Image Credit- ESPN CricInfo.
Venue – The Oval, London [September 8-12, 2022].
In the previous post we talked about what happened in the Manchester test. In this post we will be talking about the final chapter of the 2022 England-South Africa Test Series. After the match got over in Manchester, both the teams headed back to the capital for the series decider. However, due to massive rain, no play was possible on the first day of the third test match.
Unfortunately, the same night, Queen Elizabeth breathed her last. The passing of the Queen was grieved by everyone, as the country stood still. Everything came to a halt the next day, including the Test Match. Eventually, on the third day of the test match, both the teams assembled in the Oval and paid tribute to the late Queen, who was not just a constitutional head of state but was also an ardent cricket fan.
In a must-win game, England captain Ben Stokes won the toss and decided to bat first. The pitch was a bowler's paradise as the English pace attack blew away the Proteas batting line-up for 118 runs in just 36.2 overs. However, the Proteas too made use of the pitch, as they too bowled out England in exactly 36.2 overs for just 158 runs.
To be honest, it was less of a contest between bat and ball and more of a contest between the pacers of two sides. The carnage continued the next day as well, as the English once again rattled the Proteas batting line-up for just 169 runs in the second innings. The English now required 130 runs to win the test and the series.
Looking at what has happened in the last couple of days, it seemed 130 won't be an easy target to chase. However, Zak Crawley came all guns blazing as the hosts chased down 130 runs in just 22.3 overs. Crawley scored a quickfire 69* off 57 deliveries as the English won the game by 9 wickets on the morning of the fifth day.
Captain Stokes was awarded the Player of the Series Award as the hosts came from behind and won the Test Series 2-1.
To watch the highlights of this test, click on the URLs below.
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