Yearender 2015: Top 10 most thrilling Tests

These are matches where momentum kept shifting from one team to the other as both the sides fought with determined effort.

With 2015 coming to an end, let us glance through some of the most thrilling Test matches of the year. These were games in the longest version of the sport, which went neck and neck, making it hard to pick the winner until the very last day. These are matches where momentum kept shifting from one team to the other as both the sides fought with determined effort. Bhaskar Narayan lists down 10 most memorable Test matches of the year. We will go through these Tests in a chronological order.

1. New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Basin Reserve, Wellington on January 3: It was one of the greatest spine-chilling Tests of the year. New Zealand succeeded in orchestrating a brilliant turnaround in the second half of this game played in their capital. Hosts had started their second innings on a 135-run deficit and were looking in a bad shape at 159 for five. They were leading by only 24 runs at that time and were on the verge of getting bowled out with a trivial lead.

It was here that Kane Williamson and BJ Watling struck an unbeaten 365-run stand for the sixth wicket before New Zealand declared their second innings at 524 for five. It was the highest sixth-wicket stand of all time bettering Brendon McCullum and Watling’s own 352 against India at the same venue on February 14 the previous year. Sri Lanka in the final innings could only manage 196. Thus, New Zealand registered a 193-run victory with Kane Williamson being adjudged as Player of the Match for his unbeaten 242 in the third innings of the game. The match will also be remembered for Kumar Sangakkara’s 203-run knock in the first innings. It was saddening for the Sri Lankan legend that even after having played one of his finest innings against New Zealand, he ended on the losing side. Yearender 2015: Top 15 knocks in Test cricket

2. West Indies vs England, 3rd Test at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados on May 1: It will go down as probably the finest West Indies’ comeback.They were dominated by the opposition in the majority of the match but still they triumphed at the end due to classic bowling in the second innings backed-up by a resilient batting performance later on.

It was a must win game for West Indies as they had drew the first and lost the second game of the three-match Test series. England won the toss and elected to bat first with their skipper Alastair Cook leading from the front with a 105-run knock enabling the visitors post 257 in the first innings. The Caribbean side then caved in for a measly 189 with James Anderson taking a six-wicket-haul. However, the hosts fought back strongly in the third innings by bowling out the English for a paltry 123. West Indies had to chase down a target of 192 in the final innings, which they did with five wickets remaining.

3. England vs New Zealand, 1st Test at Lord’s, London on May 21: England posted 389 in the first innings after being asked to bat first by the opposition captain Brendon McCullum. Joe Root and Ben Stokes scored 98 and 92 respectively. New Zealand replied even better by scoring 523 runs and hence took a lead of 134 runs. Kane Williamson had played a resplendent knock of 132 runs. At that moment, it appeared that either New Zealand would win the game or it will end in a draw but it was not to be as England skipper Alastair Cook cracked 162 runs in the second innings. Ben Stokes too scored a century down the order and the English finished their second innings on 478 giving a target of 345 to New Zealand in the final innings. Stokes’ hundred was the fastest century scored at Lord’s.

New Zealand started poorly in their second innings losing both their openers— Martin Guptill and Tom Latham for noughts. Kane Williamson, BJ Watling and Corey Anderson offered resistance in the middle with the last two also scoring fifties. But after their departure, New Zealand tail did not give the kind of contribution that was required from them and they got bowled for 220. England won the game by 124 runs and the match turned out to be one of the squeakers of 2015.

4. Sri Lanka vs Pakistan, 3rd Test at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on July 3: An exciting encounter by all means. The highlight of this game was Younis Khan’s 171 not-out in the final innings of the match which sealed the win for the visitors. Pakistan’s skipper Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lanka, riding on opener Dimuth Karunatne’s 130-run knock posted 278 in the first innings.

Pakistan, in reply was bowled out for 215. Sri Lanka, bolstered by skipper Angelo Mathews’ century blasted 313 in their second innings. Pakistan needed 377 in the final innings to win but lost two wickets when there were just 13 runs on the scoreboard. The wickets to fall were of Ahmed Shehzad and Azhar Ali. Shan Masood and Younis Khan then stitched together a 242-run stand for the third wicket and brought Pakistan excruciatingly close to a victory, which had appeared highly unlikely at the start of their innings. After Masood’s dismissal, Younis and Misbah-ul-Haq shared an unbeaten 127-run partnership and took Pakistan to victory with seven wickets remaining. The chase went on to be Pakistan’s highest of all time and the win will be cherished for a long time.

5. The Ashes, 1st Test at Cardiff on July 8: A white-knuckle encounter between arch-rivals England and Australia at Cardiff, Wales, which saw the hosts triumph by 169 runs. England went on to win the series 3-2. Alastair Cook won the toss and had decided to bat first wishing to put a big total on board. Capitalising on Joe Root’s 134 and half centuries by Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali down the order, England posted 430. For Australia, Mitchell Starc took a five-wicket-haul. In reply, Australia started well with their first wicket falling in the form of David Warner with 52 runs on the scoreboard. But after Warner’s dismissal, Australia kept on losing wickets at regular intervals and was able to make only 308 in their first innings falling 122 runs behind England.

The hosts then scored 289 in their second innings with the help of Ian Bell and Joe Root’s 60-run knocks each. England gave a target of 412 to Australia in the final innings. Warner and Steven Smith steadied the ship after Australia lost Chris Rogers early on. However, a middle and lower-order batting collapse piloted by Stuart Broad made them bow out for 242. England registered a 169-run victory. Special mention needs to be given to Mitchell Johnson, who made a fighting 77 coming at No 8.

6. Sri Lanka vs India, 1st Test at Galle International Stadium on August 12: This was the closest shave of the year in terms of runs. Sri Lanka won this thriller by only 63 runs. The islanders won the toss and elected to bat first but folded for an insignificant 183. Ravichandran Ashwin took a six-wicket-haul. India replied with 375 taking an overall lead of 192 runs for the first innings. India was helped by centuries from Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. For the Lankans, Tharindu Kaushal picked up five wickets.

Hosts started poorly in their second innings losing both their openers— Dimuth Karunaratne and Kaushal Silva for ducks. They lost three more wickets and were tottering on 95 for 5 still trailing by 97 runs. Here on, it was a Dinesh Chandimal show. He counterattacked and smacked an unbeaten 162 to help Sri Lanka reach 367. Target for India was only 176 but Rangana Herath triggered a batting collapse as the Indian innings ended for a paltry 112. Herath took a seven-wicket-haul. The result was a shocker. India who dominated for three days went on to lose the match.

7. Sri Lanka vs West Indies, 2nd Test at P Sara Oval, Colombo on October 22: Sri Lanka batting first were bundled out for 200 in front of their home crowd. But they then managed to dismiss West Indies to an even lower score of 163. Jomel Warrican and Dhammika Prasad took four wickets in the first innings for their respective teams. Sri Lanka was then scuttled for 206 in the second innings as Kraigg Brathwaite took a six-wicket-haul. Sri Lanka bowled out the visitors for 171 in the final innings thus taking a 72-run victory. This is the second closest victory in terms of runs for the year.

8. India vs South Africa, 1st Test at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Mohali on November 5: This Test match finished in just three days as the pitch at Mohali immensely helped the spinners and the track turned out to be a batsmen’s graveyard. Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat first but barring Murali Vijay’s 75 at the top-order there was no resistance offered by any other Indian batsman. India got all-out for 201 as South Africa’s left-arm orthodox bowler Dean Elgar took four wickets.

However, Indian bowlers brought them back into the match as Ravichandran Ashwin’s five-wicket-haul shot down the opposition for 184. In the second innings, India got bundled out for 200. Imran Tahir and Simon Harmer picked up four wickets each. South Africa needed 218 runs to win in the final innings but Ravindra Jadeja’s five-wicket-haul enabled the hosts bowl out the Proteas for 109; thereby taking a 108-run victory. India dominated the series and went on to win it 3-0.

9. Australia vs New Zealand, 3rd Test at Adelaide Oval on November 27: It was the first day-night Test match in the history of the game and also was a nail biting one. Batting first, New Zealand made only 202 in their first innings. Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood took three wickets each. However, the Kiwis showed resilience and bowled out Australia for 224; Doug Bracewell picked up three wickets. New Zealand could have managed a lead had third umpire Nigel Llong given Nathan Lyon out. That went on to be a controversy. New Zealand batsmen let them down in the second innings too as they folded for a meager 208 with Hazelwood taking a six-wicket-haul.

Australia required 187 runs to win in the final innings of the match. They lost their first wicket in the form of David Burns for 11 runs when the scoreboard read 34. David Warner and Steven Smith soon followed suit by the 14th over of the innings itself. Shaun Marsh scored a fighting 49 in the middle-order and his brother Mitchell too contributed a valuable 28. Australia won the match in 51 overs with only three wickets remaining. Had umpiring been right and New Zealand had another 30-40 runs to play with, the result could had been different.

10. New Zealand vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Seddon Park, Hamilton on December 18: Another pulsating contest of 2015 in which New Zealand finally emerged victorious at the end. Brendon McCullum asked the visitors to bat first and bowled them out for 292 in the first innings. Angelo Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana cracked half centuries. The Kiwis then replied with 237 while Dushmantha Chameera took a five-wicket-haul. Later, New Zealand blew the Lankans for  a measly 133 in the second innings. New Zealand then required 189 runs in the fourth and final innings of the match but they lost half their side when the scoreboard read 142 needing 47 runs to win. Kane Williamson and BJ Watling then took them to victory with five wickets remaining. Williamson scored an unbeaten 108 and bagged Player of the Match award. Yearender: Test XI of the year

(Bhaskar Narayan is a reporter at CricketCountry and Criclife. He passionately follows the game and is a big fan of Sachin Tendulkar. His Twitter handle is @Cricopathy)

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