New Delhi. The excitement of the first Test being played between India and Sri Lanka in Galle has now reached a decisive point. Team India has set a big target of 372 runs for Sri Lanka to win. By the end of the fourth day's play, Sri Lanka had lost 4 wickets for 84 runs in 34 overs. Now the host team will have to score 288 more runs on the last day to win the test. Whereas India needs only 6 wickets to win. The statistics seem to be in India's favor but Sri Lanka's Test history shows that it has already achieved the feat of successfully chasing a target of more than 350 runs.
The biggest successful run chase in Test cricket for Sri Lanka is 388 runs. The Sri Lankan team had registered this historic win against Zimbabwe at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo in July 2017. In that match, Zimbabwe scored 356 runs in the first innings while Sri Lanka scored 346 runs. After this, Zimbabwe scored 377 runs in the second innings and set a target of 388 runs for Sri Lanka. The host team batted brilliantly and scored 391 runs and won the match by 4 wickets.
In that historic run chase, Niroshan Dickwella played an important inning of 81 runs while Asela Gunaratne remained unbeaten on 80 runs. There was a decisive partnership of 121 runs for the sixth wicket between the two batsmen. This victory included Sri Lanka in one of the most memorable run chases in Test history.
Even before this, Sri Lanka has successfully chased the target of more than 350 runs. In 2006, Sri Lanka had achieved the target of 352 runs against South Africa in Colombo. South Africa had set a target of 352 runs to win in the fourth innings and Sri Lanka won the match by scoring 352 runs. In this match, Mahela Jayawardene played a big role in the team's victory by playing a brilliant inning of 123 runs.
That means the Sri Lankan team has successfully achieved the target of 350 or more runs twice in Test cricket. Now he has a target of 372 runs in Galle. This target is 20 runs more than his second highest successful run chase of 352 runs. If Sri Lanka reaches 372 runs on the last day, it will become the third highest successful run chase in its Test history.
However, this challenge against India will not be easy. On the fourth day, Indian bowlers put Sri Lanka under pressure by giving initial shocks. By the end of the day's play, Sri Lanka lost 4 wickets for 84 runs. Captain Dhananjay de Silva is unbeaten on 31 runs while Sonal Dinusha is playing on 25 runs. Both the batsmen will have a big responsibility for the team's expectations on the fifth day.
In Galle, Sri Lanka will not only have the challenge of scoring 288 runs but will also be tested to survive the whole day against the Indian bowlers. Achieving a big target in the fourth innings of a Test match is considered difficult and here Sri Lanka has only 6 wickets left. India, on the other hand, has a clear chance to finish the match.
The biggest successful run chase by a foreign team against Sri Lanka in Galle is in the name of Pakistan. Pakistan had achieved the target of 377 runs against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2015. He won the match by scoring 382 runs. In such a situation, the current target of 372 runs is just 5 runs less than that record.
Now the entire responsibility of the competition is on the fifth day. If Sri Lanka scores 288 more runs, it will not only register a memorable win against India but will also complete the third highest successful run chase in its Test history. On the other hand, India has a chance to win the Galle Test by taking six wickets. In such a situation, the fifth day of August 19 is going to be very important and exciting for both the teams.