Highest Team Totals in Pink-Ball (Day-Night) Test Matches

It’s been a decade since the pink ball debuted in Test cricket. The pink ball is slightly different from the red one, with bowlers finding a bit more help in terms of swing and seam.

Despite the challenge of playing under lights and bowling-friendly conditions, batting sides have managed to get an edge over their opponents. To win a Test, a team needs to post a mammoth total, and that’s what they did.

In this article, we’ll look at the top 10 highest team totals registered in pink-ball Test matches.

Key Insights

589/3d: Australia’s total against Pakistan in the 2019 Adelaide day/night Test, which is the highest by a team in pink-ball Tests. 

500: Thus far, three teams have registered at least one 500-plus total in a pink-ball Test.

450: Pakistan’s total while chasing a target of 490 against Australia in the 2016 Brisbane Test. This is the highest team score in a losing cause in a day/night affair.

6.41: This is the highest run rate in a pink-ball Test innings. Australia scored 199 runs at a run rate of 6.41 before declaring their innings against the West Indies in 2022.

5: England are the only team to accumulate runs at a run rate of 5 or more in both innings of a day/night Test. They had a run rate of 5.57 in the first innings and 5.06 in the second against New Zealand in the 2023 Mount Maunganui Test.

187: This is the highest target chased by a team in a day/night Test. Australia chased down the 187-run target set by New Zealand in the first-ever pink-ball Test in 2015. You can find here the overall list of the highest successful run chases in Test cricket.