England script history in 378-run chase - four other successful chases against India

The English team continue their dream run in the longest format of the game in the reign of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. After a sensational home series against New Zealand, they have staged a dramatic victory against India. 

In the fifth rescheduled Test of the 2021 series, India dominated the hosts in the first innings. However, the heroics of Jonny Bairstow kept England alive in the competition.

The hosts crawled back into the game during the second innings on the back of a brilliant bowling performance. Although India managed to set a target of 378 runs for the hosts in the fourth innings, they chased it down quite comfortably in the end, losing only three wickets.

This chase by the English team is the highest in their history of Test cricket. India has also never lost a match defending so many runs before this. 

On this note, let us look at the top five chases against India in the history of Test cricket.

1. 378 by England, Edgbaston, 2022: India had the upper hand in the match for the majority of the time. They set a target of 378 runs for the hosts, and it looked like India would emerge victorious.

However, Joe Root and Bairstow had other ideas. They batted out of their skin in the final innings and carried their team across the line. 

Root stayed not out at 142 runs off 173 deliveries, while Bairstow remained unbeaten on 114 off 145 balls. The duo was engaged in an unbeaten partnership of 269 runs and made a mockery of the Indian bowling. 

The chase by the English team goes down in the history books as the highest successful chase against India in Test cricket.

2. 339 runs by Australia, Perth, 1977: In the 2nd Test of India’s 1977 tour to Australia, the hosts chased 339 runs in the fourth innings. 

Courtesy of two grinding knocks by Sunil Gavaskar (127 off 245) and Mohinder Amarnath (100 of 175), India set a target of 339 runs for Australia in the fourth innings. 

While India was hoping for a historic victory in the match, Tony Mann (105 of 165) and Peter Toohey (83 of 140) decided to fight for their team. They laid a strong foundation on which the lower order capitalized, and Australia won the match by two wickets. 

3. 276 by West Indies, Delhi, 1987: The Indian team was stunned by the Caribbean batting maestro, Sir Vivian Richards, in the second Test of the 1987’s West Indies tour of India.

Dilip Vengsarkar (102 of 257) helped India reach a total of 327 runs in the first innings in a match where both teams failed to score enough runs in the first innings. This meant that the visitors had to chase down 276 runs in the final innings of the match.

After West Indies got a good start, India came back into the match with two quick wickets. West Indies was 91 for three wickets down when Richards walked out to bat. He played in his own flamboyant style and scored 109 runs off 111 balls. 

Richard’s masterclass helped the visitors win the match by five wickets.

4. 240 by South Africa, Johannesburg, 2022: The visitors set up a decent match for themselves in the second Test of India’s tour to South Africa in 2022.

A collective batting effort from the whole team helped India set a target of 240 runs for the home team in the last innings. 

But Proteas’ skipper Dean Elgar played at the peak of his abilities and took his team over the line. Elgar remained unbeaten on 96 runs of 188 balls as South Africa won the match by seven wickets.

5. 213 by New Zealand, Wellington, 1998: In the second Test of the 1998 New Zealand series, India lost to a resilient Kiwi batting. 

Courtesy of a brilliant century by Sachin Tendulkar (113 of 151) in the second innings of the match, India set up a target of 213 runs for the visitors. 

However, Craig McMillan (74 of 122) and Chris Cairns (61 of 107) kept their composure and took the home team to victory by a margin of 4 wickets.