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Top 5 Best Knocks in Test Cricket in 2020 | Looking back at the best Test batting knocks over the past 12 months

We have just come across an unusual as well as frustrating year in the form of 2020. Although Cricket happened till February, at a certain point of time, the possibility of cricket being resumed was in jeopardy amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

But thankfully, to the delight of its fans across the world, cricket made a spectacular international return with the start of the English summer. It was such a roller coaster ride as a cricket fan in 2020. We witnessed some hard fought Test matches and some excellent knocks were played by batsmen from different teams throughout the year.

In this article, I am going to pick my top 5 knocks out of them. Here we go.

5. Jermaine Blackwood, 95 (154) vs England, Southampton

England were the certain favourites in the 1^st game of the summer much before the start of the series against the West Indies. The fans were confident that England would demolish the visiting WI team even in the absence of Joe Root.

But, we all witnessed something special on the 5^th day of this Test match. It was an unexpected yet brilliant end to the game as the Windies team defeated the home side by chasing 200 runs on a difficult 5^th day pitch thanks to a superb knock of 95 runs by Jermaine Blackwood.

West Indies had made a terrible start to their chase, losing their first three wickets for just 27 runs. Then the “Blackwood masterclass” took centre stage. He formed two match winning partnerships with Chase and Dowrich. More importantly, he attacked and played shots whenever he got chances, which was effective to cause a fumble in tactics from an inexperienced skipper in Ben Stokes and shifted the match in the favour of the visitors.

4. Azhar Ali 141* (272) vs England, Southampton

If you are the skipper of a visiting Test side to England, the pressure is always on you. And if you have such a poor record in SENA tests for a considerable period of time, your spot as a batsman in the team is also under threat. Azhar Ali had scored just 38 runs from the three innings he played in the first two Tests against England. He was going across, his head was falling and he was getting LBW easily by the English bowlers.

So, you can imagine how much stress he was going through when he went to bat in the 1^st innings of the third Test at Southampton. To make things worse, Pakistan were 75 for 5 at one stage in reply to England’s huge total of 583 in their 1^st innings. But the way he overcame his weakness by playing with a much straighter bat face and handled the huge pressure was exemplary. He played delicious cuts, powerful pulls and gorgeous drives on his way to an unbeaten 141 and his partnership of 138 runs with Rizwan was pivotal for Pakistan to reach a respectable total of 273.

3. Jos Buttler 75 (101) vs Pakistan, Manchester

This knock is perhaps the best I have seen from a wicket-keeper batsman in recent times. Jos Buttler proved to be a “match winner” once again by playing this knock. Chasing a challenging total of 277 runs on the most difficult 4^th day wicket we had in the English summer, England were almost on the verge of a defeat after losing five wickets for just 117 runs. The way the ball was taking off the pitch and the sharp turn Yasir was getting, it was almost impossible for England to win from that stage.

However, Buttler was quick to realize that they couldn’t take the game in to the fifth day and hence the only option left for him and co. was to attack. He exactly did the same by attacking the Pakistani bowlers especially Yasir Shah and scored some quick 50-60 runs supported by Woakes before tea. In the last session, he batted with extreme confidence and also guided Chris Woakes to perfection. Woakes was also fabulous for his 84, but without the intent and pro-activeness of Buttler, England couldn’t have won that game. His counterattack played the major role in England’s victory.

2. Ajinkya Rahane 112 (223) vs Australia, Melbourne

After a horrible batting performance in the pink ball Test at Adelaide, the morale of the Indian team did certainly hit a new low. Added to that, the absence of Virat Kohli; the premier batsman of the Indian team, was not encouraging at all for them.

In such a scenario, scoring a match winning century on a MCG pitch which had enough in it to assist the Aussie seamers, was a tremendous job. The partnership of 57 runs between Rahane and Pant gave the momentum India needed and that of 121 runs between Rahane and Jadeja ensured a big lead for India, which proved to be crucial in India’s victory. Having faced 223 balls, Rahane hit 12 gorgeous boundaries on his way to a magnificent knock of 112. He remained calm, battled hard and showed enormous courage as well as temperament. His knock was instrumental in writing the script of one of the best Test match victories in overseas in the history of Indian cricket.

1. Kane Williamson 251 (412) vs West Indies, Hamilton

When the first look of the pitch of the Seddon Park was revealed, we all were taken aback by the amount of grass it had. It was almost impossible to spot the difference between the pitch and the outfield. On such a deck, playing a marathon innings of 251 needs the skill of the highest order. Also, the West Indies team had done really well in similar conditions in England.

Kane Williamson came to bat after the fall of an early wicket in the form of Will Young. The ball was doing enough and the Windies seamers were bowling in tight lines. Williamson was resilient, played out the new ball really well and capitalized later when the ball got old and soft. He hit 34 classic fours and two gorgeous sixes and showcased his skills to time the ball with perfection throughout his innings. It was one of the neatest knocks I have ever seen on a green pitch.

So, this is my list of top 5 test knocks of 2020. Do any others come to mind? Have your say!

Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today.