SportsCafe’s Top matches of the decade
This decade has seen it all from India dominating in the Tests to the mighty English finally breaking their drought by winning the World Cup finals, thanks to their boundary approach on the day when it mattered. We could have only hand-picked four classics this decade and it was tough for us.
England vs New Zealand, World Cup Final at Lords, 2019
“England have won the World Cup! By the barest of margins! By the barest of all margins! Absolute ecstasy for England! Agony, agony for New Zealand,” said Ian Smith on-air following the dramatic of finishes in a World Cup final. The wait was finally over for the English side, in Cricket at least as they with their 12th man luck got the pass against New Zealand in the Finals. Ahead of the final, the English fans had to break all the nerves watching their team edge their way into the semi-finals after getting off to a flyer in the tournament. The first final in 27 years for England against 2015 finalists New Zealand, who were fresh off their victory against India. One new winner and many new rules were a product of the finals. Winning the toss, New Zealand elected to bat and defend the total against England, who had chased against Australia days before the finals. Following the first innings, the hosts had to chase 242 for a win and they did it in the most British style, losing wickets in the same interval as the fans lost their nails. 102 overs was not enough to separate both the sides, as England clung on to a victory thanks to having scored more boundaries, the margin of boundaries they say, cricket truly was decided by the margin of boundaries on 14th July last year.
England vs Australia, 3rd Ashes Test at Headingley, 2019
The narrative, heading into the Test, was fascinating - On one hand, there was Australia, who were looking to conquer enemy territory without their helmsman, whilst on the other, there was England, with their pride on the line, desperate to not let their foes snatch the urn away from them in their own backyard. As it turned out, a gloomy, rain-curtailed Day 1 was the only thing drab about the Test, for, after that, it was engrossing, exciting and an exhibition of all things special about sport. After being rolled over for 67 under the shining sun and after being set a fourth-innings target of 359, the death knell for the hosts seemed inevitable. But staring at certain defeat, and embarrassment, Root and Denly set an unlikely platform for what was going to be one of the greatest Test knocks of all time from Benjamin Andrew Stokes. But it’s not just the knock that makes this match great, but the drama, euphoria and several other inexplicable emotions that came along with it. Every fan - irrespective of the result - lived through each moment, embraced it and cherished it. It was Sport in a nutshell. Headingley was the advertisement that not just Test cricket but sport, as a whole, needed, and should be proud of.
ALSO READ: SportsCafe’s Top batting performances of the decade
England vs Sri Lanka, 2nd Test at Headingley, 2014
Amidst all this greatness that the 2010s have offered, the prominence of an extremely intense game of Test cricket that I had the honour to witness was relented. Stuart Broad had recreated history with a second hat-trick, pretty late in the first innings, in Tests. England’s answer to Sri Lanka’s 257 was, with the aid of Sam Robson’s splendid hundred, a solid 365. However, the 108-run partnership was soon negated by fifties scored by Sangakkara and Jayawardane, and captain Angelo Matthews’ ton and England were given a target of 349. Dhammika Prasad, with a little help from Pradeep and Herath, had the top six removed early. Moeen Ali had arrived when the hosts were struggling at 57/5 and stood his ground as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. But finally, one partner stayed. After a 24-ball run-less resistance from Broad, Ali found help in Anderson, last man in. England still 121 runs away led to a one-way street where even a draw had taken shape of an ambition, which Jimmy had bestowed his heart and soul into. He survived almost 21 overs across 81 minutes. ALMOST. After defending 55 balls, a short one from Eranga tricked the batsman into looping one to backward square. All the toil, all of Mo’s 385 minutes spent on the field, the entire spectrum of English hope to save the series was gone in a second and all that was seen in Jimmy Anderson’s breakdown. How ironical is it that the roles were reversed just in the preceding Test, at Lord’s, but Pradeep’s dismissal was revoked as the visitors saved the game.
Australia vs India, 1st Border-Gavaskar Test at Adelaide, 2014
Unlike the batting or bowling performances of the decade, I had a lot of options to choose for this. It could well have been that Windies-England Leeds Test or VVS Laxman-inspired escape in Mohali nine years ago, or might have been Rajasthan’s Ranji Trophy victory in 2011-12. But if one match that has imprinted each of its ideologies in one shell, ensuring a foundation for Indian cricket for years to come, it had to be the Adelaide 2014, even though India ended up on the losing side. Captaining India for the first time, Virat Kohli chose the path of going for a win, instead of trying to pull off a draw which was the safest option available. India fell short but it dawned a new era in Indian cricket, where aggressive mindset had replaced mediocrity, and never ever India talked the same language on a cricket field that it did a few years prior to that. It was a symbolic change of guards as Kohli swept the team’s fortunes drastically. The memories of 2011-12 had been forgotten, with Kohli and co making history the next time they visited the country, in 2018. Safe to say, Adelaide 2014 had set the base for it.