First day highest score in Test cricket: Full list of highest runs scored on Day 1 of a Test match

First day highest score in Test cricket: Batters had a field day in Test matches which started in both East and West Punjab today.

It is only for the second time in the history of cricket that a Test match started on the same day in both East and West Punjab. While India hosted Sri Lanka in Mohali, Pakistan hosted Australia in Rawalpindi.

Interestingly, both matches have their own share of historic significance that won’t let fans forget them easily. In East Punjab, former India captain Virat Kohli stepped on to the field to play his 100th Test, whereas Sri Lanka registered their 300th Test appearance.

In West Punjab, Australia were playing international cricket in Pakistan for the first time in 24 years.

Closest Test matches starting on the same day

360km – Chandigarh and Faisalabad on 3-Nov-1990

425km – Delhi and Lahore on 25-Nov-1987

476km – Mohali and Rawalpindi tomorrow#NicheStats

— Mazher Arshad (@MazherArshad) March 3, 2022

Captains of both the home teams, India and Pakistan, won the toss and chose to bat to make the most of batting-friendly conditions at the Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium and Pindi Cricket Stadium respectively.

In the 85 overs that were possible in Mohali, India amassed 357/6 at stumps on the back of individual half-centuries by Rishabh Pant (96) and Hanuma Vihari (58).

On the other hand, Pakistan scored 245/1 in 90 overs on Day 1. A 105-run opening partnership between Abdullah Shafique (44) and Imam-ul-Haq (132*) was followed by an unbeaten 140-run partnership for the second wicket between Imam and Azhar Ali (64*).

First day highest score in Test cricket (table updated on December 1, 2022)

Despite dominating the proceedings throughout the day, Pakistan never really looked like posting a mammoth Day 1 total primarily due to their batters’ strike rate.

On the contrary, Indian batters adopted the free-flowing approach finding boundaries frequently to score at a run rate of 4.2. However, even they weren’t anywhere close to the list of highest runs scored on the first day of a Test match. The same wouldn’t have been achieved even if the remaining five overs were bowled in Mohali today.

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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