Biggest match-winning batsmen in Indian Test cricket history

India has produced many great batsmen in its cricket history. From Sunil Gavaskar onwards to the current top guy in Virat Kohli, we have seen many batsmen who have performed credibly in the international arena. They have won many matches and series single handedly with their efforts and brought great laurels to the country. Let us have a look at these heroes, their impact on Indian cricket and their greatest triumphs.

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar was responsible for putting Indian batting on the global map. In the 70s and 80s, he was the best opener in international cricket and averaged above 50 in Test cricket. He performed superbly against the best fast bowling attack of his era and scored 13 centuries in 27 matches against the then mighty West Indies. He did not have the backing of a strong bowling attack and this prevented him from winning more matches for India.

His biggest contribution was in saving many Test matches for the country. Of the 125 Tests that he played, 67 resulted in draws and Gavaskar averaged 65.64 in these matches, with 22 centuries. Another remarkable aspect of Gavaskar’s batting was his ability to play for long periods, especially in fourth innings of Tests.

Several other top batsmen have performed below potential in the fourth innings, a good example being Sachin Tendulkar. In 47 such innings, Tendulkar averaged less than 38, while Gavaskar averaged a stunning 58.25 in 33 innings.

Gundappa Viswanath

Gundappa Viswanath

Another major linchpin of Indian batting in the 70s and 80s was Gundappa Viswanath. He was renowned for performing well under great pressure, and when the team needed him the most. Though his stats are impressive in themselves (an average of 42 in 91 Tests, including 14 centuries), they don’t provide the full picture. Right from his debut till he retired, he performed better than any other Indian batsman when the chips were down.

He delivered many all-time great match winning efforts. His most memorable effort was a match winning 97 against a rampaging Andy Roberts at Madras in 1974-75. The second highest score in the innings was 19. He averaged more than 53 against both Australia and West Indies, the two best bowling attacks of his era. India never lost a match on the 14 occasions when he scored a century.

Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar

In the early 90s, Sachin Tendulkar became the poster boy of Indian cricket. His unique talents included a perfect balance, a great eye which enabled him to meet the ball on the rise, and time to play the ball. His biggest strength was his consistency and ability to perform well in all conditions. He was especially prolific against the Aussies, scoring 11 centuries against them in 39 matches.

He ended with 51 centuries in 200 Test matches, and played many great knocks for India. His biggest achievement was his consistency over such a long duration of 24 years, which would normally see two top class batsmen play for a team over that long a duration.

He was an integral part of a very strong Test side on Indian soil in the 1990s, which did not lose a single Test series. He was also the only Indian batsman who succeeded on foreign soil in the 90s, and produced many great knocks in testing conditions. Had he played in a stronger team then, he would have had many more match winning innings to his name.

His best match winning knock during this time was a scorching 155 in 191 ball versus an Aussie side which had Shane Warne in its ranks. Tendulkar smashed Warne to all corners of the park in that innings, and his breezy innings ensured India’s domination over the Aussies in that Test and a series victory over the no.1 Test side. He also had a big heart break against Pakistan in 1999, when his 136 on a weary Chennai pitch, against an all time great Pakistan bowling attack comprising the likes of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Saqlain Mustaq, ended in bitter defeat.

In the 2000s, he changed his batting style and became less aggressive. A part of this could be attributed to injuries and a part to a change in his mindset. Tendulkar worked best when he played positive, attacking cricket. Unfortunately, he changed his batting approach in the 2000s, and became a less dangerous batsman than he was in his prime. Though he still scored many runs, he didn’t produce the same impact as in the 90s. Most of his best knocks were support innings to the big match winners like Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag.

Maybe the pressure of it all forced him to change or maybe it was the injuries. However he was a shadow of the dominant batsman of the 90s and didn’t have the same impact as in the first half of his career. However his contribution to Indian cricket is beyond description. He captured public imagination like no cricketer before him did, and was revered as God in his home country.

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid

Rahul Dravid was a key figure in the evolution of Indian batting on foreign soil. He came into his own in the early 2000s and was the biggest match winner for India on foreign soil. He scored 21 of his 36 Test centuries abroad and averaged 53+ on foreign soil. He was especially prolific on English soil, where he hit 6 centuries in 13 Test matches and averaged around 70 with the bat.

Another special quality of Dravid’s was his ability to score runs on difficult pitches, where most of his team-mates struggled. One such memorable match was the deciding Test of the 2006 series on West Indian soil. On a spicy Jamaica pitch, where most batsmen of both teams struggled, Dravid scored 81 and 68 in the two innings, which comprised more than 40% of his team’s total runs in both the innings combined. India won the Test and with it, their first series on West Indian soil in 35 years.

VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman

VVS Laxman was a sight to behold when in full flow. He, like Gundappa Viswanath, always delivered when his team needed him the most. In a career spanning 134 Test matches, he scored 17 Test centuries and averaged 45.97. His stats could have been even better if he had not played most of his innings at no.6 in the batting order, which was appalling considering the fact that Sourav Ganguly played at no. 5 in the same order.

Laxman produced many match winning performances throughout his career, and was India’s go to man in case of any emergency. His best knock was a masterclass. Against an all time great Australian attack, he scored 281 runs in Kolkata, and helped turn the tables on the Aussies. India went on to win the series 2-1.

Laxman was a key member of the Indian side which reached the no.1 position in the ICC Test rankings. India stayed on top of Test rankings in 2010, and Laxman averaged 99.83 in the six matches India won during the year, with four match winning knocks, including two centuries.

One of his efforts was a match winning 103 not out against Sri Lanka in the fourth innings, while an even more impressive knock was his 73 not out against Australia in Mohali in 2010. India needed 102 runs with only two wickets remaining when Laxman came to crease and he took India to victory through some sensible batting under great pressure, while suffering from back spasms.

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag

Virender Sehwag was the most destructive batsman in Test cricket in the 2000s,someone who changed the face of opening batting in Test matches. He has amassed more than 8000 runs in Test cricket with 23 centuries, at a strike rate of 82.23. He has scored two triple centuries and six double centuries, which is the highest number in both categories for any Indian batsman.

His biggest impact cannot be measured only in terms of numbers, but how he made things much easier for the famed middle order of India. Sehwag regularly tore apart opposition bowling like a wolf, and most often, bowlers lost their line, length and confidence under the brutal onslaught. Sehwag had a special liking for the Pakistan bowling attack. He averages 91.14 in 9 Test matches against Pakistan, including one triple century and two more double centuries.

He was the single biggest factor in the rise and stay of India at the no.1 spot in the ICC Test rankings for 18 months. The years 2008, 2009 and 2010 were the best years for Sehwag; he averaged 56, 70 and 61 respectively in 2008, 2009 and 2010, and his destructive batting enabled the middle order to perform at their best. Ian Chapell called him the biggest factor behind India’s rise to no.1 in Test rankings and compared his batting impact to that of Don Bradman in his peak.

The current generation of Indian batsmen including Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma hold the potential to follow the footsteps of these great Indian batting wizards. Let us hope that with time and experience under their belt, they can return Indian cricket to its glory days of great batting again.