5 Records Held By Indian Batsmen In Tests That Might Never Be Broken

Indian Batsmen have enthralled and bewitched cricket lovers for decades with their resplendent deeds with the bat.

Sunil Gavaskar was the first big batting superstar that Indian cricket produced. The ‘Little Master’ was the one who instilled a sense of self-belief into the team when he faced up defiantly to the fearsome pace quartet of the West Indies in the 1970s and 1980s. Gavaskar was the spine of the entire Indian batting line up and his determination won him admirers from all quarters of the cricketing world.

Then came the age of Sachin Tendulkar. There has been no other cricketer in the history of the sport who has been worshipped with a sense of veneration and awe as Tendulkar was, and in his career spanning over a quarter of a century, the master converted the sport into a religion in India.

The age of Tendulkar also saw other iconic batsmen like Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag who too, played a huge role in India becoming a force to reckon with.

And today, it is the age of Virat Kohli. Kohli has been hailed as the successor of Tendulkar, and the champion batsman has carried the legacy of Tendulkar forward. Under Kohli, India has scaled new heights in Test match cricket and has undoubtedly become the best team of the modern era.

In this article, let us look at 5 records held by Indian batsmen in Test cricket that might never be broken.

#5. Most Number of Fours In Tests- Held By Sachin Tendulkar

When batting records in Test matches are talked about, Tendulkar’s name will figure right at the top. In an unprecedented 200 Test Matches that Tendulkar played for India, the master scored a colossal 2058 fours. To put this record of Tendulkar in some perspective, he leads the second-placed Rahul Dravid by 404 fours.

In fact, Tendulkar is the only batsman in the history of Test match cricket to hit more than 2000 fours.

Among active players, Hashim Amla has scored just 1165 fours, and given that he is over 35 years of age, Amla has virtually no chance of going past the master.

#4.Most Number Of Balls Faced-Held By Rahul Dravid

Dravid is the only batsman in Tests to have faced more than 30000 deliveries

If the qualities of determination, endurance and patience had a physical form in sport, then it would be that of Rahul Dravid. In a career spanning 164 matches, the legendary Indian batsman faced an astounding 31258 balls in Tests.

Dravid was like a rock- unflappable and solid. He was, on many occasions India’s ‘go-to man’, whenever the team was in a crisis.

The closest anyone has come to this record is Sachin Tendulkar, who faced 29437 balls in his Test career.

Given that the batsmen of the current era are more likely to go for their shots and take more risks because of the advent of T20 cricket, this record of Dravid will definitely never be broken.

#3.Most Number of Centuries In Tests- Held By Sachin Tendulkar

In an unprecedented 200 Test Matches, Sachin Tendulkar scored a mind-boggling 51 centuries

In an unprecedented 200 Test Matches, Sachin Tendulkar scored a mind-boggling 51 hundreds. The master made the ball obey his command and decimated several bowling attacks during the course of his illustrious career.

Among active players, Hashim Amla again has just 28 hundreds and has no chance of even crossing 40 hundreds. And, as for current Indian Test Captain Virat Kohli, he has scored only 25 hundreds. Given that he is over 30 years old, it would be an impossible task, even for King Kohli to go past this record of Tendulkar.

#2. Four Double Hundreds In Four Consecutive Test Series- Held By Virat Kohli

Kohli has set a benchmark in Tests that, in all probability will never be breached in the future.

Virat Kohli is the only batsman in the history of Test match cricket to score 4 double hundreds in four consecutive Test series.

During India’s tour of the West Indies in 2016, Kohli scored exactly 200 off 283 balls at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. He followed that up with a 211 in the subsequent home series against New Zealand.

Then, when England visited India’s shores in 2017 for the next Test series, Kohli scored a staggering 235 runs in the sapping Wankhede humidity. He then followed that up with another 204 in the one-off Test against Bangladesh.

The closest anyone has come to this in the 142-year history of Test match cricket are Don Bradman and Rahul Dravid who scored 3 doubles hundreds in 3 consecutive Test series.

Kohli has set a benchmark in Tests that, in all probability will never be breached in the future.

#1.Most Runs In Tests- Held By Sachin Tendulkar

In all probability, as long as Test cricket is played, this record of Tendulkar will never be broken.

In an illustrious career spanning almost a quarter of a century, Sachin Tendulkar scored a Himalayan 15921 runs in Tests. To put that record in some perspective, he leads the second-placed Ricky Ponting by an incredible 2533 runs.

To understand the magnitude of this achievement and why it will never be surpassed, among active players, there is not even one batsman who has more than 10000 runs in Tests. The closest is again, Hashim Amla who has scored 9234 runs for South Africa and has zero chance of getting anywhere near the vicinity of Tendulkar.

And as for Kohli, he has just scored just 6613 runs and his more than 9500 runs behind Tendulkar. Even if Kohli scores 1000 runs per year, it would take him more than 9 years to go past this record of Tendulkar and there is very little probability that Kohli would last that long.

In all probability, as long as Test cricket is played, this record of Tendulkar has a remote chance of being broken.