Galle Cricket Club’s win after scoring 31 and other low first-innings scored that resulted in wins

After being all out for 31 in the first innings, Galle Cricket Club won the match by runs against Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club. Bharath Seervi lists the lowest first innings totals that resulted in the victory for teams.

On the first day of the Relegation Play-off match of Premier Championship 2014-15 in Sri Lanka, the Galle Cricket Club was dismissed in the 16th over to produce the joint lowest total in the history of First-Class cricket in Sri Lanka. Galle Cricket Club were bundled for 31 runs with no batsman reaching double figures.

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After getting bowled out for 31, what is the probability of the team going on to win the match? The probability seems to be almost zero. It is actually zero in the last 90 years of First-Class cricket history.

But Galle Cricket Club conjured a victory from nowhere by dismissing Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club for 107, leaving them short by four runs. After Galle Cricket Club was out for 31 in their first innings, Sri Lanka Air Force Sports Club scored 215 — a lead of 184 runs. Galle Cricket Club scored 295 in their second innings and set a target of 112 runs. The match completed on the third and the final day.

Galle Cricket Club’s 31 is jointly the fourth-lowest first innings total to win a First-Class match and the lowest in First-Class matches outside England.

Lowest first innings total to win a First-Class match

Out of the ten instances listed above, six are from the 19th century. Galle Cricket Club’s 31 is the lowest since Hampshire’s 15 in 1922.

The lowest first innings total to win a match before Galle Cricket Club’s 31 since World War II was 44 for Derbyshire against Gloucestershire in 2010.

Let’s have the similar list for Test matches.

Lowest first innings totals to win a Test match (Totals less than 100)

The lowest total on a winnings cause since World War II was 75 by Australia against South Africa in 1949-50. There have been three instances of a sub-100 winnings total in this century.

(Bharath Seervi is a cricket statistician who is obsessed with digging numbers, facts and records related to the game. An active member of Society of Cricket Statisticians of India, he blogs at www.cricketseervistats.blogspot.com. He can be followed on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SeerviBharath and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SeerviCricket)