New Zealand enter day three of the second Test against Zimbabwe at 601-3. Can they make the highest Test total ever?
After New Zealand won the first Test in Bulawayo last week, the sides met at the same venue for the second of two Tests on August 7. The Black Caps named three debutants – Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher and Zakary Foulkes – in their playing XI.
2nd Test, Zimbabwe vs New Zealand
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Foulkes impressed, returning 4-38 as senior quick Matt Henry did the bulk of the damage with 5-40. Fisher contributed 1-16, as Zimbabwe folded rather meekly for 125 on the opening day.
New Zealand openers Devon Conway and Will Young then put on 162, and the visitors were 174-1 by the close of play. On day two, Conway made his first Test century in two years before Duffy, batting at No.3 as a nightwatch, was dismissed for 36. Conway eventually made 153, and his dismissal brought Rachin Ravindra to the crease at 345-3 soon after lunch.
Ravindra and Henry Nicholls then put Zimbabwe to the sword, putting on 256 runs by the end of the day, with the last 100 runs coming in just 12.4 overs. Both players followed Conway in reaching the mark of 150, marking only the third time in Test history that three batters made that many runs in the same innings.
With three days remaining in the Test, New Zealand could realistically bat the entire day on Saturday (August 9), without significantly harming their chances of victory. They have scored at 4.62 runs per over so far, and maintaining that for another 76-77 overs would take them past the world-record total of 952-6, scored by Sri Lanka in 1997.
The highest total for which a team has lost all their wickets is 849, made by England against the West Indies in 1930.
Highest team totals in Test cricket, full list
| Score | Team | Opposition | Venue | Year |
| 952-6d | Sri Lanka | India | Colombo (RPS) | 1997 |
| 903-7d | England | Australia | The Oval | 1938 |
| 849 | England | West Indies | Kingston | 1930 |
| 823-7d | England | Pakistan | Multan | 2024 |
| 790-3d | West Indies | Pakistan | Kingston | 1958 |
| 765-6d | Pakistan | Sri Lanka | Karachi | 2009 |
| 760-7d | Sri Lanka | India | Ahmedabad | 2009 |
| 759-7d | India | England | Chennai | 2016 |
| 758-8d | Australia | West Indies | Kingston | 1955 |
| 756-5d | Sri Lanka | South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 2006 |
| 751-5d | West Indies | England | St John's | 2004 |
Image credit: X / Zimbabwe Cricket
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