Cricket’s rarest events – The tied Test matches
Tied Test matches are pretty rare occurrences as only two Tests till date ended in a Tie out of 2393 Test matches till date. In addition to those two Tied Tests, there were two other matches which ended in a draw with the scores level. Such instances have been recorded in small chases where the teams were needed to score at a quick pace.
England finished with 204/6 chasing a target of 205 in just 37 overs against Zimbabwe during the 1996 Bulawayo Test match. 15 years later, India finished 242/9 during the 2011 Mumbai Test against West Indies chasing a target of 243 in the last two sessions. A total of 140 Test matches took place in Women’s cricket but none ended in a Tie or a draw with the scores level.
Here are the two Tied matches in Test cricket:
Australia vs West Indies, Brisbane in 1960:
West Indies toured Australia in the 1960-61 season for a 5-match Test series. The series kicked-off at the Gabba in Brisbane where the visitors posted a big total of 453 while batting first. Australia gave a solid response by smashing 505 and even took a 52-run lead. West Indies set a target of 233 in front of the hosts after being bowled out for 284 in their second essay. Australia’s chase was troubled by Sir Wes Hall who took four of the first five wickets to fall.
Aussies were reduced to 57/5 and it soon became 92/6. But things got under Australia’s control thanks to their skipper Richie Benaud (52) and Alan Davidson (80) sharing a 134-run stand for the 7th wicket. With seven runs away from a win, Davidson got runout and two runs later, Wes Hall completed a 5-wicket haul by dismissing Benaud. Australia levelled the scores with two wickets in hand but lost their last two wickets via runouts to Tie the match.
India vs Australia, Chennai in 1986:
Australia toured India for a 3-match Test series in 1986 which was scheduled to start in Chennai. Australia were brutal with the bat but declarations made by them kept the match alive. Dean Jones’ double hundred helped Australia to pile on 570/7 while in reply, it was Kapil Dev’s 138-ball 119 which helped India to reach 397 and avoid the follow-on. By the end of day four, Australia reached 170/5 and declared overnight to set a target of 348 for India.
Each of India’s top five scored at least 39 runs as they reached the 250-run mark losing only three wickets. But back to back wickets in quick space left the hosts six down for 291. But Ravi Shastri took India close to the victory with a quick-fire knock. Chetan Sharma added 40 runs for the 7th wicket before India lost three wickets for 14 runs and were at 344/9 still four runs away from the victory.
Shastri moved to 48 off only 40 balls with a single in the 87th over. That single helped India to level the scores and the No.11 batsman Maninder Singh needed to survive a couple of balls to take the game into next over. But on the 5th ball, Maninder was trapped in front by the off-spinner Greg Matthews and the match ended in a Tie.
