Biggest match-winning batsmen in Indian Test cricket history

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.