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Tag: Test Match

  • PAK VS AUS: Babar and Rizwan’s Heroics Led to A Sensational Draw

    The Pakistani Captain, Babar Azam, scored the highest fourth-innings score ever by a skipper in the Test Match history when he notched up 196 runs, including 21 fours and a towering six against the Australian Cricket Team on the gruelling fifth day.

    Mohammad Rizwan scored an unbeaten century to ensure that Pakistan stayed in the hunt for the record run chase even after Babar’s dismissal.

    Babar Azam has once again proved his mettle as one of the best batters in modern-day cricket. He kept Australia on their toes for most of the last day by gunning towards the highest ever run chase in Test cricket history. His 228 runs partnership with Shafique was the turning point of the game. The duo turned the match on its head and made the colossal task in front of them to be achievable.

    Here’s how the day panned out:

    At stumps, on day 4, Pakistan was 192-2 with Shafique on 71* and Babar Azam on 102* still on the crease. On day 5, Azam and Abdullah started from where they left off last evening. The two continued extravagant stroke play to offer no chances to the Pat Cummins led bowling attack. 

    An opportunity knocked on Australia’s door to breach the Pakistani defences when Shafique reached the nervous nineties. Australia pressured Shafique by not giving him easy singles, which kept mounting with every dot ball. In the end, he chased a wide one in hopes of reaching his hundred quickly. However, he only ended up edging the ball on 96 runs to get caught by Steven Smith.

    Following Shafique, Fawad Alam departed soon, and Babar Azam too got dismissed for bringing another twist in the story of this historic test match. After Azam, Nathan Lyon sent back Faheem Ashraf and Sajid Khan in quick succession to get Australia back into the game.

    However, Mohammad Rizwan steadied one end and kept going strong to bring up his second test hundred. Rizwan’s innings came at a very crucial juncture when Australia had their tail-up with the new ball in hand. He scored an unbeaten 104 runs, including 11 fours and a six, as Pakistan finished on 443-7 at stumps on day 5 while chasing a mammoth 506 runs.

     

    Also Read: Babar Azam or Virat Kohli? Which one is the better batter?

  • PAK VS AUS, 2nd Test, Day 4: Babar Azam Sets Ablaze The Chase

    Pak vs Aus, the 4th day of the 2nd test, witnessed the modern-day genius Babar Azam’s brilliance while chasing a mammoth 506 runs in the fourth innings of the test match.

    Babar Azam is currently playing on 102* as Pakistan scored 192-2 at stumps on the fourth day. Pakistan is still trailing by 314, and the Pakistani skipper will look to emulate his fourth-day heroics against the formidable Australian bowling line-up on the fifth day to register a historic win.

    PAK VS AUS, Day 4: As it happened

    Australia declared their innings after Labuschagne fell on 44 against Shaheen Afridi in the first session of the fourth day. Khwaja remained unbeaten on 44* to continue his dream run this year’s tests.

    Australia declared on 97-2 in 22.3 overs in their second innings to post a colossal target of 506 runs for the exhausted Pakistani batting line-up.

    Pakistan faltered at the beginning of their innings, and they lost the centurions from the first test match, Imam-ul-Haq and Azhar Ali under 21 runs while chasing an enormous amount of runs.

    However, Babar Azam (102*) arrived on the crease with utmost positivity and started counterattacking the Kangaroos. His stroke play made it visible that he is gunning for the win against Australia in 2nd test. Azam’s approach made it clear that the lethal Australian bowling attack did not rattle him.

    He combined with Shafique (71) to form an unbeaten 171 runs partnership for the third wicket. The duo played their shots and infused newfound energy into the Pakistani camp. They have ignited hopes for a Pakistan win on the 4th day out of nowhere.

    Can Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique pull off a VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid reminiscing heroics at National Stadium in Karachi?

    PAK VS AUS, Brief Scores:

    Australia 1st innings- 556-9 declared

    Pakistan 1st innings- 148-10

    Australia 2nd innings- 97-2 declared

    Pakistan 2nd innings- 192-2 (at stumps on day 4)

     

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  • IND VS SL, Pink Ball Test: India Ends Sri Lanka’s Struggle

    Sri Lanka had the daunting task of chasing 447 in the 4th innings of the pink ball test match.

    Sri Lankan captain, Dimuth Karunaratne demonstrated why he is known as 4th innings specialist but his counterattacking 107 runs were not enough to eclipse massive total India had put on the board.

    India has whitewashed Sri Lanka in both T20is and Test format of the game in this tour with the win at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

    Lone Warrior Karunaratne:

    The Sri Lankan captain notched up his 14th test hundred; however, found himself losing partners at the other end on a regular basis.

    Beginning the day at 28-1, the duo of Kusal Mendis and Karunaratne did light a flicker of hope when they combined together to put another 69 runs on the board before Mendis got stumped off Ashwin’s bowling.

    Following Mendis, no one showed the resilience to ward off the Indian bowlers. Sri Lanka could only score a paltry 208 in 59.3 overs.

    Jasprit Bumrah picked up another 3 wickets in the second innings to extend his tally to 8 wickets in the pink ball test. Ashwin accounted for four wickets while Jadeja and Axar picked one and two wickets respectively.

    The win in the pink ball test ensured that India finishes the 2021/22 home season undefeated with 3 ODI, 9 T20i and 4 test victories.

    Player of the Match:

    Shreyas Iyer for his significant knocks of 92 and 67 runs in the game.

    Next Challenge for India:

    Indian players will head straight into the competitive T20 environment at the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League following which they will don the blue colours to go against the Proteas in 5 match T20i series beginning from the 9th of June.

     

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  • AUS VS PAK, 2nd Test, Day 3: Australia dismantles Pakistan

    Aus vs Pak, 3rd day of the 2nd test, witnessed the Australian bowlers pouncing on a clueless Pakistani batting line-up.

    Pakistan could only muster 148 in their first innings after conceding 556/9 against the Kangaroos.

    Even after taking a gigantic lead of 408 runs, Australia did not press the follow-on. Pat Cummins and co. are well aware that it is their chance to tire out the already exhausted Pak fielders much more before the final test of the three-match test series is played.

    Aus vs Pak, 3rd-day highlights:

    Pat Cummins, the skipper for the Kangaroos, added more to the misery of his counterparts when he scored an unbeaten 34* off 36, including 3 massive sixes to impose a massive first innings total of 556 before the long-awaited declaration.

    Pak’s first innings:

    Shafique and Imam lacked the persistence displayed in the first test, trailing a gigantic first innings total. An exhausted Shafique was sent back to the pavilion by an excellent display of fielding by the debutant Mitchell Swepson.

    Shafique’s wicket opened up the doors for the Kangaroos to pounce on a fatigued batting line-up. Australia kept bowling in the right areas with precise line and length to get quick successive wickets.

    Imam-ul-Haq soon followed his opening partner in the dugout, and the batters after him kept following each other into the dressing-room. Only Babar Azam played a substantial knock of 36 before becoming the first victim of the debutant Swepson in test cricket.

    Starc picked up three, and Swepson accounted for two while Cummins, Lyon and Green each scalped one wicket to restrict Pakistan at 148 in 53 overs.

    Aussies’ second innings begins:

    Australia lost David Warner early in the innings as they finished the day on 81-1, leading by 489 runs with Khwaja and Labuschagne on the crease.

     

    Also read: Australia Squashes New Zealand: ICC WCWC 2022

  • India gains Unassailable lead: IND VS SL, Pink Ball Test, Day 2

    Pink Ball Test between India and Sri Lanka is most probably heading towards a finish on the 3rd day of the test match.

    India wrapped Sri Lanka’s first innings quickly at 109 in 35.5 overs in the first session to bat for the second time in the test match on the second day itself. Jasprit Bumrah was the star for the Indians as he bagged another fifer in the game’s longest format.

    Rishabh Pant (51) and Shreyas Iyer (67) again replicated their heroics from the first innings in their electric fifties against the Sri Lankans. India secured a lead of 446 before declaring their second innings in the Pink Ball Test at Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangaluru.

    Notable moments from the day’s play

    Sri Lanka incurs a massive deficit:

    At 86/6, Sri Lanka had hoped for a majestic effort from the duo of Dickwella and Embuldeniya to spur their first innings total in the Pink Ball Test. However, against the seething Indian attack, the Sri Lankans completely surrendered in the first 6 overs of the day. Jasprit Bumrah accounted for both Dickwella and Embuldeniya to finish on 5/24 in his phenomenal 10 overs.

    Electric Pant and Iyer:

    Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant again counterattacked the Sri Lankan bowlers on a pitch that is doing too much for the bowlers. Pant scored the fastest fifty for an Indian in the test cricket history. He reached this landmark in only 28 balls with the help of 7 fours and 2 sixes. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer too dominated from the other end to score 67 off 87, including 9 fours. Jayawickrama accounted for 4 wickets, and Embuldeniya registered 3 wickets to his name in the 2nd Indian innings. India declared on 303-9 in 68.5 overs to set a target of 447 for Sri Lanka.

    Sri Lanka manages to survive:

    Sri Lanka managed to avert the danger to quite an extent by surviving the last 7 overs of the day while scoring at 4 runs per over. Thirimanne went back to the dugout without troubling the scoreboard keepers, but overall they won’t be too disappointed with losing one wicket in the last nervy few overs of the day. They are 28-7 and will continue to bat from 2 PM IST tomorrow at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangaluru.

     

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  • AUS VS PAK, 2nd Test, Day 2: Australia bats and bats…

    Australia finished on 505-8 at the stumps on day 2 of the 2nd test versus Pakistan at National Stadium, Karachi. Carrying on from 251-3, the Australian batters seemed in no hurry and took their time tiring out the Pakistani fielders.

    The night-watchman keeps the guard up:

    Nathan Lyon, sent in as a night-watchman at the end of the first day’s play, kept batting for more than one and half hours on the 2nd day. He frustrated the already irritated bowling lineup and kept the momentum going on for the Kangaroos. He combined with Khwaja to put up a 54 run stand in which he contributed 38 runs before getting dismissed.

    Khwaja continues his marathon innings:

    Usman Khwaja kept going strong on day 2 of the 2nd test as well. He scored an impeccable 160 off 369, including 15 fours and a six, before being dismissed by Sajid Khan. His innings was the glue in Australian innings till the team scored 360.

    Alex Carey joins the party:

    Alex Carey joined Khwaja in the middle when Travis Head got trapped leg before by Sajid Khan. Carey’s partnership with Khwaja did not last long as the left-hander opener soon followed Head into the dugout. Carey, then played the aggressor for the Australians. He made 93 runs, which is his highest score in test cricket so far. He was dismissed by the Pakistani captain Babar Azam, who tried giving his bowlers a reprieve for a few overs.

    What to expect on 3rd day:

    The way the pitch at National Stadium is behaving, it won’t be foolish to say that the 3rd of the 2nd test will also be a run-fest. Cricreads expect that the match is heading towards a draw, and Pakistani batters will put high scores on the 3rd day just like their counterparts did in the first innings.

    Score at stumps on day 2 of the 2nd test:

    Australia– 505/8 (180 overs)

     

     

  • ENG VS WI, 1st Test, Day 5: An Imminent Draw Ensues

    ENG VS WI, the first test on the 5th day of the play at Antigua, has wrapped up with an already foreseen draw.

    In the third innings of the game, England posted 349-6 before declaring and set the target of 286 for the West Indies to chase down in 70 overs. In reply, West Indies had a shaky start and lost 4 wickets early in the innings, but the heroes of the first innings, Bonner (38*) and Holder (37*), once again rescued the sinking ship for the Caribbeans as they finished on 147-4 at the stumps.

    Few significant moments from the 5th day, 1st test, Eng vs Wi:

    Root reaches 100:

    Root lost his partner Zak Crawley (121) early in the day, but that did not stop him from reaching his 23rd hundred in the test cricket. He scored 109 off 204, including 6 boundaries to help England reach a winning position. Other than Crawley and Root, Lawrence also played a handy knock of 37 off 36, including 4 fours and a six.

    A Bold Declaration:

    The first test between Eng vs Wi saw Root declaring on 349-6, ultimately setting a target of 286 with 70 overs left in the 5th day’s play. The decision could have easily backfired if Windies had adopted their natural style of play. However, the English bowlers proved their skipper right by not offering any freebies to the West Indian players.

    Jittery Start from the Windies:

    The Caribbean team had a patchy start in response to the English target. They lost 4 wickets in 34.3 overs at 67 arising everyone’s curiosity that there may be a result possible in this match. However, Bonner and Holder stuck to their basics and performed a brilliant act of resilience. Together they faced 239 balls to ensure that the game concluded in a draw.

     

    Brief Scores, Eng vs Wi, 1st test:

    Eng 1st innings- 311-10 (100.3 overs)

    Wi 1st innings- 375-19 (157.3 overs)

    Eng 2nd innings- 349-6 (88.2 overs)

    Wi 2nd innings- 147-4 (70.1 overs)

     

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  • Iyer’s Valiant Effort puts India Ahead: IND VS SL, Day/Night 2nd Test, Day 1

    Shreyas Iyer played a valiant knock of 92 off 98, including 10 fours and 4 sixes, as India finished on 252 in 59.1 overs on the 1st day of the pink ball test.

    The pitch on Chinnaswamy had it all for both the pace and spin bowlers. In the first session itself, the ball started turning, and the odd one kept extremely low to surprise the batters out. As many as 16 wickets fell on the first day as Sri Lanka finished on 86-6 in 30 overs at the stumps. In the day/night test history, this became the first instance when 16 dismissals took place on the 1st day.

    At the toss:

    Earlier in the day, India won the toss and opted to bat first to put scoreboard pressure on the opposition. Both the captains revealed their playing XI and announced one change each. For India, Axar Patel came in place of Jayant Yadav, and Praveen Jayawickrama played instead of an injured Lahiru Kumara.

    Playing XI:

    India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma (c), Hanuma Vihari, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah

    Sri Lanka: Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lahiru Thirimanne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Suranga Lakmal, Lasith Embuldeniya, Vishwa Fernando, Praveen Jayawickrama

    The dynamic approach of Shreyas Iyer:

    As India kept losing wickets at regular intervals due to the deadly nature of the pitch, the duo of Iyer and Rishabh Pant showcased a dynamic approach and took on the Sri Lankan spinners head-on. Pant scored 39 at a strike rate of 150, and Iyer smashed 4 massive sixes in his 92 off 98. No other batter seemed comfortable against the Sri Lankan bowling line-up. Embuldeniya and Jayawickrama both took 3 wickets each to restrict India at 252.

    Shami and Bumrah wreak havoc:

    Post dinner break Sri Lanka came on to bat and found themselves heavily struggling against the pace duo of Shami and Bumrah. Bumrah accounted for 3 Sri Lankan batters while Shami scalped 2 wickets at night. Angelo Mathews top-scored for Sri Lanka with 43 off 85. Dickwella and Embuldeniya are at the crease as the play for the day was ceased.

     

    Also read: Khwaja overwhelms Pakistan: AUS VS PAK, 2nd Test, Day 1

     

     

  • Khwaja overwhelms Pakistan: AUS VS PAK, 2nd Test, Day 1

    Usman Khwaja (127*) overpowered the Pakistani attack as Australia finished the day on a high with 251 runs for a loss of only three wickets.

    Earlier in the day, Australia won the toss and opted to bat first. Australia and Pakistan announced that they had made one and two changes respectively to their sides.

    Playing XI:

    Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Swepson

    Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, Babar Azam (c), Fawad Alam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Nauman Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Sajid Khan

    Australia gets off to a flier:

    Usman Khwaja and David Warner were in no mood to waste any time as they picked apart the Pakistani bowlers from the get-go. David Warner, in particular, went absolutely bonkers while smashing the bowlers all around the park. Warner played a handy knock of 36 runs, including 3 fours and 2 sixes. The Kangaroos scored at a rate of more the 4.5 runs per over till Warner’s stay at the crease. Warner was removed by Faheem Ashraf when Australia was cruising at 82 for no loss.

    Usman Khwaja and Smith steer the innings:

    Marnus Labuschagne got too anxious for his first runs and made a horrible call in the middle to follow Warner without scoring nought. Khwaja then collaborated with Steven Smith to put up a handsome 159 runs stand for the 3rd wicket.

    Smith reached 34th test fifty as he compiled 72 runs before getting dismissed. On the other end, Usman is churning out hundreds every other match in test cricket. He reached his 10th test hundred and remained unbeaten on 127 as the game heads into the 2nd day.

    Nathan Lyon, sent in as night-watchman, is at the crease with Usman Khwaja, and the duo will open the proceedings for Australia on the 2nd day.

     

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  • England Wrest Control: ENG VS WI, 1st Test, Day 4

    Root (84*) and Zak Crawley (117*) formed an unbeaten 193* run partnership for the 2nd wicket to put England ahead by 153 runs in a match heading towards an inevitable draw.

    England finished on 217-1 in 63.2 overs on day 4 of the 1st test filled with episodes of intermittent showers.

    Here’s what transpired on the 4th day:

    West Indies fold quickly:

    Beginning from 373-9, West Indies did not move the scoreboard much by quickly giving way to England batters. The Caribbeans could only add two more to their tally before the fall of their last wicket in the first four overs of the day’s play. They ended on 375-9 with a handsome lead of 64 runs.

    England survives a top-order scare:

    Trailing by 64 runs, the England openers, Alex Lees and Zak Crawley, failed to create an impactful partnership as Lees departed on 6 off 27. It sent a shiver into the English camp as their top-order woes didn’t seem to go away. However, captain Joe Root joined Crawley to avoid any further damage.

    Crawley and Root’s marathon stand:

    West Indies tried to pounce on a fragile English top-order when they were reeling under pressure at 24-1 in their second innings. However, Crawley and Root’s determination denied Windies any other chances on the 4th day. Together they put on a batting masterclass filled with extraordinary stroke play.

    Zak Crawley scored an unbeaten 117 off 200, including 16 fours; meanwhile, Root, on the other end, is batting on 84 off 158, consisting of 6 boundaries along the ground. The pitch did not deteriorate much, even on the 4th day’s play which ruined West Indies’ chances of putting the English batters under pressure.

    The day was cut short by the arrival of rain in the 64th over of English innings, and it is adjudged that the play will begin early tomorrow to compensate for the lost overs.

    What to expect on day 5:

    The first test between England vs West Indies is heading towards a draw unless we witness a horrible collapse of the West Indian 4th innings. With 9 wickets in hand and a lead of 153, there is no way England can lose this match now. There are only about 90 overs to go; it’s wishful thinking to hope for a result in the game.

     

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