Before July 24, the Ireland cricket team had been to Lord's only twice. On June 14, 2009, it played its first T20I at the home of cricket (eighth T20I overall) and lost to Sri Lanka by nine runs. Ireland had to wait till 2017 to play its first ODI at Lord's. On May 7, 2017, in their 119th ODI match overall, Ireland faced England and lost by a comprehensive margin of 85 runs. The number would feature again, prominently.
As everyone who has heard of cricket probably knows by now, on July 24, in their Lord's Test debut (third Test overall), Ireland bowled out England for 85. By the end of Day One of the four-day match, Ireland had also been bowled out; for 207. The result of the match is by no means a foregone conclusion. England, ranked fourth, could still fight back, or Ireland, not ranked yet because they have not played enough matches, could go on to achieve a historic result. But whatever happens, it was a great day for Test cricket.
Why? Because while purists everywhere agree that the shorter formats cannot replace the completeness of Test cricket, interest in the purest format of the game is waning. And the best chance Test cricket has of appealing to the masses is perhaps the tried and tested underdog story. An upset is arguably the most interesting part of sports. But it is a rarity in Test cricket. And understandably so, because the kind of sustained excellence the minnows would need to display over days to topple the favourites do not come easy.
However, Ireland's outstanding bowling performance in the first innings reminds us of some of the more memorable performances by underdogs in Test cricket. Here is a look at five of them:
India beats West Indies, Port of Spain, April 7-12, 1976
Cricket's original underdog, India, is now the best Test team in the world. The journey has been long and exciting. Though India already had some impressive Test wins to their credit by 1976, the then world-record chase against the West Indies at Port of Spain that year eclipsed them all. The West Indies scored 359 in the first innings and bowled out India for 228. In the second innings, they declared at 271/6, setting India a target of 403 with less than two days to spare. Centuries from Sunil Gavaskar (102) and Gundappa Viswanath (112), an 85 from Mohinder Amarnath and a 49 not out from Brijesh Patel helped India reach 406/4. In the process, India also broke Australia's 28-year-old record for the highest successful run chase (404).
Zimbabwe stuns Pakistan, Peshawar, November 27-30, 1998
Zimbabwe played its first Test match in 1992. It has won 12 out of its 107 matches so far. The most memorable of which was arguably against a Pakistan team with stalwarts like Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis. Pakistan were bowled out for 296 in the first innings, Zimbabwe replied with 238, thanks to a Neil Johnson century (107). In the second innings, pacers Heath Streak, Henry Olonga and Mpumelelo Mbangwa tore through Pakistan's batting line-up to dismiss them for a paltry 103. Zimbabwe chased down the target of 162 with seven wickets in hand.
Bangladesh beats England, Dhaka, October 28-30, 2016
Bangladesh have been genuine contenders in the shorter formats of the game for some time now. But they are yet to work their magic in Tests, with only 13 wins in 114 matches since they became a Test playing nation in 2000. But their first big Test win, against Alastair Cook's England, was a reminder of the team's fighting spirit. Down 0-1 in the two-match series after a heartbreaking 22-run loss a week earlier, Bangladesh bounced back in style to win by 108 runs. They scored 220 and 296 and were able to bowl out a strong England batting line-up for 244 and 164, thanks mainly to the web spun by man of the match Mehidy Hasan Miraz (12 wickets).
West Indies shocks Pakistan, Sharjah, October 30-November 3, 2016
It was a good week for Test cricket. Close on the heels of Bangladesh's upset of England, Pakistan, then the world's No 1 Test team, lost to a struggling West Indies. Pakistan had won the first two matches of the three-match series, but there is no such thing as a dead rubber when it comes to West Indies cricket. Pakistan were bowled out for 281 and 208. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite led the West Indian charge with 142 not out and 60 not out as they scored 337 in the first innings and chased down 153 with five wickets to spare.
Bangladesh edges out Australia, Dhaka, August 27-30, 2017
After its famous victory against England exactly 10 months earlier, the Bangladeshi Test revolution continued with a close-run upset against the other Ashes giants Australia. Earlier in the year, Bangladesh had also beaten Sri Lanka in Colombo. In Dhaka, Australia seemed to be comfortable at the end of the third day's play, at 109/2, chasing 265 with David Warner and Steve Smith at the crease. But the underdogs held their nerve to turn things around on the fourth day and dismiss the Aussies for 244. Man of the match Shakib Al Hasan scored 84 in first innings as Bangladesh put up 260 and took five wickets to help bowl out Australia for 217. In the second innings he claimed five more wickets, including Warner and Smith.
