Spanning over 140 years, Test cricket has withstood challenges while maintaining its resilience. Despite the dominance of T-20s and ODIs, Test matches have retained their popularity. Stretched across five days with four innings, Test cricket has seen teams accumulate substantial runs, emphasizing the sport’s inherent purity. The top 10 highest test team scores are:
West Indies
West Indies is first on the list of 10 Highest Test Team Scores. West Indies 751-5 runs against England. This remarkable achievement emerged in the final test of the four-match series against England. West Indies opener dominance against the England bowling attack led by Brian Lara was an unparallel 400, not the highest individual score in test cricket. Centuries from Ridley Jacobs 107 and Ramnaresh Sarwan 105 further added to the West Indies run.
Sri Lanka
Opting to field first after winning the toss against South Africa, Sri Lanka restricted them to a modest 169 on the opening day. Subsequently, Sri Lanka delivered a historic batting masterclass with the extraordinary partnership of Sangakkara and Jayawardene, amassing a world-record 624 runs. This outstanding performance propelled Sri Lanka to a commanding victory, sealing the match by an innings and 153 runs. The huge total makes Sri Lanka one of the top 10 Highest Test Team Scores.
Australia
Winners of the WTC 2023 finals and ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, Australia made history by amassing a record-breaking 758 runs against the West Indies. Neil Harvey played a pivotal role with an outstanding performance, scoring 204 runs. Accompanying him, Colin McDonald contributed 127 runs, Katen Miller notched up 109 runs, Richie Benaud added 121 runs, and Ron Archer significantly contributed 128 runs. The Australian team emerged victorious, clinching the match with an inning and an 82-run triumph. Big Gun of Cricket, Australia made an incredible total to make his place in the top 10 Highest Test Team Scores.
India
In the 5th Test match against England in Chennai, Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, the solid Indian team reached this landmark. 303 runs by Karun Nair’s and KL Rahul’s prominent 199 played vital roles in an impressive run total of 759. In response, the England team struggled to reach 477 and 207 in the first and second innings, respectively. Thus, India emerged as the champion with a massive margin of an innings and 75 runs. Virat Kohli’s brilliant performance got him the Player of the Series award, while Karun Nair received the Player of the Match award. Batting King, India’s total makes it one of the 10 Highest Test Team Scores.
Sri Lanka
This match in Ahmedabad stretched over five days, showcasing 21 wickets and Seven centuries. Mahela Jayawardene’s immense innings of 275 significantly contributed to Sri Lanka’s total of 760 runs. Prasanna Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan also scored centuries of 154 & 112. From the Indian side, Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar batted well to save this match, but Sri Lanka played exceptionally well. Mahela Jayawardene earned the Player of the Match award. Sri Lanka’s total takes it to the list of 10 Highest Test Team Scores.
Pakistan
In the Karachi test on February 21, 2009, after winning the toss, Sri Lanka chose to bat and score 606 in the first inning. An exceptional double century from Captain Maleha Jayawardene and Samaraweera. In response, Pakistan played extraordinarily by gathering 765/6 on the scorecard. Younis Khan notched his opening Triple century in Test cricket. Younis Khan earned the Player of the Match award in his match-saving innings of 313 runs.
Kamran Akmal scored 158, not out runs, and Mohammed Yousaf scored 112. The match clutches historical significance as the first Test, where both teams scored over 600 runs in their first innings, and the initial Test, where four batsmen recorded double centuries in that match. Pakistan’s total of 765 runs is in the 10 Highest Test Team Scores list.
West Indies
In the Jamaica encounter, West Indies secured a win over Pakistan by an innings and 174 runs. Pakistan batting first managed 328 runs in the initial innings, with Capitan Imtiaz Ahmed achieving a century. In response, the West Indies showed supremacy, collecting an impressive 790 runs. In the second innings, the West Indies restricted Pakistan to 288 runs. Garry Sobers’s unbeaten 365 runs was the highest individual Test score then support came from double centuries by Conrad Hunte’s 260 runs. Total of 790 runs makes West Indies one of the 10 Highest Test Team Scores.
England
1930, the England team toured the West Indies in that cricketing era of test matches. The match in Jamaica on April 3 saw England accumulate 849 runs in their first innings. The imposing score of Adam Sandham’s remarkable innings of 325 runs. In reply to England, the West Indies only could manage 286 runs in their first innings. Then, in the second innings, England added 272 runs and set a formidable target of 836 runs for the West Indies. England made place in 10 Highest Test Team Scores after scoring 849 runs.
England
On the fourth day of the fifth Ashes Test at the Oval, England achieved victory over Australia on August 20, 1938. England put an amassing total of 903 on the scorecard. Len Hutton’s remarkable score of 364 runs established a test record at the time and was the highest individual test score for an England batter. Centuries from Maurice Leyland (187) and Joe Hardstaff (169 not out) contributed to England’s domination. England secured Victory by an innings and 579 runs and made a massive margin of victory in Test Cricket. England registered its name twice in the 10 Highest Test Team Scores list after scoring 903 runs.
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s peak in Test Cricket, an unparalleled achievement, occurred against India in the 1997 Test series tour to Colombo Premadasa stadium. India won the toss in the opening test of the series, India driven by centuries from Navjot Sidhu 111, Sachin Tendulkar 143, and Mohammed Azharuddin 126.
Sri Lanka holds the longest record of balls faced in test history. Sanath Jayasuriya scored 340 runs, the highest individual score by Sri Lanka, then opened a partnership with Roshan Mahanama 225 and added 576 runs on the scorecard. This marked the first occurrence of both teams exceeding 500 runs in each innings. Additionally, the match set a record for the highest aggregate runs in a test match, a total of 1709 runs with 16 wickets lost. Sri Lanka become the second nation to be in the list of 10 Highest Test Team Scores twice after scoring huge total in this match. Also, check out the Highest score in one inning of T20.
