Biggest ever chases in First-Class cricket

First-class cricket along with List A and T20 cricket is one of the biggest standard forms of cricket. A first-class game is one of three or more days of scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each. Games allow for the teams to play two innings each. Test cricket is also considered a form of FC cricket. Chasing in the fourth innings is always a difficult task due to scoreboard pressure, last-day pitch, and various other factors. Still, some sides have managed to pull off record chases and they appear in this article.

Let us look at the 3 biggest chases in the history of first-class cricket:

3. Cambridge University (507/7)

Cambridge University occupies the third position in this elite list as they chased 507 runs against Marylebone Cricket Club in a University match at Lord’s in June 1896. MCC batted first and got bundled out for 134. In reply, Cambridge University could manage only 111. MCC posted a mammoth 483 in their second innings to set a huge target for their opposition. Harold Marriott and Frank Druce struck 146 apiece as Cambridge achieved the target successfully at the loss of seven wickets.

2. Central Province (513/9)

Central Province chased down 512 against Southern Province in the Ten Sports Inter-Provincial Tournament in Kandy in 2004. Southern Province batted first and posted 392 on the board. In reply, Central Province got bowled out for just 173. In the second innings, the Southern side declared at 292/2, setting a target of 512 for their opposition. Sajith Fernando and skipper Kumar Sangakkara slammed centuries as the Central team reached the target at the loss of nine wickets.

1. West Zone (541/7)

West Zone is at the top position for the highest successful run-chase in the history of FC cricket. They achieved a mammoth target of 536 against South Zone in Duleep Trophy in 2010. Captain Dinesh Karthik struck 183 as South Zone smacked 400 in the first innings. West Zone managed to get to 251 in their first innings as Yusuf Pathan smashed a ton. Karthik hit 150 as his side declared at 386/9 setting a huge target for their opponent. Yusuf hammered 210* while Chirag Pathak struck 130 as West Zone successfully chased down the target with the loss of seven wickets.