England and Australia played out a sensational Test match at SCG, which went until the final ball before James Anderson managed to defend his side and earn a stalemate. The hosts have drawn three of their last four Tests in Sydney, and not for the first time, they failed to capitalize from a winning position.
Former Indian head coach R Sridhar, who was a pivotal part of the Indian setup that won a Test series in Australia twice, got nostalgic after England miraculously saved the fourth Test. India had done something similar just a year ago at the same venue, with Rishabh Pant, Hanuma Vihari and Ravichandran Ashwin starring with the bat.
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Ashwin and Vihari batted together for over 40 overs in the end to keep things on level terms at the end of the game. India batted a total of 131 overs to get that draw, which is the most number of overs they batted in the fourth innings of a Test since 1980. England, in turn, batted 102 overs to fetch their draw, courtesy of some stunning batting from Jonny Bairstow and the English tail.
Besides reminding people of India’s great escape from 12 months ago, he also mentioned that England could make use of Ashwin and Vihari in that situation. Not to forget, Sridhar had tweeted 40 minutes before the game finished in a draw.
“Can’t help but get nostalgic about this situation here at the @scg. @ECB_cricket could do with @ashwinravi99 & @Hanumavihari here,”
Sridhar tweeted.
It seemed like Australia had the game under control after they got rid of Ben Stokes, but Jonny Bairstow hung in and stitched some crucial stands alongside Jos Buttler and Jack Leach. The hosts were boosted by the wicket of Bairstow with over 10 overs remaining.
Leach and Stuart Broad batted out the next eight overs before a stroke of genius from Pat Cummins saw Steve Smith enter the bowling attack and dismiss Leach.
James Anderson had the tough task of negotiating the final six balls of the Test with one wicket remaining, which he managed to do by the barest of margins.
