5 most thrilling finishes in Test cricket in last 5 years
A Test match can be a lot of things. It can become a classic battle of bat and ball in which a team fights to come back from a follow-on to draw or win a match. It can end in a couple of days if batsmen arent good enough to survive. A lot can happen over thisfive daymarathon.A Test match though, becomes thrilling when the spectator cant tell which team is winning till the very last ball. There is no bigger excitementthan watching such battle of bat and ball.Here, we take a look at such thrilling finishes in Test cricket in last 5 years.P.S. Before the top 5, special mention here for the Australia vs New Zealand thriller in Hobart, which NZ won by just 7 runs in 2011
#5 England vs Sri Lanka, 1st Test, June 2014, Lords, London (match drawn)
Day 1, Joe Root, the lord of Lords: Joe Root hit his consecutive ton at Crickets Mecca as Lankan bowlers failed to make any impact.
Day 2, another day of willow: England posted a mammoth 575/9 as Joe Root continued his onslaught to reach a double. This was Roots second consecutive score of 180+ at Lords.
Sri Lanka ended the day looking strong at 140/1.
Day 3, Sangakkara, you beauty:The Sri Lankan legend made his first test century at Lords, veteran Mahela Jayawrdene and skipper Anjelo Matthews supports well as Lankans end the day at 415/7.
Day 4, Garry Ballances shores up England after Erangas explosion: After Sri Lanka finished at 453 as Pradeep smashed his own stumps with his bat, English batting was led by youngster Garry Ballances ton. No one else could really stand along though as Sharminda Eranga wrecked the English top order. English skipper Alastair Cook delayed the declaration, a move that probably rued later.
Day 5, the exhilarating final session: With 390 runs to win, it was an unattainable task for Sri Lankans. They were playing for a draw. They seemed to be on the right track as Sanga-Silva pair slowly saw through the overs. After tea, suddenly the things charged up as wickets tumbled.
James Anderson dismissed first innings centurion, Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews with 3 overs left in the day and England had 2 wickets to take in the last 3 overs. The equation remained the same going into the last over of the match when Stuart Broad dismissed Rangana Herath, though the batsman walked without umpire raising his finger. Herath however,had gloved the ball after he took his hand off the handle of the bat, and would have been not-out if he had stood his ground.
On the penultimate ball, No. 11 Nuwan Pradeep was given out lbw, sending England players into wild celebrations but Pradeep used DRS which revealed a huge inside edge. The reversal by technology saved the match for Sri Lanka as Pradeeps edge off the last ball fell just short of the slips.
"I've been compiling a list of Lord's 10 greatest moments to mark the ground's 200th anniversary on Sunday. I think I may have a new entry. Sham Serringham, BBC sport