Highest 4th innings successful run chase: South Africa will have to chase a record third-highest total at this venue to win this match.
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During the third day of the second Test of the ongoing India’s tour of South Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa managed to bundle out India for 266 in 60.1 overs.
Resuming from their overnight score of 85/2 in 20 overs, senior batters Ajinkya Rahane (58) and Cheteshwar Pujara (53) scored individual half-centuries in a 111-run partnership for the third wicket to hand India with a massive advantage in the morning session.
Pujara and Rahane had their backs to the wall. But The Wall had their backs all along. What a way to repay the faith. Vital partnership in the context of the game. #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/Ukr1oj9YLH
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) January 5, 2022
Apart from this pair, India also lost wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant (0) and spinner Ravichandran Ashwin (16) in quick succession before the lunch break.
Post lunch, batter Hanuma Vihari (40*) and all-rounder Shardul Thakur (28) contributed with pivotal innings which powered India in excess of the 250-run mark. South Africa, who had gained a 27-run first innings lead on Day 2, will have to chase a 240-run target to avoid their first-ever home Test series loss against India.
Highest run chase in Johannesburg Test matches
It is worth mentioning that a 240-run chase (if it happens) will be the third-highest at the Wanderers. The record for the highest run-chase in a Johannesburg Test is held by Australia who had sealed a 310-run chase with only a couple of wickets in hand a decade ago.
| Team | Runs | Overs | Year | Opposition |
| Australia | 310/8 | 86.5 | 2011 | South Africa |
| Australia | 294/8 | 91.4 | 2006 | South Africa |
| South Africa | 220/6 | 47.3 | 2006 | New Zealand |
| South Africa | 164/6 | 62.4 | 1998 | West Indies |
| South Africa | 67/0 | 13.2 | 2021 | Sri Lanka |
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 19 years ago. 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.
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The record for the highest-ever fourth innings score rests with England, who had scored a mammoth 654/5 in a 696-run chase during their tour of South Africa in 1939 in Durban.
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 at this venue in 2013. Below are the highest fourth innings totals at the Wanderers:
| Team | Runs | Overs | Target | Year | Opposition |
| South Africa | 450/7 | 136 | 458 | 2011 | India |
| Australia | 351/5 | 165 | 479 | 1995 | England |
| South Africa | 291/10 | 119.2 | 454 | 2009 | Australia |
| South Africa | 278/10 | 86.5 | 402 | 2006 | India |
| South Africa | 274/10 | 77.1 | 466 | 2020 | England |
