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Highest Target Chased At Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai In Test Cricket

Aakash Saini

India poised to chase a challenging target on Day 3 [Source: PTI]India poised to chase a challenging target on Day 3 [Source: PTI]

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Team India’s third Test against the visiting New Zealanders is heading towards an exciting finish at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. After gaining a handy 28-run lead at the halfway stage of the match, Indian paceman Akash Deep and spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja got rid of nine New Zealand batters in the second innings.

With a lead of 143 runs, New Zealand’s last wicket pair will be aiming to add as many runs as possible to set a challenging target for the hosts on a difficult Day 3 surface. Ahead of a potentially exciting day, here we take a look at the highest successful run-chase ever pulled off at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium in Test cricket.

Highest successful run-chase at Wankhede Stadium

The surface at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai tends to get extremely difficult for batting as the match progresses. Moreover, the highest successful run-chase ever pulled off at the venue is a mere 163-run effort pulled off by the visiting South African team back in February 2000.

Team India, led by Sachin Tendulkar, gained a 49-run lead over the Proteas at the halfway stage of the match. However, a second innings batting collapse induced by South African pacers Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock as well as from spinner Hansie Cronje ensured the visitors required just 163 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series.

South Africa, courtesy of valiant top-order contributions from Jacques Kallis (36*) and Herschelle Gibbs (46), romped to a comfortable four-wicket victory on Day 3 itself.

To date, South Africa’s effort remains the highest successful run-chase ever pulled off by any team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. On the other hand, West Indies total of 266 runs during their 1994 Test match against India remains the highest team score ever recorded at the venue overall; however, it occurred in a losing cause as the hosts won the match by 96 runs.

As of now, it remains to be seen how many runs Team India will be left to chase against New Zealand on November 3 to avoid a 0-3 whitewash.