Only 2 occasions in the history of Test cricket when a team won the match on the last ball

 

Test match cricket is a form of theatre, which a certain set of fans take great pleasure in. Many members of the cricket world think that the red ball format is dying and T20 has taken over as the number one format.

Test has been replaced. While the above statement may be true in terms of revenue generation, but one cannot deny the fact that no format comes close to matching the excitement of the purest format of the game.

Even in 2023, fans have seen some incredible Test matches, two of which have happened recently on New Zealand soil. England toured New Zealand earlier this year for a two-match Test series, where the Kiwis won the second Test by just one run to level the series 1-1.

While that Test match was not won on the last ball, here is a list of two instances when a team in the longest format of the game won the match on the last ball of the game.

1. New Zealand beat Sri Lanka on the last ball of a Test match in 2023

New Zealand have been setting new records for the closest win margin in Test cricket of late. As mentioned further, they won a Test by just one run against the England cricket team earlier this year. And now today on the last ball of the 5th day, the Blackcaps defeated the Sri Lankan cricket team.

Kane Williamson was batting on 121 when New Zealand needed one run from one ball to win. Williamson could not connect a shot but ran in quickly and completed a bye to win the Test for the New Zealand cricket team.

2. England v South Africa, 1948

The first Test where the winning team won off the last ball was in 1948. England were the winning team in that game, and they went on to win over South Africa, courtesy of a leg-bye with the bat of Cliff Gladwin.