6 makeshift Indian openers with Test hundreds

#3. Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri

Ravi Shastri was not the most talented cricketer around, but he made up for it with his tenacity. He even took up the challenge of opening the batting, and he ended up with rather impressive numbers at the top.

While Shastri’s overall batting average was 35.79 in 80 Tests, in 17 Tests as opener the same jumped to 44.04. Four of Shastri’s 11 hundreds came as opener.

His first Test hundred as opener came in a match against Pakistan at Karachi played from 30 January 1983. Shastri made 128 in a high-scoring draw.

His second hundred came in a losing cause at Lord’s in 1990 - the same Test where Graham Gooch was dropped in his 30s and went on to make that famous 333. Shastri had another hundred to his name in the same 1990 series in England - 187 from 436 balls at The Oval.

But his most memorable ton of all came in the 1992 New Year Test at Sydney, when he famously tore apart Aussie debutant Shane Warne en route to 206 off 477 balls. Shastri was man of the match for his effort in the drawn Test.