England's 319-run win sets new record

A team winning a Test after trailing in the first innings, like Andrew Strauss's side did at Trent Bridge, is not an uncommon occurrence. It's happened 194 times. England's 319-run annihilation of India in Nottingham, however, was the largest such victory in terms of runs. In their honour, this week's column is on teams that won Tests by the biggest run and wicket margins after conceding a first-innings lead.

The mark Strauss's team bettered had been set in 1926, by Percy Chapman's England. Chapman was leading England for the first time, in a timeless Test at The Oval, the fifth and final one of the Ashes level at 0-0. England were dismissed for 280 in the first innings, after which Australia took a lead of 22. Australia had been 122 for 6 at one stage but the lower order rallied. When England resumed their second innings on 49 for 0 on the third day, overnight rain had made for hard batting conditions. Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe, however, scored centuries that set Australia a target of 415. Harold Larwood and the 49-year old Wilfred Rhodes then took seven wickets between then to shoot out Australia for 125.

Five of India's largest victories after conceding a first-innings lead appear in our table and four of them were against Australia, the other against West Indies. The first win was at Kanpur's Green Park in 1959, when India wiped out a deficit of 67, set Richie Benaud's team a target of 225 and then bowled them out for 105. It was India's maiden Test victory against Australia. Twenty years later, India beat Australia again in Kanpur, by 153 runs, after conceding a first-innings lead of 33.

The next took nearly another 20 years, occurring in Chennai in 1998. Trailing by 71 in the first innings, Sachin Tendulkar's unbeaten 155 led India to 418 for 4 and they declared on the fourth evening, setting Australia a target of 348 in a little more than a day. India's spin trio - Anil Kumble, Venkatapathy Raju and Rajesh Chauhan - took nine wickets among them to bowl Australia out for 168. Three years later, at Eden Gardens in 2001, India famously wiped out a deficit of 274 during the follow-on, set Australia 384 and bowled them out for 212.

Before the Trent Bridge thrashing, India's two largest defeats after taking a first-innings lead were also against Australia. In Chennai in 1964, India were beaten by 139 runs by Bob Simpson's team after they had led by 65 in the first innings. The second instance - a 122-run defeat after India were 69 ahead - occurred in the controversy-ridden SCG Test in 2008.

Largest wins by runs after conceding a first-innings lead

Team	Margin	Opposition	1st inns lead	3rd inns	4th inns		Ground	Start date	Scorecard
England	319 runs	v India	-67	544	158		Nottingham	Jul 29, 2011	Test 2001
England	289 runs	v Australia	-22	436	125		The Oval	Aug 14, 1926	Test 167
Australia	245 runs	v England	-78	506	183		Adelaide	Jan 10, 1908	Test 98
South Africa	233 runs	v Australia	-126	620	261		Johannesburg	Dec 23, 1966	Test 611
England	225 runs	v Australia	-1	452/9d	226		Sydney	Jan 2, 2003	Test 1636
South Africa	224 runs	v England	-20	500	256		Leeds	Jul 21, 1955	Test 411
England	213 runs	v Australia	-25	426/5d	188		Nottingham	May 29, 1905	Test 83
England	210 runs	v South Africa	-85	330	35		Cape Town	Apr 1, 1899	Test 59
West Indies	204 runs	v Pakistan	-13	382	165		Port of Spain	Apr 16, 1993	Test 1220
Sri Lanka	201 runs	v Pakistan	-21	438	216		Faisalabad	Oct 20, 2004	Test 1716
Australia	197 runs	v Sri Lanka	-161	512/8d	154		Galle	Mar 8, 2004	Test 1685
Pakistan	186 runs	v West Indies	-89	328	53		Faisalabad	Oct 24, 1986	Test 1055
India	179 runs	v Australia	-71	418/4d	168		Chennai	Mar 6, 1998	Test 1405
Australia	176 runs	v New Zealand	-33	511/8d	302		Hamilton	Mar 27, 2010	Test 1957
India	171 runs	v Australia	-274	657/7d	212		Kolkata	Mar 11, 2001	Test 1535
Australia	169 runs	v South Africa	-160	554	225		Melbourne	Dec 31, 1931	Test 214
South Africa	168 runs	v England	-34	420	218		Johannesburg	Dec 23, 1922	Test 148
England	167 runs	v West Indies	-46	425/8d	212		Port of Spain	Feb 1, 1930	Test 189
England	167 runs	v Pakistan	-23	345	155		Leeds	Aug 4, 2006	Test 1813
Pakistan	161 runs	v New Zealand	-78	434	195		Christchurch	Dec 8, 1995	Test 1316

Only twice has a team, after conceding a first-innings lead, chased a target and won by ten wickets. Australia did it at Bourda, Guyana, in 1973. After skittling West Indies for 109 in their second innings, Australia were chasing only 135. The openers Keith Stackpole and Ian Redpath finished the job in 43 overs. Australia did it again, during the Ashes Test at the Gabba in 1990. No team had made more than 200 in the first three innings. England were dismissed for 194 and 114, Australia for 152. While chasing a target of 157, however, Australia did not lose a wicket, with openers Mark Taylor and Geoff Marsh securing the victory on the third day.

Two teams have lost Tests after declaring both their innings in the match, and they both appear in the following table. Gary Sobers was the first captain to do so. West Indies had ended their first innings on 526 for 7 against England at Port of Spain in 1968, and after taking a lead of 122, they declared their second on 92 for 2. England were left with a target of 215 and they achieved it in 52.4 overs with seven wickets in hand. Graeme Smith was the second captain. He declared both of South Africa's innings in Ricky Ponting's 100th Test, setting Australia a target of 287 in 76 overs. Ponting's unbeaten 143 off 159 balls, his second century of the match, ensured Australia needed only 60.3 overs.

Largest wins by wickets after conceding a first-innings lead

Team	Margin	Opposition	1st inns lead	3rd inns	4th inns		Ground	Start date	Scorecard
Australia	10 wickets	v West Indies	-25	109	135/0		Georgetown	Apr 6, 1973	Test 720
Australia	10 wickets	v England	-42	114	157/0		Brisbane	Nov 23, 1990	Test 1155
England	9 wickets	v India	-13	93	108/1		Lord's	Jun 27, 1936	Test 252
West Indies	9 wickets	v England	-41	300/9d	344/1		Lord's	Jun 28, 1984	Test 990
Pakistan	9 wickets	v Bangladesh	-66	96	165/1		Peshawar	Aug 27, 2003	Test 1657
Australia	9 wickets	v New Zealand	-1	131	135/1		Christchurch	Mar 10, 2005	Test 1739
West Indies	8 wickets	v England	-29	223	255/2		The Oval	Aug 22, 1963	Test 547
New Zealand	8 wickets	v Australia	-56	103	160/2		Auckland	Mar 13, 1986	Test 1040
West Indies	8 wickets	v England	-22	202	226/2		The Oval	Aug 4, 1988	Test 1102
Australia	8 wickets	v England	-46	150	197/2		Melbourne	Dec 26, 1990	Test 1159
England	8 wickets	v South Africa	-28	175	205/2		The Oval	Aug 18, 1994	Test 1266
Australia	8 wickets	v India	-24	169	195/2		Bangalore	Mar 25, 1998	Test 1413
England	8 wickets	v South Africa	-38	208	247/2		Nottingham	Jul 23, 1998	Test 1421
Australia	8 wickets	v South Africa	-92	194/6d	288/2		Sydney	Jan 2, 2006	Test 1780
Pakistan	8 wickets	v Sri Lanka	-109	73	183/2		Kandy	Apr 3, 2006	Test 1796