The history of test cricket dates back to 1877 when the first test match was played between Australia and England at the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground ( MCG ). During this 143 years long journey of test cricket, it has given us some of the most iconic sporting moments and even more iconic players.
We have been bestowed with numerous batting masterclasses and bowling heroics in the longest format of the game but rarely have we seen someone actually doing both of them.
In this blog, we’ll be discussing such unbelievable performances by some of the greats of the game. And, to hop onto the list of top 5 best ODI all-round performances, click here.
Here are the top 5 greatest all round performances in test cricket, in my opinion:
5. Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib Al Hasan is considered one of the greatest all-rounders among the active crop of cricketers, and he showed exactly why during the second test match against Zimbabwe in 2014. Leading the series 1-0 coming into the second test, Bangladesh won the toss and elected to bat first. Bangladesh proved their decision right as they scored 433 in the first innings on the back of a masterful century by Shakib Al Hasan. Shakib scored 137 smashing 18 fours and 2 sixes.
In reply, Zimbabwean batsmen put on a good show but couldn’t counter Shakib. He picked up 5 wickets while giving away 80 runs in 41 overs at an economy under 2 an over. Heading into the game’s third innings Bangladesh led by 65 runs and looked to add runs as quickly as possible in that innings. Shakib could only score 6 runs off 5 balls as Bangladesh ended with 248/9 handing a target of 314 to the opponents.
From Zimbabwe’s perspective, Shakib was again the villain as he took his second fifer of the match. He returned figures of 5/44 in 18 overs as Zimbabwe got bundled out for 151 runs.
Match:
Bangladesh vs Zimbabwe | 3-7 November 2014
Performance Summary:
Batting: 137 and 6
Bowling: 5/80 (41 overs) & 5/44 (18 overs)
