The only time this had happened before was in a match between England and Zimbabwe at Bulawayo in 1996. The contest was even, and included a century by England's current coach Andy Flower. It all ended badly for the English and the tactics by the Zimbabwean bowlers didn't help, leading the then English coach David Lloyd to exclaim "We flippin' murdered 'em. Hammered them. Bloody steamrollered them. They know it and we know it."
The tabloids loved all this, but the authorities did not, with Lloyd getting rapped on the knuckles.
What had happened for the first ever time?
[+ Show Answer]
This was the first time a Test match had ended in a draw with the scores level (for a proper tie, the 4th innings has to be bowled out) -
read more about that Test here. India's third match against West Indies at Bombay in November 2011 ended similarly. India is now the only team to be involved both in a tied-draw and a tied Test.