Best Knocks in Test: Test cricket is the oldest form which is still popular among the cricketing fans across the globe. The lots of people tend to watch test cricket because it is the olden art which is redefining itself over the years. Test cricket is the real fight between the bat and ball and it is absolute pleasure to watch a test cricket between two quality teams. Like other forms of cricket, it also brings lots of excitement into the game and many memorable moments have happened over the years in the history of test cricket.
With the advancement for new t20 franchise based leagues all over the world tend to hamper the popularity of test cricket but it is still popular among the top cricketing nations around the world. Batsmen have produced memorable innings over the years and here is the list of top 10 best knocks in the history of test cricket.
Graham Gooch 154* vs. England in 1991
Best Knocks in Test: This is one of the memorable test knocks played by Graham Gooch against the quality bowling unit under testing conditions. Quality pitch index was 34% and it shows how difficult is to bad on that pitch but Graham Gooch did it in style and took the match away from West Indians. Having got the 24 run lead in the first inning England were tumbling at 38/3 by losing all of their top order batsmen but Graham Gooch changed the scenario by leaving the balls outside the off stump and played according to the merit of the delivery.
Even though he bats at one end English batsmen continue to lose their wickets on other ends. Graham Gooch made a 154 out of total 252 runs. He has scored almost 60% of England’s total which enables England to fix the competitive total against might West Indians. England eventually won the match with 100 runs to spare which turned out to be the fantastic match for the crowd.
Sanath Jayasuriya 253 vs Pakistan in 2004
Best Knocks in Test: Faisalabad pitch is heaven for the fast bowlers and Pakistan took on Sri Lankans in the first test match of the series. Having won the toss Sri Lanka decided to bat first despite difficult conditions to bat on. The move turned out to be the masterstroke as their premier batsmen and batting legend Sanath Jayasuriya took the Pakistani bowlers ease and started scoring briskly.
He forged the valuable partnership with Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera to ensure the Sri lanka posting the competitive total but after the wickets of these players Sri Lanka batting started falling like a bunch of cards and on other end, Sanath is playing the knock of his life. For the last wicket with Dilhara Fernando, he made 101 run partnerships with Fernando scoring just one run and this tells the story of his knock. It is one of the best knock played in subcontinent till date.
Don Bradman 270 vs. England 1936
Best Knocks in Test: Don Bradman was the captain of that series and England took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the series by winning first two tests. The third match of the series was played in Melbourne and as usual, it was the tough wicket to bat on.
Having got a healthy lead of 124 Bradman sent their no.9, 10 and 11 batsmen on top order in order to counter the difficulty of the pitch and the move worked well as they made 100 runs between them then Bradman and Jack Fingleton forged 346 run partnership for the sixth wicket and ensured Australia imposing the health target of 689 and in reply England were bowled out for 340. Bradman batted till the end and made 270 on a difficult pitch against a strong English bowling line-up and turned the cards on Australia’s favor. Still, this knock remains as the best knock in test cricket played till date.
Brian Lara 153* vs. Australia, 1999
Best Knocks in Test: Bridgetown pitch was relatively good for first two innings as Australia made 490 in their first innings and in reply West Indies made 329. Then there comes the horrible the West Indian trio of Courtney Walsh, Ambrose and Collins dismissed Australia for 146 and West Indies were made to chase 308 in order to seal the victory. Mighty Australians fight back well and dismissed the top order very quickly and West Indies were in deep trouble having lost their top order for 72 when Brian Lara came to bat.
Lara and Jimmy Adams added much needed 133 runs for the 5th wicket and it helped West Indies to near the target but wickets started falling cheaply and West Indies were reduced to 258-9. Lara forgets an all-important partnership with no.11 Walsh and the duo added 54 runs in mere 38 deliveries to ensure the West Indies taking the match home. Lara made all important 153 runs which are still considered as the best innings in Lara’s career as well as in the history of international test cricket.
Virender Sehwag 201* against Sri Lanka, 2008
Best Knocks in Test: Sri Lankan were the lions in their own den. They play differently when they play at their home and Galle was one of the pitches that traditionally suits to spin bowling and it has been considered as the paradise for the spinners. The duo of Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis made the life difficult for Indian batsmen in relatively difficult conditions to bat on.
Virender Sehwag and Gautham set the platform for Indian innings as the duo added 153 runs for the first wicket but after the dismissal of Gambhir and rain stopped the play for almost an hour Indian batting line-up started tumbling against Sri Lankan bowling unit. Wickets started falling from other end but Virender Sehwag didn’t stop as he continuously scoring at the strike rate of above 85%. Sehwag was not out on 201 and has scored 60% of India’s total ensured India to win the most memorable test match against these two nations.
VVS Laxman 281 against Australia, 2001
Australians came to India with 16 consecutive test victories and India were enforced to follow and have to score 274 runs in order to avoid inning defeat. Ganguly the Indian captain made few changes in the batting line up as he moved VVS Laxman to bat at no.3 and Dravid at no.6 and the move proved to be effective as they forged the historical partnership of 400 runs and made Australia to bat on difficult fourth innings which led to India’s victory. This match is one of the great reversals of all time and Laxman’s 281 were regarded as one of the greatest knocks of all time.
Many great knocks are there but the knocks that changed the course of the game ended in the winning moment are listed above.
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