Test cricket is the purest and oldest format of the sport. It is widely regarded as the most challenging format as it tests your skill, endurance, strength, temperament, and your ability to adapt in ever-changing conditions. One of the most challenging aspects in test cricket is the 4^th inning run chase. Since the inception of test cricket in 1877, we have seen that the 4^th inning run chase is quite difficult. Even if the target is small, like 150-170+, sometimes the batting team finds it hard to get over the line in the 4^th inning run chase. Today, we will discuss why are 4^th inning run chase is difficult in test cricket. So without wasting any time, let’s delve deep into it.

Why are 4^th Inning Run Chase Difficult in Test Cricket?

The history of test cricket is quite old, tracing its origins way back to 1877. Australia and England played the first-ever official test match in Melbourne in 1877. Unlike the instant results in white-ball cricket (ODIs and T20Is), test cricket is a slow-burning narrative. It stretched over five days and tests every facet of a cricketer’s skill, character, and temperament.

One of the most challenging things in test cricket is a 4th-inning run chase. Since the test cricket was born, the 4^th inning run chase is one of the hardest things to achieve when the target is big enough for the bowlers. It’s not like the 4^th inning run chases were not done in tests, but mostly, it’s a team that batted last that finds it difficult to win when the target is more than 170+. India not winning the Lord’s Test against England recently is a fresh example of it. Team India was chasing 193 in the fourth inning, and started on Day 5 with 58/4. They fell 22 runs short of a target, and England took a 2-1 lead (after three tests) in the five-match series.

You can check the SCOREBOARD of India vs England, Lord’s Test 2025, HERE

Not just India, we have seen other teams struggling to win when there are 4^th inning run chase. Even these tricky targets like 170-200 make life difficult for the batting team that bats last. West Indies were bowled out on 27 against Australia at Sabina Park, while chasing a target of almost 200 runs in another recent example of it. Now, let’ try to figure out, or rather see, why are 4^th inning run chase is difficult.

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• Pitch Deterioration

One of the main reasons why the 4^th inning run chase is difficult is the wear and tear on the pitch. When the game starts on Day 01 (anywhere in the world), the pitch has some life, it has some grass that can bind the surface, and it behaves normally. The pitch also helped the seamers if you are playing overseas, and the spinners if you are playing in Asia, but as soon as the game progresses, the pitch starts to deteriorate. It will start to wear out, with some variable bounce, which did not help in favour of the batters.

As the game went on, from Day 3-4 onwards, the wicket started to behave differently. No batter would want a pitch where the bounce is uneven. Even the pace of the pitch becomes different, and the batters find it difficult to pick the pace of the wicket. These things make shot-making difficult for the batters. That’ why we generally see the low scores in the 3rd or 4^th inning of a test match.

Sometimes the Pitch Has Got Better As Well

Now, there is a catch as well. It’s not like every time the pitch wears out and it starts to behave like a venom. Sometimes, the pitch will become easier to bat on as the game progresses. You can see these things mostly overseas, like South Africa, New Zealand, England, and Australia.

New Zealand is the place where the teams would want to bowl first, as they know that the pitch will get better to bat on later. Also, in this Bazball era from England, they made flat pitches where not much deterioration happened in the surface. They wanted to bowl first and have that confidence of chasing down the target in the 4^th inning, with the batting lineup full of stroke-makers.

So sometimes, as per the conditions, the team would like to do a 4^th inning run chase and choose to bowl first. But still, there is a mental pressure of chasing down a target in the 4^th inning. Overall, the team would want to bat first so that they don’t have to bat on a pitch that has a rough, uneven bounce and an unknown nature of the pace.

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• Pressure of the Scoreboard

As we mentioned earlier, the pressure of the scoreboard sometimes makes it difficult for the team to complete the 4^th inning run chase. Even if the teams play where the pitch’s got better to bat on in the 4^th inning, the pressure of a big target makes it harder for the batting team to get over the line. They got a good start sometimes, maybe got a good partnership in the middle, but if the bowling team has even runs in the bank, the game changed in one spell. The collapse is always on the cards if there is any mistake from the batting side.

Also, we have mentioned the difficulties of tricky run chases like 175-200. With pitch deteriorating and scoreboard pressure, the game went out of the batting team’s hands. There are enough instances over the last 150+ years of test cricket where teams fell short in a less than 200 run chases in the 4^th inning. We have discussed the recent two (India and West Indies against England and Australia) above as well.

So these are the two main reasons why are 4^th inning run chase is difficult in tests. But let us now see the other reasons that are interrelated.

• Quality of Bowling

It is one of the reasons, as no matter how helpful the pitch is for the bowlers in the last inning, the bowlers have to bowl in the right area. They have to use the conditions to a good effect and extract whatever help is there for them.

As the game goes on, when there are roughs and footmarks, a quality spinner who can hit the right areas will become a lethal weapon for the team. He/she can land the ball on those rough patches, and then the pitch will do the rest of the job.

• Fatigue and Mindset

Although it is not the primary factor, it could be one of the factors in batting last. Batting after already fielding twice can be mentally and physically tiring. The pitch playing tricks, combined with scoreboard pressure, leads to more mistakes.

So these are the factors that make a 4th-inning run chase difficult. Now let’s see the top 5 highest run chases in the 4^th inning.

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Top 5 Highest 4th Inning Run Chases in Tests (As of July 16, 2025)

As of July 16, 2025, the West Indies holds the record of the highest run chase in the 4^th inning in test cricket. They chased down a target of 418 against Australia at the Antigua Recreation Ground on May 09, 2003. WI won that game by 3 wickets. The second-highest run chase is made by South Africa, which was also against Australia on December 17, 2008, at the WACA Ground. They chased down a target of 414 with 6 wickets in hand.

Top 5 Highest Totals in 4^th Inning in Tests (As of July 2025)

The highest total in the 4^th inning of a test match is 654/5, scored by England. ENG were chasing 696 against South Africa in 1939. The game ended in a draw, and England played out 218.2 overs. At that time, a total of 8 balls had to be bowled in one over. The second highest total in the 4^th inning is 451, by New Zealand (NZ). NZ were chasing 550 against ENG in 2002. They lost the game by 98 runs.

What are your thoughts on 4th-inning run chases in test cricket? Comment all your opinion below. Thank you for reading. Keep following @sportschilly for the latest updates, news, opinion, predictions, analysis, insights, stories, records, stats, and more.