of 290 for the loss of 5 wickets at the end of day four. Their bowlers had 98 overs to bowl India out.

The Indians were not in a good position coming into day five, and not many gave them a chance of managing a draw. But their captain had other ideas. Vijay and Kohli put on a historic partnership to take the Indians to a strong position at 205 /2 going into tea at day five.

A historic victory was there for the taking for the Indian batsmen. But a dramatic collapse followed in the final session, and Lyon used the rough very well to dislodge the Indians for a score of 315, falling short of the target by 49 runs. Kohli’s twin tons were in vain as they couldn’t manage to cross the line. Nevertheless, they made their fans proud by going after the target and putting up a great fight on the final day.

#4 England vs India, 2nd Test, Lord\'s

The pre-series talks were all about whether India will be able to turn their fortunes around after a disastrous tour in 2011, which was the starting point of India’s poor performances in Tests overseas. The first Test at Trent Bridge was a tame draw, after a very flat track was provided by the curator. The England captain was not happy with the pitch and made his intentions clear of having a pitch with more assistance for the bowlers.

Coming to the second Test, the teams were greeted by a green belter. The Indians were asked to bat and everyone expected the English bowlers to run through the Indian batting order. The English bowlers didn’t fall short of expectations and had the Indians at a spot of bother with the scorecard reading 145/7 with Ajinkya Rahane the last hope for India.

Rahane didn’t disappoint the Indian fans, and he batted well with the lower-order to score a magnificent century and had his name included in the Lord’s honours board. India ended up at 295 thanks to some vital lower-order contributions by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami.

Gary Ballance helped the hosts take a lead by a small margin of 24 runs.

The Indians started the second innings strongly, but their middle order was blown off leaving them at 203/6. Murali Vijay played a brilliant innings, but he fell short of a century by 5 runs and missed the opportunity to enter the Lord’s honours board.

Ravindra Jadeja came out with a positive mindset and went after the English bowlers, scoring a vital 68 accompanied by Bhuvi’s 52 which led India to 342, thereby setting England a target of 319.

England were in a spot of bother at the end of the fourth day with the score being 72 for the loss of 4 wickets. On the final day, Joe Root and Moeen Ali displayed brilliant resistance and gave the Indians a minor headache. But then came Ishant Sharma’s bouncer barrage, skittling the England lower-order out for not very many runs. The match ended with Jadeja running Anderson out to achieve a famous 95-run win.

#3 Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test, Sharjah

The first match between these two sides in the three-match series ended in a draw while Sri Lanka won the second Test by a huge margin. Pakistan were under pressure, and they had to come good in the third Test to prevent a series loss.

Sri Lanka batted first on a placid batting track, but none of their top-order batsmen were able to build a huge innings. But they had Angelo Mathews and Dilruwan Perera to their rescue as they managed to reach a decent score of 428 in their first innings.

Ahmed Shehzad scored a brilliant 147, but no other Pakistani batsman could get a big score. Pakistan could consequently manage only a score 341, thanks to Rangana Herath’s 5-wicket haul, in reply to Sri Lanka’s 428. Pakistan’s hopes of preventing a series loss started to diminish at this point of time.

The Pakistan bowlers, however, came back strongly to dislodge the Sri Lankans for a score of 214, thereby reviving their hopes of drawing the series.

Pakistan were set a target of 302, but they had to do it at a rate of 5.12 runs per over. There were doubts regarding whether Pakistan would go after the chase or settle for a draw. But the Pakistani batsmen came out all guns blazing, and Azhar Ali scored a brilliant century to put the hosts on track for the chase.

Misbah-ul-Haq, meanwhile, scored a rapid 68 for them to help the Pakistanis finish the chase successfully and helped them draw the series against the Sri Lankans. One has to say that Sri Lanka’s defensive approach on the final day had cost them the game and the series.

#2 England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Headingley, Leeds

The first Test match of the two-match series between England and Sri Lanka back in June ended in a draw. Both the sides then headed to Headingley, Leeds, for the series decider. After a strong show in the first Test, England seemingly held an edge over Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka were asked to bat first with a heavy cloud cover greeting them. Liam Plunkett made early inroads and had the Lankans struggling at 108/4. Apart from Kumar Sangakkara’s 79 and Dinesh Chandimal’s 45, no other batsman could contribute anything substantial.

Plunkett’s five-wicket haul helped England restrict the visitors to 257. The orthodox Sam Robson scored a magnificent century to put the hosts on track for a huge first innings lead. Gary Ballance and Ian Bell made half-centuries and England managed to get a first innings lead of 108.

The Lankans didn’t give up, and they came back strong. Their stalwarts Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene scored steady half-centuries to get their side out of trouble. Their captain Angelo Mathews came up with a superb knock to score 160; that sure was one of the best innings by a captain whose side was under pressure.

England were set a target of 350 in around 115 to 120 overs to win both the match and the series.

The home side started well, but Dhammika Prasad struck twice in his first over to reduce the hosts to 39/2 and got Sam Robson and Ian Bell soon after to leave the hosts reeling at 52/4.

England ended the day at 57/5 and had a seemingly impossible task in front of them to avoid a loss. On the final day, Moeen Ali and Joe Root held the fort for some time before Root was dismissed, leaving England at 124/6.

Moeen Ali was determined to fight it out for England, and he managed to hold on for a long time with the help of the tailenders. England lost their ninth wicket at 229 and had around 20 more overs to survive with Moeen Ali and James Anderson at the crease. Moeen Ali still didn’t give up; he reached his century on the way but it didn’t matter to him and he had only his team’s position in mind.

Finally, it all boiled down to the final six balls, and Sri Lanka pinned their hopes on Shaminda Eranga to lead them to a historic series win. Anderson was on strike and he managed to successfully defend the first four balls. Unfortunately, he got out to a bouncer off the fifth ball, and he couldn’t control himself on the field emotionally. Moeen Ali’s effort was in vain, but nevertheless, it was an historic innings on the final day.

#1 New Zealand vs India, 1st Test, Eden Park, Auckland

After losing to South Africa 0-1 in the 2-match Test series during the end of 2013, Team India travelled to New Zealand hoping for a change of fortunes. The Indian fans were hoping for a positive result considering the fight put up by India against South Africa. The first Test started on the 6th of February at Eden Park, Auckland.

The Indians started the Test match on a good note by taking 3 early wickets, but Kane Williamson’s ton and Brendon Mccullum’s double ton took the hosts to 503. The New Zealand bowlers knocked off the Indian batting order for a paltry score of 202.

Only Rohit Sharma could come up with a determined knock of 72, and the rest of the batsmen couldn’t score big. Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma took the attack back to the Black Caps by dismissing them for 105. The Indians were set a target of 406 to chase which didn’t look impossible.

Shikhar Dhawan came good in the second innings, scoring a nicely compiled century and Virat Kohli came up with a half-century. The target was looking achievable when India were 222-2 with Kohli and Dhawan at the crease.

But things started going downhill for India from there as no other batsman could come up with a resilient knock. India were dismissed for 366 which was 41 runs short of the target. The Indian fans were disappointed after the batsmen fell just short of a historic run chase. But the Indians definitely made their fans proud by coming back from a deficit of around 300 in the first innings to almost achieving the target. This was one classic Test match!