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5 recent instances when teams were bundled out for very low scores in Tests

 

Kemar Roach - The wrecker-in-chief against England
Kemar Roach - The wrecker-in-chief against England

In the ongoing first Test match between England and West Indies at Bridgetown, Barbados, England was unexpectedly bundled out for 77 runs in the first innings, in reply to West Indies' first inning score of 289. England inning lasted for just 30.2 overs. England lost 2 wickets at the score 44, 2 more at 48 and one at 49 effectively losing 5 wickets for 5 runs.

For West Indies, Kemar Roach took 5 wickets in 11 overs. Technically speaking, the West Indies could have enforced the follow-on if they wished to. A total of 18 wickets has fallen on the dramatic second day as West Indies reached 127 for 6 in the second innings at close of play on the second day.

If one observes the timing of the collapses, most of these collapses happened in the recent past. One of the reasons for such collapses might be due to the increased number of T20I matches that have been played in this era. Some of the players are part of both their T20I and Test teams and are finding it difficult to adapt to two different formats of cricket.

Comparatively, the bowlers are finding it much easier to switch over between formats.

While England is fighting hard to save the Barbados Test, England’s collapse in the first innings brings back memories of such sudden recent collapses in Test matches.

This article is about 5 such recent collapses in Test matches.

#5 South Africa (79) Vs India at Nagpur in 2015

The Indian spinners could be more than a handful for any opposition at home
The Indian spinners could be more than a handful for any opposition at home

This was the third Test match of the series. India won the first Test at Mohali and the second Test at Bengaluru was washed out.

On a tailor-made square turner at Nagpur for the third Test, India played 3 spinners in the form of R.Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Ravindra Jadeja. India won an important toss and elected to bat. India made 215 in the first innings. The technical inadequacy of the South African batsmen against quality spin was waiting to be exposed.

South Africa was first reduced to 12 for 5 with Ashwin claiming 3 and Jadeja 2. South Africa’s total would not have crossed 50 but for J.P. Duminy’s 35. Finally, South Africa was skittled out for 79 in 33 overs. Ashwin took 5 for 32 while Jadeja finished with 4 for 33.

Set a target of 310 to win, South Africa did fairly better in the second innings, scoring 189. Ashwin took 7 wickets and India won that low scoring match by 124 runs. The Indian spin trio shared all the 20 South African wickets in the match. While Ashwin took 12 wickets, Jadeja and Amit Mishra took 4 apiece. The only pace bowler in the team Ishant Sharma bowled just 17 overs in the entire match.

India went on to with the fourth Test at Delhi and the series by a 3-0 margin.

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