What is the record for the highest successful chase in first-class cricket?
Glamorgan and Gloucestershire played out a thrilling tie in a first-class match - game number 34 of County Championship Division Two at the College Ground in Cheltenham on Wednesday, July 3. Gloucestershire were dismissed for 179 in their first innings, while Glamorgan responded with 197.
It was a complete contrast in the second innings as Gloucestershire notched up 610-5 before declaring. James Bracey scored 204*, Cameron Bancroft hammered 184, while Miles Hammond slammed 121 off 110.
Chasing a target of 593, Glamorgan almost pulled off the near impossible. They finished on 592 from 152 overs as the incredible match finished in a tie. Skipper Sam Northeast top-scored with 187, while Marnus Labuschagne contributed 119.
Mason Crane (43*) kept Glamorgan's hopes alive, but Jamie McIlroy was brilliantly caught by keeper Bracey off the last ball of the pulsating match.
Glamorgan fall narrowly short of creating history in first-class cricket
Had Glamorgan scored 593, they would have entered the record books for the highest successful chase in first-class cricket. But, as their County Championship Division Two match against Gloucestershire ended in a tie, the record remains in the name of West Zone.
West Zone chased down a target of 536 against South Zone in the final of the Duleep Trophy played in February 2010. Chasing the humungous target, West Indies finished on 541-7 in 136.3 overs to enter the record books.
Former India all-rounder Yusuf Pathan starred in the memorable chase with an unbeaten 210 off 190 in the first-class clash, a stunning knock that featured 19 fours and 10 sixes, lasting over 330 minutes. Opener Chirag Pathak contributed 130, while skipper Wasim Jaffer (66), Harshad Khadiwale (45) and Irfan Pathan (42) also made crucial contributions.
Earlier, batting first after winning the toss, South Zone had put up 400 on the board in their first innings as skipper Dinesh Karthik top-scored with 183. For West Zone, Irfan claimed 5-100. They responded with 251 as Yusuf slammed 108 off 76 even as Chandrasekar Ganapathy claimed 5-75.
Karthik shone in the second innings as well for South Zone, scoring 150 off 162, while Chidhambaram Gautam struck 88 off 118.
Dhawal Kulkarni claimed 5-58, but South Zone declared at 386-9. Having set West Zone a target of 536, South Zone would have been confident of victory, but Yusuf and Co. had other plans as West Zone pulled off a historic chase.