Is it possible to rate the most unlikely Test victories ever? History is littered with examples of teams who were rated at short odds to be victors, only to find themselves on the wrong side of defeat. The first ever Test match in Melbourne in 1877 ranks as one, as does the first Australian victory in England at The Oval in 1882. I could name a hundred examples I guess. But surely no Test series victory has ever been better or more unlikely than that just achieved by the Sri Lankan cricket team which defeated South Africa in South Africa over the past two weeks. Their 2-0 victory, missing key personnel and having already suffered defeat in New Zealand and Australia, must rank as the greatest ever Test series victory.
It’s been a long time away from home for the Sri Lankan’s. Not only did they lose their home Test series against England 3-0, they then headed to New Zealand where despite fighting hard they lost the two Test series 1-0, and then lost in Australia 2-0. In both series they showed glimpses of fight, and of the possibility of good things to come.
In the 1st Test against New Zealand, Mendis and Mathews batting the entire fourth day without losing a wicket which then allowed them to salvage an unlikely draw when day five was a complete washout. In the 2nd Test they bowled the Kiwis out on the first day for 178 having had them 3/22 early on (here lies a significant statistic), before their own batting capitulation cost them the match and the two Test series.
In the 1st Test against Australia their deplorable batting minus Mathews cost them the match, but they had Australia at 4/82 early on the second afternoon chasing their first innings total of 144, and a further burst could have been significant. In the 2nd Test they twice had Australia on the ropes, at 3/28 in the first innings (finishing at 5/534 declared) and 3/37 in the second innings (finishing at 3/196 declared). Beyond this, they had made a rollicking start to their own first innings, reaching 0/82 and cruising until Karunaratne was forced to retire hurt after being hit in the head from a ball from Pat Cummins, a moment that triggered an unfortunate end to their plucky resistance and perhaps signalled the end of their fight to save the Test.
The team that arrived in South Africa had further changes, including a new captain in Karunaratne. No one gave them a semblance of a chance of defeating the locals. Their bowling attack of Steyn, Philander, Rabada and the new kid Olivier along with the batting of Elgar, Markram, du Plessis, Amla and de Kock looked far too superior, especially on their own wickets. Perhaps they thought this too. Perhaps, as in the past, this is what was South Africa’s downfall.
The victory in the 1st Test was remarkable enough. South Africa found themselves at 3/17 early in their first innings (there’s those three early wickets again) before getting to 235 all out, a score Sri Lanka could not match with 191 all out. South Africa looked in total control in their second innings, only to lose their last six wickets for 68 runs, leaving Sri Lanka needing the highest score of the match to win, a target of 304 runs – a total they had reached only once in their past 14 innings. At 9/226 it was finished, and yet Kusal Perera’s amazing innings of 153 not out and an unbroken final wicket stand of 78 got Sri Lanka its most famous Test victory. For perhaps a week...
No matter what anyone thought before the 1st Test, there was little doubt among most of the cricket fraternity that South Africa would bounce back in the 2nd Test and restore a little of the honour they had lost. Once again though, the match was off the rails. South Africa was 3/15 (those three early wickets again) before recovering to 222 much as they had done in the 1st Test. In reply Sri Lanka could only manage 154, mainly thanks to a slogging Dickwella with a slogging 42 at number eight. Taking a lead of 68 runs into the second innings South Africa should surely have felt the game was – once again – completely in their control. Even at 3/51 (three early wickets) they would have felt on top of things. They would not have planned for the chaos that followed, losing their last seven wickets in the space of 38 runs as their captain stood stranded at the other end, and being bundled out for just 128. At the end of day two Sri Lanka was 2/60 with both openers out, but with only 137 runs required for history.
Even then, who could have predicted the serene way that Fernando and Mendis cruised to the victory target of 197. There was no fear, as the run rate held steady at over four runs an over throughout the innings. Solid defence and fearless stroke play belied the pressure that should have been on the batsmen in such a chase. Instead it was the South Africans on which the pressure weighed so heavily, eventually condemning them to oblivion as the Sri Lankans won by eight wickets with barely a ripple. In doing so they became the first Asian team to win a Test series in South Africa, and in convincing 2-0 fashion as well.
On this evidence, can there have been a bigger upset Test victory in the history of cricket? As I stated at the beginning there will be other examples that people can mention that will be considered as such. But given the quality of the South African team and being in their home conditions, and the fact that over the previous twelve months they had defeated both India and Australia in the same conditions, as well as Sri Lanka having come off three consecutive losing Test series, the evidence appears overwhelming.
The prosecution rests, Your Honour.
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