THE PINK BALL JOURNEY: A RECAP
Over the past five years, 11 Day-night Test matches have been hosted at six venues. Adelaide has hosted the most (3) while Brisbane and Dubai have witnessed two each. There was a women’s Test as well, in 2017. HT gives you a lowdown.
AUSTRALIA V
NEW ZEALAND (Adelaide) 3rd Test, Nov 27-29, 2015
Result: Australia won by 3 wickets Barring Tom Latham’s vigilant fifty, New Zealand struggled to cope with Australia’s pace. They folded for 202, leaving the Aussies to negotiate the night session. Australia finished Day 1 on 54/2, finally going on to score 224. Next innings though, Josh Hazelwood dismantled the Kiwis with 6/70, leaving Australia a target of 187. Trent Boult took 5/60 but Australia won with three wickets to spare.
PAKISTAN V WEST INDIES (Dubai)
1st Test, October 13-17, 2016 Result: Pakistan won by 56 runs Azhar Ali scored 302* as Pakistan declared at 579/3. West Indies posted 357. Pakistan were an unrecognisable team in the second innings as Devendra Bishoo wrecked them with a career-best 8/49, scuttling the hosts for just 123. Set 346 to win, West Indies started well with Darren Bravo scoring a ton but they ultimately fell 57 runs short.
AUSTRALIA V SOUTH AFRICA (Adelaide)
3rd Test, November 24-27, 2016, Result: Australia won by 7 wickets Seeking a whitewash, Faf du Plessis gave the Proteas a rousing start with a 164-ball 118 and sent Australia to face the last 12 overs of the day after declaring at 259/9. But Usman Khawaja’s opening act of 145 and fifties from Steve Smith, Peter Handscomb and Mitchell Starc propelled Australia to 383. Stephen Cook’s ton couldn’t prevent an implosion as South Africa were dismissed for 250, allowing Australia cruise to a 127-run target.
AUSTRALIA V PAKISTAN (Brisbane)
1st Test, December 15-19, 2016, Result: Australia won by 39 runs Steve Smith and Peter Handscomb hit centuries, Matthew Renshaw his maiden fifty as Australia scored 429. In reply, Pakistan were shot out for 142. Australia declared on 202/5, daring Pakistan to chase 489. They lost two for 54 before Azhar Ali (71) and Younis Khan (65) came together. But Australia were given a real scare when Asad Shafiq (137) anchored a fightback that saw Mohammad Amir (48), Wahab Riaz (30) and Yasir Shah (33) almost do the impossible.
ENGLAND V WEST INDIES (Birmingham) 1st Test, August 17-19, 2016
Result: England won by an innings and 209 runs
West Indies reduced England to 39/2 but their joy was shortlived. Alastair Cook scored 243 and Joe Root (136) declared at 514 once he was out. Under lights, Stuart Broad and James Anderson were simply unplayable. They shared 10 wickets as West Indies were dismissed for 168 and 137.
SRI LANKA V PAKISTAN (Dubai)
2nd Test, Oct 6-10, 2017 Result: Sri Lanka won by 68 runs Dimuth Karunaratne’s 196 took the visitors to 482. Spin duo Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera then shared six wickets to dismiss Pakistan for 262 before Lanka imploded for 96. Asad Shafiq made 112 but Lanka took the last five wickets in Day 5’s first session to dash Pakistan’s dreams.
AUSTRALIA V ENGLAND (Adelaide)
2nd Test, Dec 2-6, 2017 Result: Australia won by 120 runs Australia made best use of the fresh pitch and declared at 442/8 after Shaun Marsh (126) scored his fifth career Test century. With the wily Nathan Lyon (4/60) operating from one end, Australia made quick work of England, dismissing them for 227. James Anderson’s sublime bowling (5/43) cut down Australia for just 138 but England were
never really in contention to score 354 batting last.
SOUTH AFRICA V ZIMBABWE (Port Elizabeth)
Only Test, Dec 26-27, 2017
Result: South Africa won by an innings and 120 runs
This was part of ICC’S experimentation with four-day Tests. South Africa however, required just two. Aiden Markram scored 125 as South Africa declared at 309/9. Mornie Morkel took 5/21 in the first innings and spinner Keshav Maharaj took 5/59 in the second to dismiss Zimbabwe for 68 and 121 respectively.
NEW ZEALAND V ENGLAND (Auckland)
1st Test, Mar 22-26, 2018,
Result: New Zealand won by an innings and 49 runs
England were dismissed for just 58, their sixth lowest Test score ever, in just 20.4 overs. Trent Boult took 6/32 and Tim Southee 4/25. Captain Kane Williamson (102) and Henry Nicholls (145) then rubbed it in as the Kiwis declared at 427/8. England put up a much improved performance second time around but it wasn’t enough to make New Zealand to bat again.
SRI LANKA V WEST INDIES (Bridgetown)
3rd Test, June 23-26, 2018, Result: Sri Lanka won by 4 wickets
Two rain-curtailed days had slowed down a Test Sri Lanka desperately sought to win. On the third day, wickets fell like nine pins. Sri Lanka started at 99/5 in their first innings. At stumps, they were 81/5 in the 2nd. In between, West Indies were dismissed for 93, making it the day most wickets had fell in a day in West Indies—20. Set 144 to win, Sri Lanka were 81/6 before Dilruwan Perera (23*) and Kusal Perera (28*) rescued them.
AUSTRALIA V SRI LANKA (Brisbane)
1st Test, Jan 24-26, 2019 Result: Australia won by an innings and 40 runs.
Sri Lanka lasted just 56.4 overs in the first innings. In reply, Australia batted almost twice the time (106.2 overs) to compile 323. Pat Cummins then ran through Sri Lanka’s batting, taking the top five and finishing with an emphatic 6/23. Out of his 15 overs, eight were maidens.