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Cricket is a worldwide popular sport with many formats including Test, ODI, T20, and T10.
All these cricket formats are divided based on how many overs have been played in one inning or a game.
We know One-Day International cricket (ODI) is a 50-50 over match meaning 50 limited overs game in a single innings. Just like that T20 is another shortest form of cricket where each team only played 20 overs.
But what about Test cricket?
Do you know how many overs played in a single Test match?
Test cricket is one of the longest and oldest cricket formats in the bat and ball sports played for five days.
Nowadays many shorter cricket formats are becoming popular like T20 or T10. Many Cricket leagues based on these shortest formats are introduced now and then like IPL, Dubai T10, etc.
Among these shortest formats, Test Cricket is the only toughest and longest format that tests the player’s true cricket skills both on physical and mental levels.
Unlike other cricket formats, Test matches are only played between the ICC full member countries team. Only 12 countries are the ICC members are allowed to play a Test match are as follows-
Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe
These are the only countries in which players have been granted Test status by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
Where ODI (One Day International) lasts for one day, the Test match is scheduled for five days with 8 hours of gaming play including lunch and a tea break. Test match has four innings considering each team has two innings to play until they get all batsmen out. The match ends when all the batsmen of the opposing team are out.
Also See: Innings Break Time in Tests
So how many overs have bowled in a day in the test match?
The test match is divided into three sessions per day. According to the general rule of thumb, each session only lasts for 30 overs. This means only 90 overs can be bowled in a day. As a matter of fact, 450 overs need to be played in a full 5-day Test match.
As we mentioned earlier in a day only three sessions are played and each session lasts only two hours. The sessions are separated by the breaks of 40 minute Lunch break and 20 minute Tea break.
The overs can be reduced in case of extreme conditions like weather, bad lighting, or others. However, there is no limit on how many overs a team can bowl in a day’s play in Test matches.
As per rules, the team is bound to bowl 15 overs in 1 hour which completes the 8 hours schedule. However, somehow if teams fail to fulfill the over-limitations then the final session can be extended up to 30 minutes.
FAQs About How many overs in Test Cricket
How many overs are bowled in a day in a Test match?
According to the team a bowling team has to bowl 90 overs in a single day in Test Match. This means 450 overs have to be bowled in a single test match in four innings.
How many sessions are in a Test match in a day?
Test match lasts for five days and each day is divided into three sessions. One Session is two hours long and a team has to bowl 30 overs in every session.
Is there any break time in Test matches?
There are only two breaks allowed in a single day in a test match. Lunch break is 40 minutes longer and a tea break lasts for 20 minutes.
