[Watch] When Monty Panesar and James Anderson's 10th wicket partnership denied Australia a win in the opening Test of Ashes 2009

Frontline England bowlers Monty Panesar and James Anderson put on a brilliant rearguard effort on this day in 2009 to deny Australia a victory in the opening Test of the Ashes series that year.

The 2009 Ashes series in England commenced with the first Test at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. The home team batted first and made a decent total of 435 in 106.5 overs after a collective effort from the batting line-up.

Kevin Pietersen (69), Paul Collingwood (64), and Matt Prior (56) scored half-centuries, while a couple of others got off to starts but could not convert them. Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz scalped three wickets apiece, while Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle ended up with two wickets each in the Australian bowling department.

In reply, Australia scored a mammoth 674/6 in 181 overs before declaring their innings. Ricky Ponting (150), Simon Katich (121), Marcus North (125), and Brad Haddin (121) notched up centuries for the visiting side. It was a hard toil for English bowlers on a batting paradise against relentless Australian batters.

In the 3rd innings, England got off to a poor start as they collapsed to 46/4, with all their top-order batters back in the hut. Paul Collingwood (74 in 245 balls) tried to salvage the innings with a gritty knock in the company of lower-order batters.

He stitched mini-partnerships with Andrew Flintoff (26), Graeme Swann (31), Matt Prior (14), and Stuart Broad (14) to help England avoid a loss on the final day of the Test. However, he could not complete the task at hand as Peter Siddle dismissed Collingwood in the final hour of the day, with 11.3 overs still left in the match.

With the last batting pair at the crease, England still trailed by six runs at that juncture. Monty Panesar (7* in 35 balls) and James Anderson (21* in 53 balls) strung together a gutsy 19-run unbeaten partnership and played out the remaining overs successfully to help England draw the Test match.

You can catch a glimpse of Anderson and Panesar's partnership in the video below:

North Stand Gang - Wankhede

@NorthStandGang

.@jimmy9 & @MontyPanesar played the innings of their lives as they survived 11.3 overs to save the 1st Ashes Test, in Cardiff #OTD in 2009

When 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 lost their 9th 2nd-innings wicket they were trailing by 6 runs

But the last pair denied a win (:)

19

4

.@jimmy9 & @MontyPanesar played the innings of their lives as they survived 11.3 overs to save the 1st Ashes Test, in Cardiff #OTD in 2009

When 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 lost their 9th 2nd-innings wicket they were trailing by 6 runs

But the last pair denied 🇦🇺 a win (🎥:⬇️)
https://t.co/NVC1omdPPJ

England rode on the momentum and won the second Test at Lord's. The third Test in Birmingham ended in a stale draw due to rain interruptions.

Australia then made a comeback and leveled the series with a resounding innings victory in the fourth Test at Headingley. The English team won the final Test at the Oval by 197 runs and clinched the series by a 2-1 margin.

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