SSC
What is the minimum number of overs to be bowled in a day of a Test match?
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Answer: Option D — 90 overs
Detailed Solution
Under the playing conditions of the International Cricket Council (ICC), a minimum of 90 overs must be bowled in a full day's play in a Test match, provided there are no interruptions such as rain or bad light. A day's play usually lasts six hours, divided into three sessions of two hours each, with a lunch break and a tea break.
If time is lost because of interruptions, the minimum number of overs is reduced. If fewer overs are bowled because of a slow over rate, the umpires can extend play by up to 30 minutes, and the fielding team can be penalised.
Over-rate penalties:
- Teams that bowl their overs too slowly are fined a part of their match fees, and the captain may be suspended for repeated offences.
- In the ICC World Test Championship, teams also lose championship points for slow over rates.
About Test cricket:
- It is the longest form of cricket, played over five days, with each team batting twice.
- The first Test match was played between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in March 1877.
The first day-night Test match, using a pink ball, was played between Australia and New Zealand at Adelaide in November 2015. India played its first day-night Test against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, in November 2019.
The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) began in 2019. New Zealand won the first final (2021), Australia the second (2023) and South Africa the third (2025).
Other formats:
- One Day Internationals (ODIs): 50 overs per side.
- T20 Internationals: 20 overs per side.
- A bowler can bowl a maximum of 10 overs in an ODI and 4 overs in a T20.
Why not the other options?
- ✗80 overs is when the fielding team can take a new ball in Test cricket.
- ✗100 overs is not the minimum.
- ✗60 overs per side was the length of the early World Cup matches (1975-1983).
Quick tip
Remember: Test cricket = minimum 90 overs per day (3 sessions); new ball after 80 overs; first Test = 1877 Melbourne; first day-night Test = Adelaide 2015; India's first = Kolkata 2019.
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Sports — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Sports, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers sports GK: major tournaments and their venues, trophies and cups associated with each sport, sports terms, the number of players in a team, sports awards in India, Olympic and Asian Games facts, and famous sportspersons and their achievements. Common questions ask which sport a trophy belongs to (such as the Durand Cup for football or the Ranji Trophy for cricket), which term is used in which sport, and where a tournament was held. Records and results change after every season, so pair static facts such as team sizes and terms with recent results from current affairs. Practise the sports questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.