Cricket is a gentleman's game. But the game gets aggressive and ruthless at times. Humiliation is a part of the game that every team faces in their history. Here is a list of the Top 5 greatest win margins by runs in Test Cricket History.
Winning and losing are a part of the game. But Test matches ‘test’ the strength of aside. Some matches end up being a part of a series and some get registered in the history books. Crushing the opponent is every side’s dream.
The reality is very few can do that. If we open the history books then a lot of teams have enjoyed the pleasure of winning a test by a great margin. But do you know which teams are there in the list of the top 5 greatest win margins by runs in Test Cricket History?
5. Australia vs Pakistan (491 runs)
Date: 16 December 2004
Result: Australia defeated Pakistan by 491 runs.
Scorecard:
Australia - 381 (1st innings) 361-5d (2nd innings)
Pakistan - 179 (1st innings) 72 (2nd innings)
5th on the list is Australia when Pakistan toured Australia in 2004. It was the first test of the series. Pakistan asked Australia to bat first. It was Justin Langer's masterclass in the first innings that Australia reached 381.
When Pakistan came to bat, they started to tumble early and scored 179. Australia again with the help of Langer scored 361 in the second innings.
Pakistan now had a mammoth of a task; their target was 563 runs. In the process to draw the match, they ended up being victims of Glenn McGrath’s masterclass as he picked 8/24 and restricted Pakistan to 72.
Pakistan suffered a defeat of 491 runs and it was their 5th lowest total in Test cricket.
Also Read | Most Consecutive Test Series Wins at Home
4. South Africa vs Australia (492 runs)
Date: 30th March 2018
Result: South Africa defeated Australia by 492 runs.
Scorecard:
South Africa - 488 (1st innings) 344-6d (2nd innings)
Australia - 221 (1st innings) 119 (2nd innings)
It was a time when South Africa was in transition, it was the 4th test, The proteas were leading the series 2-1, and the Aussies had only one motive to save the series.
The outcomes turned unfavourable for the men in yellow, as they were handed their second-worst defeat. South Africa chose to bat first and thanks to Aiden Markram's century they put a total of 488.
Australia in return got all out for 221. Their worries doubled when Proteas batted next and scored 344. The situation was such that Aussies needed 611 to win the match.
It was time for Vernon Philander's masterclass, he took 6/21 and Australia suffered a defeat of 492 runs.
3. Australia vs South Africa (530 runs)
Date: 17th February 1911
Result: Australia defeated South Africa by 530 runs.
Scorecard:
Australia - 328 (1st innings) 578 (2nd innings)
South Africa - 205 (1st innings) 171 (2nd innings)
The match that is third on the list was played more than a century ago. The Proteas toured Australia back in 1911. Australia batted first and scored 328. In response, South Africa put up a decent score of 205. However, things changed drastically in the second innings, when Australia added 578 to their lead of 123 runs.
South Africa now had to chase 701 runs to save the series which they were losing 2-1. Thanks to the debutant Ranji Horden, he picked a 5 wicket haul to restrict the Proteas to 171 runs.This was South Africa's worst defeat to date.
2. Australia vs England (562 runs)
Date: 18th August 1934
Result: Australia defeated England by 562 runs.
Scorecard:
Australia - 701 (1st innings) 327 (2nd innings)
England - 321 (1st innings) 145 (2nd innings)
Australia again makes the list, this time their opponent being England. It was the era of Sir Donald Bradman. He put up a score of 244 and his partner Bill Ponsford scored even better, 266. Australia scored 701 in the first innings. To which England's reply was 301.
To give away a fact, Australia scored 701 in just 171 overs. Hence, they had ample amount in the second innings to pile up their lead. They added 327.England on their home ground now had to chase a total of 709.
Sadly, they were all out as they reached 145.This was Australia's biggest test win ever and England's biggest defeat.
1. England vs Australia (675 runs)
Date: 30 November 1928
Result: England defeated Australia by 675 runs.
Scorecard:
England- 521 (1st innings) 342-8d (2nd innings)
Australia - 122 (1st innings) 66 (2nd innings)
To answer the question, I asked earlier in the article, England is the team that tops the list of the team that won a test match by most runs. England defeated Australia at their home turf and that too with a margin of 675 runs.
To add to the shock, It was Donald Bradman's test debut for Australia. England batted first they scored a massive 21 runs. When Australia came to bat, English bowler Harold Larwood sent them back to the pavilion quickly and restricted the hosts to 122 runs.
England now had a lead of 399 runs. Instead of following on, they batted again and added 342 to the total in the second innings. Australia now needed 741 runs to win the match.
In return, Aussies were bowled out for humiliating 66, registering the worst defeat in the history of cricket to date.
