3 times a team declared on the first day of a test

Since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes' appointments as coach and captain respectively, England's test team has undergone a phenomenal transformation, winning 9 out of 10 games. It is a huge relief for the fans of the game in England who were worried about the country's ability to compete in test cricket, with the team having endured a horrible run prior to the change at the helm.

One defining characteristic of this English test side is the aggressive manner in which they play. The style, which has been given the name 'BazBall' by the media, has made test cricket extremely exciting for spectators of the sport.

England, currently playing a test series against New Zealand in the backyard of the Kiwis, stunned the cricketing landscape once again today. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson won the toss and decided to bowl first at the Bay Oval. England declared their innings on the first day itself, having posted 325 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets. They made those runs in just 58.2 overs at a sensational run rate of 5.57 runs per over. The plan was to have a crack with the new ball under the lights and it paid dividends, with England getting rid of Tom Latham for just one run.

It was quite a bold move that symbolized another peak of the BazBall era. Here, we look at three other instances when teams declared their innings on the first day itself.

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#1 South Africa against Australia, 2016

In a test match between Australia and South Africa at the Adelaide Oval in 2016, the Proteas declared their innings on Day 1 itself. Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat first and the visitors had a disastrous start, as they were reduced to 44-3 and then 117-5. The skipper then took charge, smashing a brilliant century and taking his side to 259.

With 14 overs left in the day, he took a brave call and declared the innings to test the Aussies against the lights. The hosts, though, escaped the tough period unscathed. Australia put up 383 in response, which set up a 7 wicket win.

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#2 India against Australia, 2013

This instance comes from the 2013 Border Gavaskar series in which Australia were whitewashed 4-0 by hosts India. In the 2nd test, Aussie skipper Michael Clarke chose to bat first after winning the toss. India's bowlers tormented the visitors, who collapsed twice during the innings. At 237-9, Clarke declared the innings, with 3 overs still left on Day 1.

The decision did not pay dividends as India survived the day without losing any wickets. India took a humungous lead of 266 runs in the first innings and eventually won the game by an innings and 135 runs.

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#3 Pakistan against England, 1974

In a match between Pakistan and England at Lord's in 1974, Intikhab Alam, Pakistan's captain, won the toss and opted to bat first. There was a lot of rain around and play had to be stopped for quite some time. Once play resumed, a certain Derek Underwood destroyed the visitors' batting line-up, claiming 5 wickets.

With Pakistan at 130-9, Alam called his boys in. England posted 270 in response to take a massive lead in a game which was continually disturbed by inclement weather. The match was eventually a declared a stalemate.