AN INNINGS WHICH WON AN ASHES

 

Image Credit- Fox Sports

Venue- The Oval, London [September 2005]. 

It was the final day of the 2005 Ashes series. The English were 2-1 up and were eying a series win after 16 long years. On the other hand, the Aussies too were also desperate for a win so that they can level the series and retain the urn.

In response to England's 373, Australians scored 367 in their first innings. At the end of day 4 play's, English scorecard read 34/1 [Lead of 40 runs]. 98 overs were to be played on the final day of the match and these 98 overs were to decide the outcome of the great series. The game as well as the series was evenly poised and could have gone on any side.

Ricky Ponting, the captain of Australia, put his faith in Warne and McGrath, the two all-time great wicket-takers. For the first 40 minutes of the play, England played effectively, with Vaughan challenging the Australian bowlers, but McGrath bowled two stunning outswingers to dismiss both him and Ian Bell (for a pair) in quick succession. A couple of uncharacteristically dropped catches did hamper the Australian charge, but Warne and McGrath combined to take four wickets before lunch, giving England a lead of 133 runs with just five wickets left.

However, Kevin Pietersen struck his first Test century in such adverse conditions. He scored 158 of just 187 deliveries. His innings consisted of 15 boundaries and 7 massive sixes. The way he played the fearsome Australian bowling was something truly incredible. It was pure class of Super Kev. His power hitting impressed everyone. Due to his great innings England managed to score 335 runs in their second innings.

There was little chance for the Australians to catch up to their deficit of 341 runs as they started their innings. They were given the light almost immediately, and after accepting it, both teams had to go back to their dressing rooms to wait for the game to officially end. The crowd was ready for England to receive the Ashes and for the festivities to start as the game was practically done. At 18:17 BST, umpires Rudi Koertzen and Billy Bowden put up the stumps to declare the conclusion of the game and the series after a brief period of ambiguity and confusion.

The match was drawn, and the urn returned to England after 16 long years. Kevin Pietersen was chosen as the Man of the Match by Channel 4 viewers for his first test century at such a critical moment. John Buchanan, the coach of Australia, nominated Flintoff as his Man of the Series, while Duncan Fletcher, the coach of England, chose Warne. Additionally, Flintoff also received the new Compton-Miller Medal for being the series' top player, as chosen by the chairman of selectors for each team, Trevor Hohns and David Graveney. 

To watch Kevin Pietersen's innings, click here.