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India losing another Test series at home looks almost a certainty, barring a miracle by Rishabh Pant and Co in the Guwahati Test against South Africa. After winning the first Test at Kolkata by 30 runs, South Africa have put themselves in the winning position in the final match by taking a lead of 395 runs by Tea break on Day 4 in Guwahati.
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South Africa were 107/3 with Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj yet to bat. This is nothing short of a disaster for India as they will be required to complete a historic chase to win the match.
India need new history to win Guwahati Test
India’s highest successful run chase of all time in Test cricket is 406/4 against West Indies in Port of Spain in 1976, but they have never managed to chase anything over 400 at home. The highest successful chase at home is 387/4, which came against England in 2008.
The second-best chase for Team India in India is 276/5 against West Indies in 2011 at Delhi and the third-highest is 262/5 against New Zealand at Bengaluru in 2012.
India’s highest successful run chases in Tests
| Target | Scored | Opposition | Venue | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 403 | 406/4 | West Indies | Port of Spain | 1976 |
| 387 | 387/4 | England | Chennai | 2008 |
| 328 | 329/7 | Australia | Brisbane | 2021 |
| 276 | 276/5 | West Indies | Delhi | 2011 |
| 264 | 264/5 | Sri Lanka | Kandy | 2001 |
| 261 | 262/5 | New Zealand | Bengaluru | 2012 |
| 257 | 258/5 | Sri Lanka | Colombo (PSS) | 2010 |
| 254 | 256/8 | Australia | Mumbai (BS) | 1964 |
| 230 | 233/6 | Australia | Adelaide | 2003 |
| 216 | 216/9 | Australia | Mohali | 2010 |
| 207 | 207/3 | Australia | Bengaluru | 2010 |
| 203 | 203/4 | Pakistan | Delhi | 2007 |
| 200 | 200/5 | New Zealand | Dunedin | 1968 |
| 192 | 192/5 | England | Ranchi | 2024 |
| 190 | 190/3 | Zimbabwe | Delhi | 2000 |
This clearly shows that chasing 396 or anything above 400 is going to be almost impossible. India will have to make new history and better their record of 2008 to win the Guwahati Test.
Also Read | Test cricket history stands against India at Guwahati with only miracle territory left
We shouldn’t forget that India failed to chase down a target of 124 in the first Test at the Eden Gardens.
India’s highest successful chase vs South Africa in Tests
Also, India’s highest-ever successful chase against South Africa in Tests is only 117, which came in 2004 at Eden Gardens. Current coach Gautam Gambhir was a part of that match.
Asked to chase 117 in the fourth innings after a Jacques Kallis century and fifty in the two innings, India completed the task with ease. Opener Virender Sehwag made 10, while Gambhir added 26.
Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar then finished the job by scoring 47 and 32 not out, respectively.
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