Ollie Pope of England is stumped by Dhruv Jurel of India from the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav during day one of the 5th Test Match between India and England (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
New Zealand’s stupendous eight-wicket win in the series opener against India in Bengaluru was amongst the biggest upsets in Test cricket in 2024. But was it the biggest upset of the year? West Indies stunned Australia by eight runs in a thriller at The Gabba in January – surely, that will make a strong contender too. What about Sri Lanka’s resounding win against Bazball England at The Oval? And then how can we forget Bangladesh’s twin victories against Pakistan in Rawalpindi.
RG does a deep-dive and explores the biggest upset of the year in Test cricket.
1. New Zealand beat India by 8 wickets, Bengaluru
It has to be the biggest shock of the year in Test cricket. India were the number two ranked team in the world in the format before the start of the series. They were overwhelming favourites in their own backyard having lost just four matches at home since 2013! No team in cricket history had a better record in home conditions than this Indian team in the last 12 years! This India team in India was stronger than the great Australian teams of the late 1990s and 2000s Down Under and the mighty West Indian team of Clive Lloyd in the Caribbean in the 1970s and 80s.
Moreover, New Zealand had beaten India in India on just two occasions, the last of which happened way back in 1988!
India had won the four previous home series against New Zealand, which included two sweeps. It gets better. New Zealand had drawn just one of their last eight Tests in India. They had lost two by an innings, two by margins of over 300 runs and two more by margins of between 175 and 200 runs! And last but not the least they were without their captain, best batter and unarguably the greatest one of all-time – Kane Williamson – who missed out due to an injury and were up against a near full-strength Indian unit.
2. West Indies beat Australia by 8 runs, Brisbane
This was a classic David vs Goliath encounter! Australia were the number one ranked Test team in the world. West Indies barely had a Test XI! West Indies had not defeated Australia in a Test since the famous 418-run chase at St Johns in Antigua in 2003. West Indies had not won in Australia since the W.A.C.A. 1997! They had lost 15 of the 17 Tests Down Under thereafter. These included four innings’ defeats, three by margins of over 350 runs and three more by seven or more wickets. Australia had swept four of the six series against West Indies at home since 2000.
The Gabba was their Fortress. They had only lost in Brisbane once in the last 35 years. West Indies were at the bottom of the pack. They had a win-loss ratio of 0.533 in Test cricket since 2020 which placed them at number 8. Despite all the odds and with an inexperienced batting line-up, the West Indies stunned Australia in their bastion and triumphed by eight runs in a four-day thriller at The Gabba. While Kavem Hodge, Joshua Da Silva and the debutant, Kevin Sinclair, impressed with the bat registering half-centuries in the first innings, the real star for the West Indies was fast bowler, Shamar Joseph who triggered the Australian collapse and then ran through the top and middle-order returning with 7-68 in 11.5 overs. Australia, set 216 for victory, were cruising at 113 for 2 before capitulating and being routed for 207.
3. Bangladesh defeat Pakistan by 10 wickets in Rawalpindi & Bangladesh defeat Pakistan by 6 wickets in Rawalpindi
This was the greatest moment in Bangladesh in their Test cricket history. It was just their third away Test series win in 35 attempts! They had defeated West Indies in 2009 and triumphed over a lowly Zimbabwe in 2021. But to comprehensively defeat a full-strength Pakistani unit in their own backyard was something else and a feat some of the other major Test playing nations have yet not achieved. Mushfiqur Rahim hammered a brilliant 191 in the first match which helped Bangladesh overtake the home team’s total of 448. But it was the spin duo of Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz who bagged seven wickets between them and triggered a Pakistani collapse in the second innings which paved away for a big win for the visitors. It was Bangladesh’s first ever Test win against Pakistan in 14 meetings.
Mehidy Hasan was again amongst the wickets in the second Test too where his five-wicket haul in the first innings helped Bangladesh to restrict Pakistan to 274. Litton Das then recorded one of the best hundreds by an overseas batter in the country and rescued Bangladesh from 26 for 6 to 262. Pakistan crumbled against pace in the second innings and folded for 172. Bangladesh chased down the 185-run target with six wickets in hand.
Beating Pakistan in Pakistan in not one but two successive Tests was indeed a special achievement by Bangladesh!
4. Sri Lanka beat England by 8 wickets, The Oval
England had taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series with wins at Old Trafford and Lord’s. Sri Lanka were up against a revolutionary England unit who had redefined batting in Tests through BAZBALL! Despite conceding a 50-plus runs lead in the first innings, Sri Lanka showed character with a brilliant fightback in the second as they dismissed England for 156. Lahiru Kumara and Vishwa Fernando were the stars with the ball and bagged seven wickets between them.
However, they were set a stiff target of 219 in the fourth innings. No sub-continent team had chased a 200-plus target successfully in England. But tough challenges give rise to new heroes and Sri Lanka unearthed one in London on the 9th of September. Pathum Nissanka gave England a dose of their own medicine and smashed an unbeaten match-winning 127 off just 124 deliveries to take Sri Lanka to a memorable eight-wicket win. It was only their fourth Test win in England.
Nikhil Narain is a die-hard cricket romantic, published author, and has worked for some of the leading digital websites and broadcasters in India and overseas. An alumnus of the London School of Economics, Nikhil's forte is using data and numbers creatively to weave interesting stories and revolutionize the way cricket statistics are generated and analyzed.
