India’s target of 124 in the ongoing Kolkata Test doesn’t look huge on paper, but at Eden Gardens, that number suddenly feels a lot heavier.
On a pitch where spinners have ripped through both line-ups and 20-plus wickets have already fallen across two days, every run in the fourth innings comes with extra doubt.
History isn’t exactly on the batters’ side either. In more than nine decades of Test cricket at Eden Gardens, teams have successfully chased in the fourth innings only a handful of times, and only once has the target of more than 100 been overhauled. That lone exception came in another India-South Africa clash, back in 2004.
Highest chases in Eden
The benchmark was set in 2004, when India were set 117 after Harbhajan Singh’s 7-for shot South Africa down for 222 in the second innings. Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar guided the hosts to 120/2, sealing an eight-wicket win and creating what remains the highest successful fourth-innings chase at Eden Gardens.
Before that, the bar was much lower. In 1993, India chased down 79 against England, a routine stroll by modern standards by but a vital win in a low-scoring contest. Two other successful chases at the venue have been even smaller. England knocked off 41 against India in 2012, and Australia hunted down just 39 back in 1969.
That’s the context of India’s current target of 124 against South Africa. Statistically, they are being asked to go beyond anything any side has ever chased here, on a surface already rated tricky enough by experts to suggest that even a target of around 100 would be a challenge.