Highest targets chased in Test history
Test Cricket is considered the pinnacle of the game as it tests the mental and physical strength of a player over the course of five days. A team needs to play well on all the days to win a Test as a lapse of concentration even for a short while could cost them dearly. Fourth innings chases are the toughest in Test Cricket as batting on a crumbled fifth-day pitch is a herculean task.
However, there have been some teams in international cricket who have effortlessly chased down huge totals in fourth innings and etched their names in history books. On that note, let’s take a look at the top three highest successful chases in Test history:
3) 406/4 (Target – 403) by India vs West Indies 3rd Test, Port of Spain, April, 1976
After being bundled out for 228 in the first innings in reply to West Indies’ score of 359, India were set a massive target of 403 in the fourth innings in Port of Spain in 1976. Sunil Gavaskar (102) led the Indian chase with his splendid hundred while Gundappa Viswanath (112) also scored a century. Mohinder Amarnath (85) also made a valuable contribution as India won the match by six wickets.
2) 414/4 (Target -414) by South Africa vs Australia, 1st Test, Perth, December 2008
South Africa came to Australian shores to script history in 2008 and were met with the tough task of chasing 414 in the first Test itself. However, unfazed by the enormity of the challenge, Graeme Smith (108) and AB de Villiers (106*) helped their side script history and chase down the massive target. South Arica went on to win their first Test series in Australia by 2-1.
1) 418/7 (Target – 418) by West Indies vs Australia, 4th Test, St John’s, May, 2003
Being 0-3 down in the series, West Indies had their back against the wall as they had to chase a monumental target of 418 in the fourth innings to avoid a whitewash. However, Shivnarine Chanderpaul (104) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (105) rose to the occasion and helped their side script history by chasing what remains the highest successful total in Test history.
