Five most thrilling Test draws of the last decade

1st Test: South Africa v India, Day 5
Remarkably, both teams gave up on a win with South Africa needing 16 off 3.1 overs

#2 South Africa vs England: Cape Town, 2010

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South Africa v England - 3rd Test Day Five
Graeme Swann and Graham Onions survived for 3.1 overs to fashion the second thrilling draw of the series

South Africa 291 & 447/7 declared drew with England 273 & 296/9

The series had already witnessed a thrilling draw in the first Test when England desperately survived in the closing stages of the final day, and a similar script unfolded in the third Test. James Anderson picked up 5/63 and removed both openers to quash South Africa's hopes of building a solid foundation for a big first innings total, but a valiant 108 from Jacques Kallis pushed the hosts to 291.

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In the field, the pairing of the tall and elegant Morne Morkel and the furious Dale Steyn gave the Proteas a first-innings advantage as England were bowled out for 273. Morkel got 5/75 and Steyn 4/74 with Matt Prior leading the batting with 76.

A meagre 18-run lead swelled into a massive one with captain Graeme Smith accumulating 183, and stitching together 230 runs with Hashim Amla, who fell for 95. Late bursts from JP Duminy and Mark Boucher stretched the score to 447/7, and England were set a target of 466.

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A sound opening partnership of 101 sowed the seeds of faint hope for the touring side before that became 160/5 with Steyn and Paul Harris combining to pick two each. That led to a recovery by Paul Collingwood and Ian Bell, who brought their experience into play by stringing together 112.

Part-timer Duminy broke the stand with Bell the ninth man to depart, asking the final two tailenders to negotiate 3.1 overs, which Graeme Swann and Graham Onions successfully did to leave South Africa fuming.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram
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