Five fastest 300-plus chases in Test cricket in 21st century
Chasing 300+ hasn’t been that easy in the past decade but a lot of such matches have fallen through in the past three years, all turning out to some of the greatest Test matches in history. A total 33 successful chases of 300+ have been seen in Test cricket till date with 17 of them coming in the 21st century including India’s win at the Gabba. Teams which put a little more in terms of intent in the 4th innings have been successful in chasing 300+ targets. Here are the top five fastest 300+ chases in Test cricket in the 21st century:
86.5 overs – Australia vs South Africa, Johannesburg 2011:
Australia and South Africa battled out in Johannesburg after being involved in a crazy Test match in Cape Town. Australia got a target of 310 to chase and began by losing the wicket of Shane Watson on the 2nd ball. Fifties from Usman Khawaja, Ricky Ponting and Brad Haddin got close to the target but left with 18 runs after the loss of eight wickets. Debutant Pat Cummins, who took 7 wickets in the game including a 6-wicket haul, smashed a boundary while batting at No.10 to take the team over the line.
85.3 overs – Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Durban 2019:
The presence of Kusal Perera helped Sri Lanka to chase down 304 with only one wicket in hand during the 2019 Durban Test. Perera smashed 12 fours and five maximums as he finished with an unbeaten 200-ball 153. Kusal was involved in a record unbeaten 78-run stand for the 10th wicket with Vishwa Fernando. The Sri Lankans hit quite a lot of boundaries as the chase finished in only 85.3 overs.
153 not out for Kusal Perera out of a total of 304/9 as Sri Lanka defeat South Africa by 1 wicket.
This has to be one of the greatest innings of all-time in Test cricket#SAvSL pic.twitter.com/nkLLNS3blv
— Saj Sadiq (@Saj_PakPassion) February 16, 2019
79.1 overs – Australia vs South Africa, Cape Town 2002:
Australia began the Cape Town Test on a high after winning the first game of the 3-match Test series against South Africa. They got a lead of 143 runs in the first-innings but South Africa came back strongly to set a target of 331 in front of the visitors. By the end of the 4th day, Australia raced to 131/1 in only 33 overs.
Matthew Hayden (96) was involved in partnerships of 102 and 99 runs for the first two wickets as they raced to 201/2 by 48th over. The dismissal of Hayden triggered a collapse as Australia lost four wickets for 68 runs. However, an unbeaten 160-ball century from Ricky Ponting sealed a 4-wicket win for Australia as he completed his hundred and the chase by smashing a six.
73.2 overs – England vs Australia, The Oval 2001:
Adam Gilchrist, who was the stand-in skipper for Australia in the 2001 Birmingham Test, made an aggressive declaration to force a win. After taking a lead of 138 runs, Gilchrist decided to declare Australian innings at 176/4 which was spread across 39.3 overs. England walked out to bat on the 4th day evening with a target of 315 to avoid a 4th successive defeat.
Mark Butcher batted positively in the big chase despite losing two wickets early on. England got 114 runs in the morning session across 27.3 overs and another 104 runs in only 27 overs between Lunch and Tea. England needed 95 runs in the final session but needed only 18.2 overs further to chase the target down. Butcher was the star of the chase scoring an unbeaten 173 from 227 balls.
57.3 overs – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Sharjah 2014:
Sri Lanka led the 3-match Test series by 1-0 margin ahead of the final Test in Sharjah. With a draw being enough for a series win, Sri Lanka took the defensive way scoring 428/9 in 172 overs during the first innings and 214 in the second essay despite batting out 101.4 overs. This set a target of 302 for Pakistan in 59 overs with a required rate little over five.
#OnThisDay in 2014, Pakistan made history in Sharjah. Pakistan completed the fastest chase of a 300+ total in Test cricket, chasing down 302 v Sri Lanka off 57.3 overs. @iamAhmadshahzad scored his maiden test century in that match. pic.twitter.com/XkTi0zmafN
— Ahmad Shahzad Fandom ?? (@AHMADBIGGESTFAN) January 20, 2019
Pakistan lost three wickets for 97 runs in 21.5 overs as the required rate began to climb close to six. At this stage, Sarfaraz Ahmed smashed a 46-ball 48 and shared an 89-run stand with Azhar Ali from only 89 balls. Azhar went on to make 103 from 137 balls before getting out seven runs short of the target. It was the Pakistan skipper who stepped up big time as Misbah-ul-Haq smashed an unbeaten 68 off 72 balls to see his team chase down the target in 57.3 overs with 1.3 overs to spare.
