India’s biggest win in Test cricket by runs was against England, with a victory margin of 434 runs. This historic win took place in the third Test between India and England in Rajkot on February 18, 2024.
India’s previous best win margin was 372 runs, achieved against New Zealand at the Wankhede in 2021. The victory against England was built around a solid team performance, with the batting unit recording 400+ totals in both innings, and the Indian bowlers being at their best in the final innings, bowling out England for 122.
Yashasvi Jaiswal’s exceptional double century and a five-wicket haul by Ravindra Jadeja were instrumental in this remarkable win.
Batting first, India were 33 for 3 at one stage, but Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja staged a remarkable comeback, sharing a record 234-run partnership which allowed India to gain the upper hand in the game.
When England came to bat in the second innings, it seemed they were well-prepared to balance the game. Until the start of the second day, when England were 210/2, it appeared they were gradually gaining control of the game.
What followed then was nothing less than a tragedy for England. They aimed to seize control of the game in a single session, leading to their capitulation. Unorthodox dismissals were witnessed as Joe Root attempted a reverse hit, only to fall prey to Jasprit Bumrah for the 8th time in Test cricket.
The capitulation spread faster than a pandemic, and England’s innings crumbled swiftly. From 224 for 2, they collapsed to 319 all-out. India, capitalizing on this momentum, played a truly attacking style of cricket.
Rohit began the innings with glorious shots, followed by an assault from Yashasvi Jaiswal, who scored his second double century of the series.
Initially, India built a brilliant 161-run partnership for the second wicket, followed by an unbroken 172-run partnership for the fifth wicket between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan. Jaiswal showed no mercy to veteran James Anderson as he pummeled him for three consecutive sixes in an over.
India ended with 430 runs for 4 wickets on the board, meaning England would need 556 runs to win the test match in the fourth innings, an almost impossible task.
England’s fourth innings was solely about reducing the deficit, and it seemed they would lose the match by an even larger margin if Mark Wood hadn’t scored 33 runs batting at number 10, which was also the highest score by an English batter.
In the end, England lost the match by 434 runs, marking their second heaviest Test defeat in 90 years. In 1934 at the Oval, England lost to Australia by 562 runs.
