Close encounters: Five of the closest drawn Tests in 21st century
With the rise of T20 leagues around the world, more interest and drama has been added to the game of cricket. However, even in the Test format, some absolute nail-biters have happened over the years. One of the most interesting phases in cricket are the ones in which all four results are possible during the last moments of a Test match. It has happened in some of the Test matches that teams have failed to chase a target by a very small margin, and had to remain content with a draw. In this article, we are going to list out the 5 closest draws in the 21st century in terms of the margin of runs remaining for a win.
5. England vs Pakistan: 25 runs
England played a thrilling draw against Pakistan in the Abu Dhabi Test, 2015. In the fourth innings of this Test, England had to chase 99 runs in the remaining 11 overs of the last day. They did go for a win by demoting Alastair Cook to number 7 and opening with Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali.
However, in the end, they were unable to chase the target as they ended up with a score of 74/4 in 11 overs. England might have thought of going more aggressive in the approach as the target was not that big which could have resulted in the total collapse of the batting line up. Alastair Cook had scored a double century in the first innings helping England score 598/9 in response to Pakistan’s total of 523/8.
4. England vs Australia: 21 runs
England played a similar draw in 2013 as well, though the target was bigger at that time. In the fourth innings against Australia, they were chasing 227 runs and 40 overs were remaining in the day. England started a bit slowly but accelerated the innings in the second half. However, they fell short of the target by 21 runs scoring 206/5 in 40 overs.
Kevin Pietersen was their top performer with a bat who played a knock of 62 runs off 55 balls. Earlier in the first innings, Australia had posted 492/9 with the help of hundreds from Shane Watson and Steve Smith. England got all out for 377 runs in the first innings after which Australia declared their second innings at the score of 111/6 thereby pushing their luck for a win in the last session.
3. Australia vs New Zealand: 10 runs
The Brisbane Test between Australia and New Zealand played in 2001 remains one of the most thrilling Test matches of this century. The Kiwi team had to chase down 284 runs in 57 overs, and they went in full attack mode in the final overs. However, they missed out by a small margin of 10 runs as they scored 274/6 in 57 overs.
Australia had earlier taken a lead of 199 runs in the first innings as they posted 486/9 including tons from openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden. They declared their second innings at 84/2 in hope of taking all 10 Kiwi wickets in the remaining time of the day.
2. South Africa vs India: 8 runs
South Africa could have created history against India in the Johannesburg Test, 2013. They were on the verge of a world record chase of 458 runs in the fourth innings but fell short by just 8 runs. They scored 450/7 in 136 overs with the help of centuries from Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers.
India were lucky enough to get away with a draw in this match, otherwise, it could have been a big shame had South Africa chased that mammoth total in the fourth innings. Virat Kohli who smashed a century in the first innings for India was awarded player of the match.
1. India vs West Indies: 1 run
The Mumbai Test between India and England played in 2011 is one of the most memorable draws in recent Test history. India had a target of 243 runs in the fourth innings, and the match went down to the last ball. On the last ball, India had to score 2 runs to win with Ravichandran Ashwin on strike. He was run out while attempting a second run and the match ended up in a draw with India’s final score of the fourth innings being 242/9. In the first innings, India had scored 482 runs in response to the West Indies’ total of 590 runs. Ravi Ashwin who scored a century in the first innings and also took 9 wickets in the match was awarded player of the match.
