Top 5 chases in Test Cricket
There is something extremely nervy about chases – no matter how big or how small. Something can always give, something can always go wrong before the last run has been ticked off. That is what makes chases fascinating. That is what makes heroes out of mortals as some players show repeatedly how their best emanates from the toughest conditions.
Chases in Test cricket are tougher because they come in the fourth innings on a pitch that has seen a lot of wear and tear and quite a few days of sun and usage. Add to that the fact that the players are mentally exhausted, especially in Tests that go into the fifth day. It is the kind of situation that separates the boys from men.
That is why only 112 Tests have been won while chasing a 200 plus target in the fourth innings. Only four targets of 400 plus have been achieved in all of Test cricket. Overall only 28 Tests have been won chasing a 300 plus target in the fourth innings.
That goes to show the enormous odds against the side chasing a target in the fourth innings. Here we take a look at the top 5 chases in Test cricket. India has 2 while Australia, West Indies and South Africa have 1 each.
West Indies – 418 for 7 against Australia
It is one of the greatest upsets in Test cricket, breaking a world record that had stood for 27 years. Australia had already won three tests in a four-match Test series, leaving West Indies playing for nothing more than pride at St. John’s in May 2003.
It was also one of those rare Test matches where both teams scored more runs in their second innings than in their first. Incredibly, Australia scored 240 in their first and West Indies scored the exact same in their first. That pretty much resulted in a fourth innings shoot-out.
Buoyed by centuries from Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer in a 242 run opening partnership, Australia posted 417 in their second innings. Such was the speed of the match that West Indies were already batting in their second innings at the end of Day 3, which meant a result was inevitable.
West Indies were 74 for 3 before a 91 run partnership between Brian Lara, who scored his second half-century of the match and the hero of the match Ramnaresh Sarwan, gave the chase some spine. Sarwan added another 123 with one of the most resolute batsmen in West Indies cricket, Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Chanderpaul took West Indies to within 50 runs of the target before falling on 104, one less than Sarwan’s 105. However, Omari Banks and Vasbert Drakes played the innings of their lifetimes, adding 46 to take West Indies to 418 for 7, for the greatest fourth innings chase ever.
Chanderpaul was the Man of the Match for a great innings against probably one of the greatest bowling attacks of all time.