Cricket is often considered a game of glorious uncertainties and that makes the game even more interesting. Sometimes it’s the batsmen who are dominating the bowlers and sometimes it’s the other way round. There have been various occasions when a top Test team has been blown away by their opposition bowlers quite cheaply and they have succumbed to their lowest ever score.
Whether it was the pitch or the quality of the bowlers, some of the totals achieved by the top teams have been unexpected irrespective of everything. Now let us take a look at the lowest totals by each test teams:
#10 Sri Lanka (71 VS Pakistan at Kandy, 1994)
The lowest total by Sri Lanka came against the mighty Pakistanis in the 3rd Test of their home series in 1994. Pakistan won the toss and put the opposition in.
The Pakistani bowling was spearheaded by the indomitable duo of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis and they literally blew away the Sri Lankan top order. A hostile spell from Waqar and Wasim left the hosts reeling at 46/9 with the prospect of getting bowled out for less than 50. Eventually, a 24 run partnership for the last wicket took their score past 50.
Waqar Younis accounted for 6 Sri Lankan batsmen and the left arm great Wasim Akram backed it up with 4 scalps. The Sri Lankans were eventually bowled out for 71, their lowest Test total till date.
Inzamam-ul-Haq’s century in the first innings put the Pakistanis in a strong position and gave them a big lead. It was again Waqar Younis in the 2nd innings with a five wicket haul who did most of the damage and Mushtaq Ahmed chipped in with 3.
Pakistan won the match by an innings & 52 runs and took the series 2-0.
#9 Bangladesh (62 VS Sri Lanka at Colombo, 2007)
Bangladesh was touring Sri Lanka for the very first time in their Test history and faced the hosts in the 2nd Test of the 3 match series.
It was Sri Lanka who won the toss and asked Bangladesh to bat. From the very first ball, the Lankan bowlers looked threatening and the Bangladeshi batsmen were not able to cope with the pace of Lasith Malinga. He bowled yorkers after yorkers and the batsmen had no clue what so ever.
After Malinga, it was the spin wizard Muthiah Muralitharan who spun a web around the batsmen and bamboozled them with his guile. Only Rajin Saleh went beyond double figures as Bangladesh were bowled out for 62. Both Malinga and Muralitharan finished with 4 wickets each.
Courtesy Kumar Sangakkara’s double century the Sri Lankans posted a mammoth 451. Bangladesh’s response in the 2nd innings was way better than their 1st innings effort as Mohammed Ashraful notched up his 4th Test century. Eventually, Bangladesh was bowled out for 290 handing Sri Lanka a victory by an innings & 90 runs.
#8 Zimbabwe (51 vs New Zealand at Napier, 2012)
The minnows from Africa went on a tour of New Zealand in a one-off Test match in 2012 and nothing much was expected from Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe won the toss and put the visitors in. It was majestic centuries from Ross Taylor and BJ Watling that propelled the Kiwis to a massive total of 495. Brendon McCullum also chipped in with a useful 82.
The Zimbabwe batsmen were left searching for answers as they were bowled out for only 47 in their 1st innings. Trent Boult, Chris Martin, Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee all picked up 2 wickets as Zimbabwe was bundled out for their lowest Test score.
Following on, Zimbabwe werer again under the pump as Chris Martin’s hostile spell blew away their top order and they ended up getting bowled out for 143. The Kiwis eventually won by an innings and 301 runs.
#7 Pakistan (49 vs South Africa at Johannesburg, 2013)
South Africa were the firm favourites for the series as they were playing in their own backyard. Graeme Smith won the toss in the 1st test and elected to bat.
South Africa went off to a poor start as they lost wickets at crucial intervals. They were unable to push on and convert the starts into a big score as Jacques Kallis top scored with 50 as the South Africans were bowled out for 253.
Arguably the greatest fast bowler in the recent past, Dale Steyn was the wrecker in chief when the Proteas came into bowl as he kept bowling with prodigious swing and venom and finished with figures of 6/8. Vernon Philander and Jacques Kallis chipped in 2 wickets each as the visitors were bundled out for 49, their lowest ever Test score till date.
A quickfire century by AB de Villiers allowed the Proteas to declare the innings on 275/3 and set Pakistan an stiff victory target of 469.
It was again Dale Steyn’s hostile spell that shook the Pakistan top order as they were folded out for 268. Steyn finished with 5/52 as South Africa won by 211 runs.
#6 West Indies (47 vs England at Kingston, 2004)
West Indies won the toss and opted to bat and courtesy of a brilliant century by Devon Smith and a fluent 84 by Ryan Hinds West Indies posted a competitive 311 in their 1st innings.
In reply, useful contributions from Mark Butcher, Naseer Hussain and Andrew Flintoff ensured England took a small but crucial 28 runs lead.
What transpired in the 2nd innings of West Indies batting was nothing less than a fairytale. The tall lanky fast bowler Steve Harmison was simply unplayable as he finished with a career-best figures of 7/12. His fiery spell included the wickets of Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul that broke the backbone of West Indies batting.
Mathew Hoggard supported him well and accounted for the most priced wicket in the Windies line-up, Brain Lara. West Indies were unable to recover from the early jolts and were bowled out for their lowest ever Test score of 47.
Chasing a mere 20 runs to win, England completed the victory with utmost ease without losing a wicket. The victory also ensured England took a 1-0 lead in the 4 match series.
#5 England (45 vs Australia at Sydney, 1887)
It was Australia who won the toss and asked England to bat. The English batsmen were steamrolled by the bowling pair of Charlie Turner and J.J.Ferris as the English succumbed to their lowest ever test score till date. Turner took 6 and Ferris finished with four as England were bowled out for 45. IN fact, apart from George Lohmann, no batsman could cross double digits.
Despite their poor batting performance, the bowlers stood up and performed to their potential. George Lohmann and Dick Barlow both picked up 3 wickets each as the Aussies were bowled out for a meagre 119. Despite their poor batting performance, Australians managed to get a crucial lead 74.
On a difficult pitch, the English batsmen performed better in their 2nd essay scoring 184. The target of 110 looked relatively comfortable but the English bowlers had other plans. Billy Barnes picked up 6 wickets as the Aussies were bowled out for 97 in the 2nd innings, handing England an unexpected victory by 13 runs.
#4 India (42 vs England at Lord’s, 1974)
Batting first, England posted a mammoth 629 in their first innings. Dennis Amiss scored a brilliant 188 and was ably supported by Mike Dennes and Tony Greig. Both of them went on to complete their centuries as England literally toyed with the Indian bowling line up.
India scored 302 in their first innings and were asked to bat again. The Indians showed some resistance in the 1st innings but in the 2nd innings, they were nothing short of ordinary. Chris Old and Geoff Arnold finished with 5 and 4 wickets respectively as the Indians were shot out for 42. It was a pathetic display by the star studded batting line up as they dismissed for their lowest ever Test score.
England won the match by an innings and 285 runs.
#3 Australia (36 vs England at Birmingham, 1924)
Deciding to bat, England posted a competitive 376 in their 1st innings courtesy a superb century by Johnny Tyldesley.
Australia’s responded in a terrible fashion getting bowled out for a mere 36 runs. Wilfred Rhodes with his slow left arm orthodox was simply superb as he finished with 7/17. George Hurst also chipped in with 3 wickets as the Aussies were dismissed for the lowest score in their Test history till date.
Asked to bat again, the Australians managed to score 46/2 before rain played spoilsport and ruled out any chances of play for the remaining days. It was the rain that saved the Aussies from getting humiliated at the hands of England once again.
#2 South Africa (30 vs England at Port Elizabeth, 1896)
South Africa won the toss and put England in. Left arm medium pacer Bonnor Middleton took a five-wicket haul as England were dismissed for 185 in the 1st innings.
George Lohmann was the destroyer in chief when England came on to bowl. He finished with 7/38 as the Proteas were dismissed for 93 in the 1st innings.
Sammy Woods scored a fine half-century in the 2nd innings as England posted a competitive 226 in their 2nd innings, after getting a lead of 92.
Chasing 319 to win, the Proteas looked totally out of sorts and started losing wickets nearly every over. Even in the 2nd innings, George Lohmann bowled a terrific spell that bundled out the Proteas for their lowest ever score in Test cricket till date. Lohmann finished with insane figures of 8/7 as England completed a victory by 288 runs.
#1 New Zealand (26 VS England at Auckland, 1955)
Opting to bat after winning the toss, New Zealand posted 200 in their 1st innings and the top scorer for them was John Reid with 73.
England responded well and took a lead of 46 runs. Len Hutton scored a half-century for the visitors as England were bowled out for 246.
It was one of the saddest days in the history of New Zealand cricket as the Kiwis were bowled out for 26 in their 2nd innings, the lowest ever Test score by any team till date. Bob Appleyard and Brian Statham picked up 4 and 3 wickets respectively as the Kiwis were left searching for answers. It was undoubtedly a pathetic batting show by the Kiwis and the victory meant England registered a series victory by a 2-0 margin.
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