The Oval Cricket Ground Test Records will take centre stage as it is a designated neutral venue for the final match of the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship scheduled to be played between Australia and India tomorrow onwards. Having last hosted an international match in the form of an England-South Africa Test match nine months ago, the venue will be hosting action of the highest level for the first time this year.
Advertisement
One of the most oldest Test venues, it is also one of the top ground in terms of hosting maximum matches of the ancestral format. Speaking particularly of Australia, they will be playing a Test here for the first time since Ashes 2019. In fact, they will be playing an additional Test here during the subsequent Ashes 2023. In a total of 38 Tests here, the Aussies have won seven and lost 17 matches over the years.
India, on the other hand, will be playing at the Kennington Oval after a couple of years. India, who have won two but lost five out of their 14 Tests at this venue, had won their last match a couple of years ago unlike Australia. Readers must note that Australia’s last Test victory at this stadium had come eight years ago.
The Oval Cricket Ground Test Records
Highest Test run-scorers at The Oval among active Australian and Indian cricketers are Steven Smith (391), KL Rahul (249), Rishabh Pant (178), Virat Kohli (169) and Rohit Sharma (138). Details of players part of the current squads have been provided below:
| Batter | Matches | Runs | Highest | Average | 100 | 50 |
| Steven Smith | 3 | 391 | 143 | 97.75 | 2 | 1 |
| Virat Kohli | 3 | 169 | 50 | 28.16 | 0 | 1 |
| Rohit Sharma | 1 | 138 | 127 | 69 | 1 | 0 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 2 | 126 | 86* | 42 | 0 | 1 |
| David Warner | 3 | 119 | 85 | 23.8 | 0 | 1 |
Prep 🇮🇳✅ pic.twitter.com/UYCulkoGJ9
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) June 1, 2023
Ravindra Jadeja (11), Nathan Lyon (9), Ishant Sharma (8), Jasprit Bumrah (7) and Umesh Yadav (6) are the highest wicket-takers in Test matches played at this venue. Apart from these active bowlers, topmost ones that are in the current squads are:
| Bowlers | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | SR |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 2 | 11 | 31.27 | 2.77 | 67.6 |
| Nathan Lyon | 3 | 9 | 30.77 | 2.65 | 69.6 |
| Umesh Yadav | 1 | 6 | 22.66 | 3.64 | 37.3 |
| Pat Cummins | 1 | 5 | 30.2 | 3.22 | 56.2 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 1 | 3 | 24 | 3.34 | 43 |
Highest Innings Total in Tests Played At The Oval
| Score | Overs | Team | Opposition | Year |
| 903/7d | 335.2 | England | Australia | 1938 |
| 708 | 220.3 | Pakistan | England | 1987 |
| 701 | 171.2 | Australia | England | 1934 |
| 695 | 256.1 | Australia | England | 1930 |
| 692/8d | 163 | West Indies | England | 1995 |
Only four out of the 12 Test innings totals exceeding the 600-run mark at The Oval have come in this century. While Australia’s highest innings total at this venue is mentioned in the aforementioned table, India had scored 664 in 170 overs 16 years ago.
Out of 104 Tests here, teams have been able to chase down targets successfully only 26 times. Hosts England hold the record for the highest successful run-chase at this ground on the back of scoring 263/9 in 66.5 overs in a tense finish 121 years ago.
Both Australia and India have chased down a target once at Kennington Oval. While Australia had sealed a 242-run chase with 5 wickets in hand in 1972, India had sealed a 173-run target with 4 wickets in hand in 1971.
