Cricketers who narrowly missed out on scoring three triple centuries in Tests

In Test matches, many players are part of the elite club of triple centuries. Scoring triple hundreds requires a lot of patience and concentration. A player has to play very long innings and has to curb his instinct of playing shots. Also, he has to be lucky as he needs support from the other end so that he is able to get to the 300-run figure. Many times a batsman has been very close to scoring one but he ran out of partners at the other end. Some players were able to reach the 300 figure more than once in their career. Here is the list of players who have the most triple centuries in Test matches.

But no player has been able to score three triple centuries. Some players did come close to scoring three triple centuries but were not able to get them. Let us look at those players.

---

#1 Kumar Sangakkara

The left-hand batsman from Sri Lanka was one of the best batsmen from the Sri Lankan soil. He scored more than 12000 runs in Tests matches at an average of over 57. His average is better than legends like Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, and Jacques Kallis.

Once in his career, he was able to score a triple century. He did that quite late in his career in 2014 against Bangladesh in Chittagong. He scored 319 from 482 and his innings included 32 fours and 8 sixes. He was the last wicket to fall. He was lucky that Nuwan Pradeep held the other end and he was able to reach the 300 run figure.

In 2004 in the second Test of the Sri Lanka tour of Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to field first. Sri Lankan bowlers used the conditions really well and bowled out Zimbabwe for a partly 228. In reply, Sri Lanka batted brilliantly and it looked as if they batted on a different surface altogether. Captain Marvan Atapattu scored 249 and shared a 438 run partnership with Kumar Sangakkara. After Atapattu's departure, Sangakkara built another good partnership with Mahela Jayawardene. Sangakkara got out on the score of 270 from just 365 runs. His knock included 36 fours and 2 sixes. He was caught behind off Panyangara. He missed a well deserved 300 in that match.

In the first Test of South Africa's tour of SriLanka, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat first. Except for AB de Villeers, no other batsmen was able to score runs and South Africa was dismissed on the score of 169 in the first innings.

In reply, Sri Lanka lost Jayasuriya and Tharanga early but what followed was unreal. Sangakkara and Jayawardene build a partnership of 624 runs which became the highest partnership for any wicket, surpassing the Sri Lankan pair of Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama's partnership of 576 for the second wicket in 1997 against India. Sangakkara was caught behind off Hall on the score of 287 and he missed a well deserved triple hundred. Jayawardene went on a score one, and he got out on the score of 374 and missed breaking Lara's record.

Twice Sangakkara came close to scoring a triple century and once he was able to do so. If he would have reached the milestone on the other two occasions as well he could have been the first player to score three triple centuries in Test matches.

#2 Brian Lara

Brian Lara scored 375 against England in 1994 and broke Sir Gary Sober's score of 365* - the highest score in a Test innings then.

Matthew Hayden in 2004 score 380 against Zimbabwe and overhauled Lara's 375. But Lara in the same year at the same ground in which he scored 375 against England went on to score 400*. He became the first batsman to score 400 in international cricket.

Lara had a knack of scoring big hundreds which is shown by his 9 double hundreds out of which one is a triple hundred and one a 400. Only Sir Don Bradman and Kumar Sangakkara have more double hundreds than him.

In 1993 in the third Test of the West Indies tour of Australia in Sydney, Australia elected to bat first. Austria scored 503/9 with contributions from almost everybody, Steve Waugh with 100 was the top scorer.

West Indies needed to bat out of skin to save the Test match. The openers disappointed and West Indies lost both the openers for the score 31. Brian Lara who was very early into his career built a match-saving partnership of close to 300 runs with Captain Richardson. Richardson got out on the score of 109 but Lara continued and scored his first hundred. He further built partnerships with Arthurton and Hooper and went to convert his first hundred into a double hundred.

He was eyeing his first triple hundred but unfortunately, he got run out on the score of 277. Had he been able to score a triple hundred in that match he might have scored 3 triple centuries in Tests.

#3 Virender Sehwag

Sehwag was one of the most destructive Test batsmen. He used to score runs at a brisk pace and quite often he used to strike at more than 100.

He scored his first triple century against Pakistan in Multan in 2004. He scored 309 from 375 balls. His knock included 39 fours and 6 sixes. He became the first Indian player to score a triple century.

He scored his second triple century against South Africa in 2008. He scored 319 from just 304 balls. He scored his 300 from just 278 balls and this is the fastest triple hundred by any player. His knock included 42 fours and 5 sixes.

In 2009 in the third Test of the Sri Lanka tour of India in Mumbai, Sri Lanka won the toss and elected to bat first. Sri Lanka scored 393 in the first innings on the back of hundred from Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mathews' 99. India replied strongly, with the openers scoring 221 for the first wicket. After the second day's play, India were 443/1 in just 79 overs with Sehwag batting on 284 and Dravid on 69.

Everyone was expecting Sehwag to score a triple hundred the next morning. But unfortunately, he got out on the score of 293 to Muralitharan. He scored 293 from just 254 balls and hit 7 sixes and 40 fours. Sehwag's whirlwind knock helped India post 726 in the first innings and India won the match by innings and 24 runs.

Sehwag missed a golden opportunity to score a third triple century and be the only player to do so.

#4 Sir Don Bradman

Sir Don Bradman will always be remembered for his phenomenal average of almost 100 in Test matches. In just 52 Test matches he scored 29 hundreds and out of those 29 hundreds, 12 times he converted them into double hundreds. He still holds the record of most double hundred in Test matches. Twice in his career, he reached the milestone of 300 runs in a Test innings.

The first time he scored one was against England in Leeds in 1930. He scored 334 from 448 balls and his knock included 46 boundaries.

After 4 years in 1934 against England again on the same ground, he scored 304 from 473 balls and his knock included 43 fours and 2 sixes.

But other than these two knocks there was another knock when he came close to scoring a triple hundred. In 1932 against South Africa in Adelaide, in the first innings, Bradman like always, held one end up as wickets kept tumbling at the other end. At one stage Australia was 421/8. He built a partnership with Reilly of 78 runs and took Australia to 499/9. Bradman had reached really close to scoring another triple century. But unfortunately Thurlow, the last man, got run-out and Bradman was stranded on 299*. He truly deserved that triple century and could have become the first player to score three triple centuries if he could have scored one more run in that innings.