On Wednesday in Canterbury, Surrey defeated Kent by a score of five wickets to record the greatest run chase in the 98 years that the County Championship has been played. Surrey was attempting to reach 501 runs.
It was just the second time since 1925 that a bigger target has been successfully chased down in the County Championship. The first time was when Middlesex chased down 502 to win against Nottinghamshire.
Overall, it was tied for the eighth most successful run-chase in the annals of first-class cricket at that point in time.
On the last day of the tournament, Ben Foakes and Jamie Smith both smashed contrasting centuries to help Surrey to a very easy victory. Dom Sibley struck the competition’s slowest ever century, which helped propel Surrey to the victory.
Sibley reached his century after 511 minutes and 368 deliveries, and he ended the game with a score of 140 from 415 balls.
Due to the fact that Kent needed seven wickets and Surrey needed 238 runs, the defending champions had to attain the goal in a methodical and cautious manner.
Earlier, Kent scored 301 runs in the first innings of the match, and then, after restricting Surrey to only 145 runs in their second innings, they took a critical 156-run lead. In response to their second challenge, Kent did very well and produced 344 runs, which helped them set a big objective of 501. But in a surprising turn of events, Surrey continued to chase down the number and make history in the process.