Most runs scored on single day of Test match

England scored 506 runs for the loss of four wickets against Pakistan on Day 1 of the ongoing Rawalpindi Test to shatter record books.

By Sumeet Kavthale

Updated - 01 Dec 2022, 17:49 IST

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England managed to post a mammoth 506/4 on Day 1 of the first Test match against Pakistan at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday (December 1) and tumbled numerous long-standing records. This is England's first Test match in Pakistan in 17 years and the travelling side started the tournament by shattering big records on Day 1.  

Two days before the clash, Brendon McCullum, England's head coach, promised to play aggressive cricket and also stated that his team has an obligation to entertain fans in Test cricket. True to his word, England batters pulled off entertaining cricket by scoring 506 runs in just 75 overs that were possible on Day 1. 

Four English batters scored centuries while captain Ben Stokes remained unbeaten on 34 off just 15 balls. England broke Australia's 494-run record to score the highest-ever total on Day 1 and became the first team to score 500-plus on an opening day in Test cricket.

However, this is not the first time, a team has scored more than 500 runs on a single day of a Test match. England's latest 506 is also not the highest score on a single day of a Test match as four more times teams have scored more runs in the history of the format.

In July 1936 in Manchester, England and India scored 588 runs on Day 2 of the second Test, which still remains a world record for the most runs ever scored on a single day of a Test. England, after resuming batting on Day 2, scored 398 runs, and the Indian team added 190 runs more on the same day.

England were also involved in the second-highest score ever recorded on a single day of a Test match when they aggregated 503 runs against South Africa on Day 2 at Lord's in the second Test of the series in 1924. The Proteas also added 19 more runs on the same day to make it 522 at the end of the day's play.

Sri Lanka scored 541 runs against Bangladesh in the first Test match at Colombo in July 2002, where they scored 509 runs alone on Day 2, still the highest score by one team on a single day of a Test match. England and South Africa scored 508 runs at the Oval on Day 3 of the fifth Test match in 1935, which remains the highest score of Day 3 in Test cricket's history.

Top five scores on a single day of a Test (Any day of a Test)

Score Home Away Day Venue Year
588 England (398) India (190) 2 Manchester 1936
522 England (503) South Africa (19) 2 Lord's 1924
509 Sri Lanka (509) Bangladesh 2 Colombo 2002
508 England (221) South Africa (287) 3 The Oval 1935
506 Pakistan England (506) 1 Rawalpindi 2022

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