Australia took on England in the 2nd Ashes test match, while India took on Sri Lanka in the 3rd and final test of their test series. Both home teams went into their respective games leading 1-0, and both games went well into the 5th Day, with chances of all three results. Read further for match details:
Australia vs England!
England lost the 1st Ashes Test and needed to win this one if they had any plans of retaining the Ashes urn. However, inconsistency cost them again as you need to play well in all 5 days to get wins in test cricket. After conceding a big 1st innings lead, England gave themselves a chance by bowling out Australia for 138 in their 2nd innings.
They lost 4 wickets in their 4th innings chase of 354, and were 176/4 on Stumps at Day 4. There was one man out there who could help them knock over the last 178 runs and he was the England captain Joe Root. However, everything went bad for them early in the session, and all hopes vanished in a matter of a few minutes on Day 5 morning.
The hosts displayed some beautiful fast bowling – Hazlewood impressing with his consistency and Starc being as deadly as every, on point with his accuracy. 233 is what England managed (6 runs more than their 1st innings effort), losing 6 wickets in the 1st session. Starc picked up 5/88 and Australia are on their way to regaining the Ashes.
India vs Sri Lanka!
Here, the two teams were playing in the final test of the series, with India having a 1-0 lead. They were playing in bad weather conditions of Delhi, and a lot of controversies happened in these 5 days, amidst the applause for Virat Kohli, who registered his highest test score – 243.
The Sri Lankans were sick, and were vomiting all over the place but still managed to scrape a draw. They just cleared the follow on in the 1st innings and were set a target of 410 in the last innings. The hosts picked up 3 early wickets, sending Sri Lanka in at Stumps on Day 4 at 31/3.
However, the visitors batted very intelligently on the final day, losing just 2 wickets in 87 overs, and ending at 299/5, managing to salvage some pride with this draw. However, India won the series 1-0 and Sri Lanka still has a lot to work on.
MOM – Virat Kohli
MOS – Virat Kohli
