Hello and a warm welcome to all our readers who say test cricket is boring oh no more now. Yes T20 cricket has the most glamour and shine but who can compete for the utmost pressure of the last over of the day with 11 players right around the bat. That's why we love to test more than anything else the game of the utmost pressure, impeccable line and length, and a hell of consistency. Let's talk about some cricket news of the 1st week of 2022
Yes we thought 2021 was a great year of test cricket but what about 2022 it has been just one week and we have 3 nail-biting finishes in tests.
1st New Zealand Vs Bangladesh
2nd India Vs South Africa
3rd Australia Vs England
We have written bout Bangladesh Vs New Zealand in our previous post so it's to talk about two others.
You can read also Bangladesh stunned New Zealand in 1st test 2022
India Vs South Africa
This series started from the Boxing Day test where India ended the streak of South Africa in Centurion but after that, they moved to Johannesburg where India was undefeated but South Africa turned things around and ended their streak.
Classic KL Rahul
Virat wasn't fit and KL Rahul got the opportunity to lead India at the highest level. That has been the role coster for Rahul he wasn't even the part of test side about 6 months ago but when he got the opportunity in England he took that with both hands and now he captained India in a test match and he will be captain of the ODI side as well due to the unavailability of Rohit Sharma.
There was a see-saw battle between India and South Africa and in the 4th innings target was 240 for the home side. It was not an easy target considering the conditions and bowling attack but the story was different.
Devastating Dean Elegant Elger
Dean Elgar South African captain led from the front and made sure his availability on the crease till the last run which was the more important thing. He took a lot of body blows by Ruthless Indian bowlers but that couldn't break the determination and focus of Dean Elger. They required round about 150 runs and had 8 wickets in hand and they got the target with 8 wickets to spare. Dean Elgar built a great partnership with Van der Dussan and then with Temba Bavuma. He scored 96 runs and missed a well-deserved 100 by just 4 runs but did a great job for his team and won the match.
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| Dean Elger |
The Series is level at 1-1 and Virat will make come back in the next test can he turn the table and get three figures innings under his belt? Only time will tell us.
England Vs Australia
The 4th test of Ashes has finished and somehow England escape from the defeat but that was a great game of cricket that will be remembered for a long time.
Remarkable come back of Usman Khawaja
This Ashes series is just a cakewalk for Aussies every one is coming and making his mark and that was the turn of Usman Khawaja. He came in the place of Travis Head who got the 100 in 1st test but Khawaja made his impact with twin hundreds on his come back to the side. In 1st innings, he was dropped by Joe Root off Jake Leach earlier in his innings but after that, he was just unstoppable. He scored 137 in 1st innings to erupt SCG but the story wasn't ended there.
In 2nd Innings when Australia was on 86/4 and was on the verge of collapse but he stood tall once again and scored another 100 to get his side into a commanding position. In cricket, they say form is temporary but class is permanent and Usman Khawaja has done that perfectly.
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| Usman Khawaja |
You can read also Top 5 points of cricket 2021
Nail-biting finish
Uff! Ashes and nail baiting do finish is a never-ending story. In the last Ashes, Ben Stokes pulled off a miracle single-handedly on Headingly and there was an iconic single by Jake Leach. This time in Sydney England has drawn the test match and Australia was unable to get the last wicket. The most experienced no. 11 batter in the world was on the crease and he saved the test for his side, the one and only James Anderson with the bat this time.
At last, Australia needed 10 wickets and in the last session, they needed 6 wickets. Then Pat Cummins and Co. ran all over England with some great bowling display but bad light came in the way and only spinners were allowed to bowl. Steve Smith got the wicket of Jake Leach and then the famous bowling pair came to the rescue but this time with the bat. Steve Smith bowled the last over of the day and Anderson with all the experience was on the crease in an utmost pressure situation. He successfully played the last over and denied a wicket to Australia but gave something to cheer to his team. After that smiles were all around because cricket is a gentlemen's game but put on a great show for the fans of cricket, for the fans of tests.
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| James Anderson and Stuart Broad |
So still one match left and England still has to solve out a lot of problems but Jonny Bairstow has also given them a moment of joy. He scored a hundred in the last game which was the 1st hundred by an English batter in the ongoing series.
So cricket continues and we will keep updating you at www.cric-talk.com