The departing 2019 witnessed some great encounters between bat and ball. We saw many standout performances in the Tests this year from the batsman and the bowlers. Many records were made and many more records were broken. From David Warner’s triple hundred to Virat Kohli’s seventh double hundred, there were many performances that stood out from the rest.
As we come to the end of 2019, let us look at those special Test innings which changed the course of the game. Here is a look at some of those individual heroic innings which stood out more than any other.
- Ben Stokes (135* vs Australia, Headingley)
2019 will be remembered as Ben Stokes’ year. After playing a heroic innings in the World Cup, the England all-rounder produced something equally extraordinary in the 2019 Ashes Test.
Chasing a target of 359, England nine wickets down, a chasm of 73 runs between them and their victory target, and then Ben Stokes unleashed. Stokes single-handedly dragged his team across the line and kept the Ashes alive. Stokes smashed as many as eight sixes and four boundaries over the next 10 overs and scored the required 73 runs in just 44 balls.
It was one of those innings that he will dine out on for the rest of his life.
- Kusal Perera (153* vs South Africa, Durban)
Kusal Perera was known as a player who used to regularly throw away his wicket after a start. But the innings against South Africa in Durban changed every cricket fan’s perspective. Sri Lankan team was staring at another Test defeat against the mighty Proteas, but Perera had something else in mind. Chasing a difficult target of 304 in Durban, Sri Lanka’s batsmen collapsed like dominos with six of their batsmen dismissed in single-digit scores. But one man battled on.
Sri Lanka needed 78 runs for a win over South Africa when they lost their ninth wicket. But Kusal Perera exploded against the strong South African bowling attack and along with Vishwa Fernando stole a one-wicket win and remained unbeaten on 153.
The stunning innings of the Sri Lankan south paw will surely be talked about for years to come.
- Jason Holder (202* vs England, Bridgetown)
Jason Holder took the captaincy of West Indies in a very difficult time. West Indies cricket was going through a rough patch with the board and Windies players at loggerheads.
Jason Holder’s young and inexperienced side was playing at home against a strong England team and the visitors were favourites to win the series comfortably. But skipper Jason Holder took the responsibility on himself and stunned the English team in the first Test of a three-match series.
After taking a big first innings lead of 212-run, they were struggling at 61/5. But Holder didn’t panic and led the team from the front.
Playing with his usual flare, Holder took the charge against the English bowling attack and kept on smashing England bowlers all over the park. Holder, along with Shane Dowrich (116*), toiled the bowlers hard. Holder smashed his maiden double hundred off 229 balls, an innings which included 23 fours and eight sixes.
The innings turned out to be a match winning one as West Indies clinched a memorable victory.
