England need 536 more runs to beat India, on the final day of the Edgbaston Test. How often have teams scored this much in a single day?
England start day five of Edgbaston Test with 536 more to win
Day four of the second Test between England and India (July 5) began with the visitors leading by 244. By lunch, they lost the overnight pair of KL Rahul and Karun Nair but stretched the lead to 357.
After tea, captain Shubman Gill stepped on the gas to score his second century of the Test, and helped India eventually declare at 427-6, setting England 608 for victory in just over a day. It only got better for them thereafter as Ben Duckett, Zak Crawley and Joe Root were all dismissed by stumps.
England now start day five with seven wickets in hand, and 536 more runs for victory. The task is no doubt uphill. Only once have more runs been scored in a single day of Test cricket – and that needed both teams to contribute. In July 1936 at Manchester, England scored 398 and India 190 to take the day's total up to 588 runs.
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Only three teams have managed to score over 500 runs in one day of Test cricket – England (503) in 1924, Sri Lanka (509) in 2002 and England (506) in 2022. It is also exceedingly rare for teams to score so heavily on day five of a Test match. The record for day five is 459 runs (New Zealand 375, Australia 84) at Brisbane in 2001.
The record for most runs by one team on a single day of first-class cricket is 721, scored by a touring Australian side against Essex on May 15, 1948. Bill Brown (153), Don Bradman (187), Sam Loxton (120) and Ronald Saggers (104*) all scored centuries that day.
Most runs in a day of Test cricket, full list
Team 1 | Team 2 | Team 1 Runs | Team 2 Runs | Total | Venue | Date |
England | India | 398 | 190 | 588 | Manchester | July 26, 1936 |
England | South Africa | 503 | 19 | 522 | Lord's | June 29, 1924 |
Sri Lanka | Bangladesh | 509 | - | 509 | Colombo (PSS) | July 22, 2002 |
England | South Africa | 221 | 287 | 508 | The Oval | August 19, 1935 |
Pakistan | England | - | 506 | 506 | Rawalpindi | December 1, 2022 |
England | Zimbabwe | - | 498 | 498 | Nottingham | May 22, 2025 |
England | Pakistan | 437 | 59 | 496 | Nottingham | July 2, 1954 |
Australia | South Africa | 494 | - | 494 | Sydney | December 9, 1910 |
England | South Africa | 179 | 313 | 492 | The Oval | August 18, 1935 |
England | New Zealand | 267 | 224 | 491 | Leeds | June 13, 1949 |
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