A variety of existing rules in cricket has seen a team losing despite putting as good performance as the winning team if not better. Scoring more than the opponent or picking up more wickets than the winning team are some of the weird situations where a team could end up on the losing side. In this article, we mention five of the top instances from International cricket where the losing team put on a relatively better effort than that of the opposition.
Here we look at five strange ways in International cricket where a team ended up on the losing end:
5. Losing a Test match after declaring both innings
Port of Spain hosted the 4th game of the 5-match Test series between West Indies and England in 1968 where the first three matches ended in a draw. A collective batting effort dominated by centuries of Rohan Kanhai (153) and Seymour Nurse (136) helped West Indies to declare their first innings on 533/7. England captain Colin Cowdrey scored 148 to help England give a solid reply by batting out for 175.4 overs. They were bowled out for 404 in the last few minutes on 4th day.
West Indies came up with a surprise declaration as they made 92/2 in 30 overs during the 2nd essay. They set a target of 215 in about 70 overs to England in hope of earning a win. But the visiting skipper Cowdrey continued his dominance by scoring 71 from only 75 minutes. As a result, England chased down the target in 52.4 overs by losing only three wickets. It was the first of the two instances of a team losing a Test after declaring both innings.
South Africa replicated the feat during the 2006 SCG Test against Australia in hope of drawing the Test series. The nine wickets lost by West Indies across the two innings are also the 2nd fewest wickets lost by any team in a Test match where they were defeated. South Africa lost only 8 wickets during the infamous 2000 Centurion Test against England where one innings each of the two teams was forfeited.
4. Winning an ODI without dismissing the openers
Sharjah hosted an ODI Tri-series between Pakistan, India and South Africa in March 2000. Pakistan faced South Africa in the last league match before a possible final between the two sides. Pakistan needed to ensure they didn’t lose the match by a huge margin against the unbeaten South Africans. Electing to bat first confirmed Pakistan’s spot in the final but were bowled out for only 168 despite their innings lasting 49.2 overs.
Herschelle Gibbs kept South Africa on top with regular boundaries during the field restrictions in the chase. His opening partner Gary Kirsten got retired hurt in 6th over when the Proteas were 22/0. Mark Boucher walked to bat in the 8th over after the fall of Neil McKenzie’s wicket at the score of 29. Gibbs continued his attacking play while Boucher held things from one end.
South Africa was on course for an easy win as they were 74/1 after 16 overs with Gibbs batting on 44 from 49 balls which included 8 fours. Shoaib Akhtar began the 17th over by getting the better of Boucher with a fierce bouncer. Three balls later, Dale Benkenstein’s off-stump went for a walk and the over ended when Lance Klusener was cleaned up.
The match turned around from that over as wickets continued to fell even though Gibbs fought from one end. The Pakistan pacers wrapped up the Proteas’ inning for just 101 in 26.5 overs. Gibbs remained unbeaten on 59 from 79 balls while Kirsten didn’t return to bat. Thus, Pakistan created a unique record of winning an ODI despite not dismissing any of the opponent’s openers.