The oldest and longest type of International Cricket to exist is Test Cricket; the history of Test matches goes back to 1877, and the first two teams which played a test match were England and Australia. This marked the beginning of the Test format in the history of Cricket.
A series of 5-day matches comprises Test Cricket. Each team's two innings scores add to find the total runs. The team with more runs wins the game if the other team has played both of their innings. There is a tie if they have an equal number of runs.
Winning a test match is a great deal if we keep in mind the format of the game. Test game demands strength, and class and hence requires the players to be consistent. If any team wins a test by an inning, it becomes a record-breaking win. The article below talks about ten such historic wins in the history of Cricket.
1. England VS Australia
The team which tops our list of Top 10 margins of victory by an innings in test cricket is England. On the grounds of Oval, England and Australia faced each other on 20 August 1938. They won the match by an innings and 579 runs against Australia. They scored 903 runs for seven wickets in the first innings. Leonard Hutton emerged as the star of the match from England's batting side because he scored 364 runs in 847 balls. When Australia came to bat, they scored 201 in the first innings, and in the second innings, they scored 123 runs. Bill Bowes took seven wickets in the match.
2. Australia VS South Africa
The team which ranks second on our list is the Australian Cricket Team. Australia faced South Africa in Johannesburg on 22 February 2002. They won the match by an innings and 360 runs. Australia scored 652 runs with seven wickets in which Adam Gilchrist scored the highest run i.e 204 runs, and invited South Africa to bat. The team made 159 runs in the first innings and 133 runs in the second inning. Glenn McGrath took 8 eight wickets in the match.
3. West Indies VS India
West Indies faced India at a stadium in Kolkata in a test match on 31 December 1958. This marks the third-largest victory by an innings in test cricket. West Indies scoring 614, defeated India by an innings and 336 runs. Rohan Kanhai made the highest runs in the match (256 runs). Indian cricket team scored 124 runs in the first innings and 154 runs in the second innings. Roy Gilchrist, who was playing for West Indies, took nine wickets in the match.
4. Australia VS England
In their test match against England in Brisbane on 29 November 1946, Australia made the record for the fourth-largest margin of victory by innings in Test Cricket. They won the match by an innings and 332 runs. The total runs smashed were 645 runs. Donald Bradman scored 187 runs and invited England to bat. The English team scored 141 runs in the first innings and 172 runs in the second innings. Keith Miller and Ernie Toshack both took nine wickets in the match.
5. Pakistan VS New Zealand
The fifth victory on our list is when Pakistan faced New Zealand in Lahore on 1 May 2002. The Pakistan Cricket Team smashed 643 runs and won the match by an innings and 324 runs. Inzamam-ul-haw scored 329 runs. New Zealand scored 73 runs in the first innings and 246 runs in the second innings. Shoaib Akhtar and Dinesh Kaneria took 6-6 wickets in the game.
6. West Indies VS New Zealand
On 10 February 1995, a test match was played between West Indies and New Zealand in Wellington. It is the sixth match on our list, in which West Indies won the game by an innings and 322 runs. They scored 660 runs at a loss of five wickets. Jimmy Adams was the highest scorer and scored 151 runs. New Zealand scored 216 runs in the first innings and 122 runs in the second innings. Courtney Walsh was the man of the match who took 13 wickets.
7. West Indies VS Bangladesh
In a test match on 8 December 2002, West Indies faced Bangladesh in Dhaka. West Indies won the test, and this is the seventh-largest margin of victory by an inning in test cricket. They won by an innings and 310 runs, scoring a total of 536 runs. The highest score on the winning side was made by Ramnaresh Sarwan, who scored 119 runs. Bangladesh scored 139 runs in the first innings and 87 runs in the second innings. Jermaine Lawson was the man of the match who took seven wickets.
8. New Zealand VS Zimbabwe
New Zealand faced Zimbabwe in Napier on 26 January 2012 and won the match by an innings and 301 runs. They scored 495 runs after losing seven wickets. Ross Taylor scored 122 runs. Zimbabwe scored 51 runs in the first innings and 143 runs in the second innings. Chris Martin was the player in the match and took 8 wickets.
9. New Zealand VS Zimbabwe
New Zealand faced Zimbabwe in Harare on 7 August 2005. New Zealand won the match by an innings and 294 runs. They scored 452 runs at a loss of 9 Wickets. Daniel Vettori, from New Zealand, scored 127 runs. The losing team, Zimbabwe scored 59 runs in the first innings and 99 runs in the second innings. Daniel Vettori was the man of the match who took six wickets.
10. England VS India
New Zealand faced Zimbabwe in Harare on 7 August 2005. New Zealand won the match by an innings and 294 runs. They scored 452 runs at a loss of 9 Wickets. Daniel Vettori, from New Zealand, scored 127 runs. The losing team, Zimbabwe scored 59 runs in the first innings and 99 runs in the second innings. Daniel Vettori was the man of the match who took six wickets.
