2016 saw 47 Tests being played. Even Zimbabwe played Test cricket after almost two years. Meanwhile, ICC announced, much to the joy of the world of cricket, that Afghanistan and Ireland are likely to get Test status in 2019. This year saw three day-and-night Tests being staged, and UAE becoming the only country apart from Australia to host a Test under lights. All of them produced riveting contests. While discussions surrounded over the future of Test cricket, the quality of cricket played this year demonstrates that this format is here to stay and with several exciting prospects in horizon, we can expect a continuation in 2017.
India climbed to the No.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings courtesy exceptional individual performances, particularly from Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin. Pakistan had their ups and downs. England, who had a great start to the year, fell flat as the year progressed and the case was vice-versa for South Africa. Meanwhile, Australia suffered a slump with Steven Smith remaining their sole grace before sealing a series win against Pakistan to round off the year. Barring the matches in Zimbabwe, contests were not blatantly one-sided and for a fact, even the depleted West Indian side managed to beat Pakistan in the latter’s backyard! In fact, they could have gone on to win the series.
As we welcome the New Year, Suvajit Mustafi nets out the top 10 Tests from 2016.
10. England vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Lord’s
This Test makes it for the sheer moment of the occasion. The last time Pakistan played a Test in England was in 2010, and at Lord’s. No one remembers that the Test marked Azhar Ali’s debut, or even who the heroes were in the Test, for it was marred by the ugly spot-fixing saga that saw skipper Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and a teenage Mohammad Aamer handed a ban.
Aamer made a comeback to Tests after serving a 6-year ban. Pakistan were back in England after that long and for the 42-year-old captain Misbah-ul-Haq, this was his first England tour. Pakistan chose to bat. Misbah stole the spotlight from Aamer with a pleasing-to-eye hundred. He became the oldest man to score a ton at the home of cricket.
Pakistan posted 339, and a flurry of dropped catches helped England captain Alastair Cook to a breezy start. Aamer was expected to run through the English line-up but Yasir Shah sprung a surprise, claiming a six-for. The visitors gained a crucial 67-run lead.
Chris Woakes followed his first innings’ six-for with another five-for, ensuring England needed 283. The Pakistani bowlers rose to the occasion. Wahab Riaz was exceptional. The Englishmen found it tough to negate his pace while Rahat Ali got the key wickets of Cook, Joe Root and Alex Hales.
Yasir again wreaked havoc in the English middle-order, bowling Pakistan to a 75-run win. Yasir then climbed to the No. 1 spot in bowler’s ranking. Pakistan against all odd drew the series 2-2 and for a brief period enjoyed the ICC Test mace.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 339 (Mohammad Hafeez 40, Misbah-ul-Haq 114, Asad Shafiq 73; Stuart Broad 3 for 71, Chris Woakes 6 for 70) & 215 (Asad Shafiq 49, Sarfraz Ahmed 45; Stuart Broad 3 for 50, Chris Woakes 5 for 32) beat England 272 (Alastair Cook 81, Joe Root 48; Yasir Shah 6 for 72) & 207 (James Vince 42, Gary Ballance 43, Jonny Bairstow 48; Rahat Ali 3 for 47, Yasir Shah 4 for 69) by 75 runs.
9. Australia vs Pakistan, 2nd Test, Melbourne
2016 for Pakistan was a mix of exciting ups and painful downs. They shot to the No.1 spot in Tests but at the same time, they ended the year with five back-to-back losses in Test cricket. Pakistan almost chased down 490 at Brisbane and going into the Boxing Day Test at Melbourne, they had the right momentum.
The Test was rain-affected from Day One. Pakistan elected to bat and the frequent halts ensured they batted even after lunch on Day Three. Azhar Ali’s double ton guided them to 443. Quick hundreds from David Warner and Steven Smith took Australia to 624 and they declared just before lunch on Day Five.
An ominous draw loomed over the Test and just when it looked a certainty, Pakistan imploded. Again. Mitchell Starc and the under-fire Nathan Lyon collaborated to claim 7 wickets amongst them to bowl Pakistan out within two sessions. A Test headed towards draw turned around thanks to some inspiring bowling and a meek surrender from the visitors. With two Tests lost, Pakistan lost the series.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 443 for 9 dec. (Azhar Ali 205*, Asad Shafiq 50, Sohail Khan 65; Josh Hazlewood 3 for 50, Jackson Bird 3 for 113) & 163 (Azhar Ali 43, Sarfraz Ahmed 43; Mitchell Starc 4 for 36, Nathan Lyon 3 for 33) lost to Australia 624 for 8 dec. (David Warner 144, Umsan Khawaja 97, Steven Smith 165, Peter Handscomb 54, Mitchell Starc 84; Sohail Khan 3 for 131, Yasir Shah 3 for 207) by an innings and 18 runs.
8. India vs England, 5th Test, Chennai
No team had suffered an innings defeat after posting 477 runs but then there is always that dreaded first time. No Indian batsman had scored a Test triple ton barring Virender Sehwag but there is always the joyous second time.
It is more difficult to retain the No. 1 spot than claiming it. Under Kohli, Team India have shown the ruthless intent no other Indian team has in the past. After suffering a scare at Rajkot, India won in Visakhapatnam, Mohali and Mumbai to go up 3-0 against the visiting Englishmen.
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The Chennai Test was a dead rubber. The track can be called the same too. England posted 477 courtesy Moeen Ali’s 146. Umesh Yadav bounced out Moeen on Day Two, exhibiting a spell of ruthless fast bowling.
India started strong and it seemed a dull draw lurked around. KL Rahul suffered heartbreak after constructing a fine 199 but his Karnataka teammate Karun Nair showed no intent to stop. In only his third outing in Test cricket, Nair became the second Indian to the 300-club after Virender Sehwag (who had done it twice). Nair would not have played had Ajinkya Rahane been fit.
Kohli wanted Nair to get to the landmark and hence delayed the declaration, which eventually came at 759, India’s highest score in Test cricket.
England had slipped to an innings defeat after batting first and scoring 400 in the previous Test in Mumbai. They were 103 for no loss in their second innings on a placid batting track before they imploded again to an innings and 75 runs defeat.
The last two sessions from the final day belonged to Ravindra Jadeja, who finally managed to eclipse his spin partner of gigantic stature, Ashwin.
Jadeja was brilliant with the ball, plucked catches at will and claimed 7-for and completed his maiden 10-for in Tests. A draw hovered over for 13 sessions but India eventually won, and pocketed the series 4-0.
Brief scores:
England 477 (Joe Root 88, Moeen Ali 146, Jonny Bairstow 49, Liam Dawson 66*, Adil Rashid 60; Ravindra Jadeja 3 for 106) & 207 (Alastair Cook 49, Keaton Jennings 54, Moeen Ali 44; Ravindra Jadeja 7 for 48) lost to India 759 for 7 decl. (KL Rahul 199, Parthiv Patel 71, Karun Nair 303*, Ravichandran Ashwin 67, Ravindra Jadeja 51) by an innings and 75 runs.
7. Australia vs South Africa, 1st Test, Perth
South Africa sans AB de Villiers began their Australian sojourn and were immediately pushed on the back foot when they were reduced to 32 for 4. Faf du Plessis contributed with a gritty 37 before falling to Mitchell Starc, the score read 82 for 5. Temba Bavuma’s gritty 51 and Quinton de Kock’s breezy 84 guided South Africa to 242.
Australia were 158 for no loss before Dale Steyn struck. Warner fell for 97 and soon after South Africa lost Steyn to a freak shoulder injury. Vernon Philander combined with Kagiso Rabada and debutant spinner Keshav Maharaj to take apart the hosts. Australia could add 86 before they lost all 10, managing a lead of 2.
Dean Elgar and JP Duminy’s hundreds helped South Africa to 540. Chasing 539, Australia were consumed by Rabada’s brilliance. The pacer claimed a five-for to script South Africa’s third back-to-back victory at WACA. So elated was du Plessis that he had no qualms in admitting that he’ wanted to sleep with Rabada’ that night.
Brief scores:
South Africa 244 (Temba Bavuma 51, Quinton de Kock 84; Mitchell Starc 4 for 71, Josh Hazlewood 3 for 70) & 540 (Dean Elgar 127, JP Duminy 141, Quinton de Kock 64, Vernon Philander 73) beat Australia 244 (David Warner 97; Vernon Philander 4 for 56, Keshav Maharaj 3 for 56) & 361 (Usman Khawaja 97, Peter Nevill 60*; Kagiso Rabada 5 for 92) by 177 runs.
6. Sri Lanka vs Australia, 1st Test, Pallekele
Australia had roped in Muttiah Muralitharan in their preparatory camp to learn the spin tricks. Australia arrived on the Lankan shores as the No.1 Test side and on Day One of the series itself, it seemed they would be bludgeoning the rebuilding Sri Lankan side.
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Sri Lanka elected to bat and the Australian bowlers combined to script their downfall. They were bowled out for 117. Rangana Herath and debutant Chinaman bowler Lakshan Sandakan collaborated to restrict Australia to 203.
Kusal Mendis, 21, walked out at 6 for 2 as Sri Lanka stared at a possible innings defeat. In his 13 previous Test innings Mendis had scored a solitary fifty. In what will go down as one of the greatest knocks in annals of Sri Lankan cricket, the youngster stunned the fraternity with a 176, only his second ton in First-Class cricket. He scored almost half the side’s runs to set Australia 268.
Veteran Herath went on to claim 5 scripting a dramatic Australian collapse to hand the young Sri Lankan side a 1-0 lead.
Winning a Test by 106 runs despite being bowled out for 117 in the first innings is indeed laudable.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 117 (Josh Hazlewood 3 for 21, Nathan Lyon 3 for 12) & 353 (Kusal Mendis 176, Dinesh Chandimal 42; Mitchell Starc 4 for 84) beat Australia 203 (Adam Voges 47; Rangana Herath 4 for 49, Lakshan Sandakan 4 for 58) & 161 (Steven Smith 55; Rangana Herath 5 for 54, Lakshan Sandakan 3 for 49) by 106 runs.
5. Sri Lanka vs Australia, 3rd Test, SSC Colombo
Sri Lanka surprised the fraternity with two back-to-back wins. Australia had to avoid a whitewash to retain their supremacy at the No. 1 spot. Sri Lanka batted first and found themselves at 26 for 5. Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva defied the Starc threat, adding 211 for the sixth wicket to guide the hosts to 355.
Australia started well and were 267 for 1 at one stage before Herath dug inroads. Hundreds from Shaun Marsh and Smith ensured a lead for Australia.
Sri Lanka were 98 for 4 when Australia sniffed a win. Kaushal Silva’s ton guided them to safe shores and once again, Sri Lanka’s lower middle-order gave him the much-needed support.
Australia went for the chase on the final day and started well. In attempt to get the runs quickly, they pressed the panic button as soon as they passed the three-figure mark. What was surprising was the fact that Australians kept going for rash shots despite losing wickets. They did not show any intent to save the Test.
Herath claimed a 7-for and Sri Lanka completed 3-0 whitewash with a 163-run win. Herath, who had claimed a hat-trick in the second Test, picked 28 wickets from 3 Tests but one has to feel for Starc, who claimed 24 wickets on tracks with little assistance for his kinds.
Brief scores:
Sri Lanka 355 (Dinesh Chandimal 132, Dhananjaya de Silva 129; Mitchell Starc 5 for 63, Nathan Lyon 3 for 110) & 347 (Kaushal Silva 115, Dinesh Chandimal 43, Dhananjaya de Silva 65*; Nathan Lyon 4 for 123) beat Australia 379 (Shaun Marsh 130, Steven Smith 119, Mitchell Marsh 53; Rangana Herath 6 for 81) & 160 (David Warner 68; Rangana Herath 7 for 64) by 163 runs.
3. Bangladesh vs England, 1st Test, Chittagong
The tour finally went underway after a lot of speculations due to security reasons. Then there were flaring tempers between two sides in the ODI series.
The Chittagong Test saw as many as four debutants, three from the host camp. In fact, if Gareth Batty’s comeback counts as a debut, you can add another (Batty’s last appearance had come in another era, in 2005).
The Test was a test for umpire Kumar Dharmasena, who at one point of time seemed was getting trolled by the DRS system. The match saw a record DRS decide proceedings for a record 26 times.
England elected to bat and soon fell to the spin trap of the teenaged debutant Mehedi Hasan Miraz. He claimed a 6-for as England’s reliable lower middle-order guided them to 293. Moeen Ali backed his 68 with a 3-for while Ben Stokes got the ball to reverse as Bangladesh folded for 248. Now Shakib Al Hasan picked 5 but Stokes defied the hosts’ spinners to score 85 and set Bangladesh 286.
Bangladesh fell 22 short of the English total. Debutant Sabbir Rahman along with captain Mushfiqur Rahim added 87 for the sixth wicket. Sabbir kept losing partners and was left stranded. In the 82nd over of the innings, Stokes struck twice dismissing Taijul Islam and Shafiul Islam to help England go up 1-0.
Brief scores:
England 293 (Joe Root 40, Moeen Ali 68, Jonny Bairstow 52; Mehedi Hasan 6 for 80) & 240 (Ben Stokes 85, Jonny Bairstow 47; Shakib Al Hasan 5 for 85) beat Bangladesh 248 (Tamim Iqbal 78, Mushfiqur Rahim 48; Moeen Ali 3 for 75, Ben Stokes 4 for 26) & 263 (Imrul Kayes 43, Sabbir Rahman 64*; Gareth Batty 3 for 65) by 22 runs.
3. Bangladesh vs England, 2nd Test, Dhaka
Bangladesh elected to bat at Dhaka and riding on a fine ton from Tamim Iqbal. From 171 for 1, the hosts collapsed to 220. Moeen architected the fall with a five-for, and Stokes and Woakes combined to take 5 more, exhibiting exemplary skills of reverse swing.
Mehedi bettered his fellow off-spinner Moeen’s numbers and got a six-for to restrict England to 244. Struggling at 69 for 5, it was Root’s 56 and substantial contribution from their lower-order that guided them to a 24-run lead.
This time Stokes and Rashid combined to fell Bangladesh but not before they had put up a better show as they faltered for 296, leaving England to get 273 to win 2-0.
England were cruising at 100 for no loss at tea on Day Three. A dramatic collapse ensued, one that was once again architected by the young Mehedi. He claimed 6, while Shakib got 4 as England folded for 164, handing Bangladesh their first ever win against them. The series was 1-1, the moment was one of the finest for Bangladesh.
Bangladesh tore apart the ‘minnow’ tag and more miseries laid ahead for England in their next tour of India.
Brief scores:
Bangladesh 220 (Tamim Iqbal 104, Mominul Haque 66; Chris Woakes 3 for 30, Moeen Ali 5 for 57) & 296 (Tamim Iqbal 40, Imrul Kayes 78, Mahmudullah 47, Shakib Al Hasan 41; Ben Stokes 3 for 52, Adil Rashid 4 for 52) beat England 244 (Joe Root 56, Chris Woakes 46, Adil Rashid 44*; Mehedi Hasan 6 for 82, Taijul Islam 3 for 65) & 164 (Alastair Cook 59, Ben Duckett 56; Mehedi Hasan 6 for 77, Shakib Al Hasan 4 for 49) by 108 runs.
2. Australia vs Pakistan, 1st Test, Brisbane
The setting was apt. The Gabba became the third venue to host a day-and-night Test. A new pool deck was installed and the Test saw a sizable turnout. Australia had not lost a Test in this venue for 28 years but Pakistan had almost ended their great Gabba run. At the end of the Test, Australian captain Smith admitted that he “lost all nails”.
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Both Australia and Pakistan were coming from series defeats. Australia went down 1-2 to South Africa, their third consecutive defeat against the African nation at home. While Pakistan were routed 0-2 in New Zealand, their first series defeat against the team in 31 years.
The new-look Australia elected to bat and amassed 429 courtesy centuries from Smith and Peter Handscomb before their pacers combined to dismantle Pakistan for 142. Sarfraz Ahmed’s brisk 59 ensured the three-figure mark. Australia did not enforce follow-on and rubbed salt on Pakistan’s wounds by coming stretching the lead.
With rains in forecast, Australia set 490. Till a few weeks prior, Pakistan were the No.1 Test side and in the fourth innings it was evident why. Pakistan’s bid for a world-record chase fell short by 40. Asad Shafiq batted beautifully with the tail and it was only a Starc snorter that saw him fall when the side were 41 runs short of the total. Australia won by 40 runs and the margin was too close for comfort.
Brief scores:
Australia 429 (Steven Smith 130, Peter Handscomb 105; Mohammad Aamer 4 for 97, Wahab Riaz 4 for 89) & 202 for 5 decl. (Usman Khawaja 74, Steven Smith 63) beat Pakistan 142 (Sarfraz Ahmed 59*; Mitchell Starc 3 for 63, Josh Hazlewood 3 for 22, Jackson Bird 3 for 23) & 450 (Azhar Ali 71, Younis Khan 65, Asad Shafiq 137, Mohammad Aamer 48; Mitchell Starc 4 for 119, Jackson Bird 3 for 110) by 39 runs.
1. Pakistan vs West Indies, 1st Test, Dubai
It is a shame that one of the greatest Tests was played in front of empty stands. West Indies had lost the ODI and T20I series and were expected to be crashed in the Test series as well. This was the second ever day and night Test and Pakistan feasted on the lacklustre Caribbean bowling, declaring their innings at 579 for 3. Azhar Ali led the carnage with a 302 not out.
For a change, West Indies decided to not give in and go for a fight. Led by Darren Bravo’s 87, the visitors posted 357. Pakistan, who still had a 222-run lead, decided to not enforce a follow-on and add more West Indies miseries.
Pakistan came out with an aggressive intent that soon turned into hara-kiri. Devendra Bishoo’s 8-for bundled them for 123. All of a sudden, 346 seemed a gettable target. But West Indies are known to implode. So is Pakistan. It was a matter of who would implode first.
What ensued was a remarkable final day. Bravo kept West Indies in the hunt. Into the final session, West Indies needed 114 more with 4 wickets in hand. Bravo had got to his hundred and Jason Holder looked set.
It took a brilliant caught and bowled from Yasir to reverse the tides. He flew to his left to grab the leather and bring Pakistan back in the contest.
West Indies’ tail gave little support to their skipper as they folded for 289 to end a captivating 5-day contest.
Brief scores:
Pakistan 579 for 3 decl. (Sami Aslam 90, Azhar Ali 302*, Asad Shafiq 67, Babar Azam 69) & 123 (Sami Aslam 44; Devendra Bishoo 8 for 49) beat West Indies 357 (Darren Bravo 87, Marlon Samuels 76; Yasir Shah 5 for 121) & 289 (Leon Johnson 47, Darren Bravo 116, Jason Holder 40*; Mohammed Aamer 3 for 63) by 56 runs.
2017 awaits more…
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