Highest 4th innings chase in Cape Town: What is the highest run chase in Test matches at Newlands Cricket Ground?

Dixit Bhargav | 13/01/2022
Highest 4th innings chase in Cape Town: What is the highest run chase in Test matches at Newlands Cricket Ground?

Highest 4th innings chase in Cape Town: South Africa will have to chase the third-highest Test score at Newlands in order to win this match.

South Africa, who had sealed a third-highest run-chase in Johannesburg in the second Test match against India, will have to do the exact same if they are to win the ongoing third Test in Cape Town.

With India scoring 198/10 in 67.3 overs in the second innings on Day 3, South Africa need to score 212 runs to win their second match in a row. With more than two days remaining in the match, a result is on the cards for both this match and series.

Had it not been for India wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant’s fourth Test century, the visitors would have put forward a below par target for none of their other batters created an impact in this innings.

Pant, who scored 100* (139) with the help of six fours and four sixes, has become the first-ever wicket-keeper to score away Test centuries in England, Australia and South Africa. Readers must note that all four of Pant’s Test centuries have come in different continents.

Highest 4th innings chase in Cape Town Tests

As far as the highest fourth innings run-chase in Cape Town is concerned, the record currently lies with Australia who had sealed a 334-run chase at the Newlands a couple of decades ago.

Team Runs Overs Year Opposition
Australia 334/6 79.1 2002 South Africa
South Africa 236/2 50.2 2011 Australia
South Africa 211/5 64.1 2007 India
South Africa 186/3 35.2 2008 West Indies
South Africa 182/6 43.1 2013 Pakistan

Highest 4th innings successful run chase

The current record for highest 4th innings successful run chase in Test cricket lies with West Indies, who had sealed a 418-run target against Australia in Antigua (also in 2002). The second-highest 4th innings successful run chase in Test cricket had come 14 years ago when South Africa had chased down a 414-run target in Perth.

South Africa’s highest-ever fourth-innings score at home is a monumental 450/7 in 136 overs in a 458-run chase against India in Johannesburg in 2013. Below are the highest fourth innings totals at the Newlands:

Team Runs Overs Year Opposition
West Indies 354/5 100 2004 South Africa
South Africa 335 142.2 1962 New Zealand
Australia 334/6 79.1 2002 South Africa
Sri Lanka 306 95.3 1998 South Africa
England 304 123.4 2005 South Africa
Post Edited By: Dixit Bhargav
India India tour of South Africa 2021-22 South Africa

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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