Rulesof testcricket

Rules of Test Cricket

The captain who wins the toss decides whether his team bats first or bowls first. His decision is predicated on many factors- such as the condition of the pitch-whether it is bowler friendly or suits a batsmen more, or whether it has lot of grass etc; and also by the prevailing weather conditions.

The team that bats first (let us call it Team 1) piles on as many runs as possible before it is bowled out or declares the inning. Next, the Team 2 is put into bat and it tries to surpass Team 1's total, while the latter works at bowling it out. After Team 2 declares or gets bowled out, Team 1 bats again and sets a target for the opposing team. If Team 2 can overcome the total then it wins or if all its players get dismissed then it loses the test match. One important rule to be noted is that the result in a test match can only be achieved if one team surpasses the target or gets bowled out before the lapse of five days; otherwise the match will be declared a draw.