Ranking the 5 best knocks in Tests in 2024 ft. Yashasvi Jaiswal

The year 2024 turned out to be a year of revival for Test cricket with several top-notch matches being played between some of the very best teams in the world. There was no shortage of talent on display over the course of the year.

While India ended the year on a disappointing note, the emergence of some young superstars like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Ahmed, and Nitish Reddy has given the batting unit some hope going forward in the longest format. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma woefully out of form, the time has arrived for the young guns to take over.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh had a good outing in this format, winning their first-ever series against Pakistan but couldn't quite continue their run against India. England also had a good year while Australia and South Africa were the two most dominant sides. While the Proteas have already qualified for the ICC World Test Championship, Australia are on the verge of going through.

There were several great batting over performances in the last year and some of the fresh faces announced their arrival in the longest format with a bang. With the year set to end in just a few hours time, let us rank the top five best Test knocks of this year.

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#5 Kamindu Mendis - 102 vs Bangladesh in Sylhet

One of the rising stars of world cricket in the year 2024 was Sri Lankan batter Kamindu Mendis who boasts of a stellar record in the longest format in his brief career so far.

One of the crucial knocks he played was against Bangladesh earlier this year in Sylhet where he and Dhananjaya de Silva helped Sri Lanka recover from a precarious situation.

Batting first, Sri Lanka was reduced to 57/5 and it looked like Bangladesh was in an utterly dominant position. Kamindu came in at five down and totally turned the complexion of the game with his aggressive knock. The southpaw timed the ball to perfection and got an able ally in Kusal Mendis.

Kamindu went on to score 102 off 131 deliveries which included 12 fours and a six. The bowlers did the job and restricted Bangladesh to 188, securing a 92-run lead. Kamindu again smashed a scintillating 164 in the second innings, paving the way for a massive 328-run win for Sri Lanka.

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#4 Harry Brook - 317 vs Pakistan in Multan

Not many might agree with Harry Brook’s ranking despite being the only triple centurion in the year 2024. However, it was played on a flat track in Multan which had hardly anything on offer for the bowlers. Pakistan posted a massive score of 556 after batting first but England went a notch higher and posted a humongous 823.

Brook came out in the middle when the score read 249/3 and left the ground when England was on the threshold of 800. Brook toyed with the Pakistan bowlers and was never really troubled by any of the pacers or spinners. He went on from strength to strength and boundaries kept coming one after the other.

The knock of 317 came off just 322 deliveries, including 29 fours and three sixes. Brook displayed a wide array of strokes and turned the game on its head. He shared a massive stand of 454 runs with Joe Root. The twin knocks helped England register an unbelievable victory by an innings and 47 runs.

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#3 Yashasvi Jaiswal - 161 vs Australia in Perth

A superstar in the making, Yashasvi Jaiswal had a year to remember. He finished as the second-leading run-getter in Test cricket in 2024 just after Joe Root. After a sensational home series against England earlier this year, Jaiswal came to Australia with a lot of expectations and he didn't disappoint.

He was dismissed for a duck in the first innings of the opening Test in Perth but showed why is one of the finest young talents with an incredible knock in the second innings. Batting on a spicy Perth wicket against a top-quality Australian attack, Jaiswal oozed class and confidence.

He displayed a wide range of strokes from exceptional drives on the up to upper cuts to sweeps and lofted strokes down the ground. His knock had a sense of composure and struck 15 fours and 3 sixes during his superb knock. Jaiswal’s knock set up the game for India and they went on to register a massive 295-run win.

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#2 Aiden Markram - 106 vs India in Cape Town

The knock might not have come in a winning cause but it deserves to be among the top two given how tough the conditions were for batters. On a pitch which was hooping around and doing all sorts of things, Markram batted out of his skin and scored an exceptional century in the second innings.

The Proteas were skittled out for just 55 runs in the first innings on the back of a stupendous spell from Mohammed Siraj. India responded with 153 but the lead of 98 runs on such a tricky surface proved to be a match-winning one in the end.

Aiden Markram waged a lone battle for South Africa in the second innings. The second-highest scorer was just 12 which goes on to prove the importance of the knock.

Markram took his time initially but soon started taking on the Indian bowlers, realising he would soon lose out on partners. He eventually scored a 103 ball 106 but it was India who eventually won the match by seven wickets.

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#1 Ollie Pope - 196 vs India in Hyderabad

One of the greatest Test knocks on Indian soil was played by Ollie Pope earlier this year to stage a remarkable come-from-behind win for England. They looked dead and buried for the majority of the game. England conceded a 190-run first-innings lead but batted out of their skin in the second innings.

They were reduced to 163/5 at one stage and were staring down the barrel. However, the partnership of Ollie Pope and Ben Foakes turned it around for them. Pope in particular regularly employed the sweep and the reverse sweep to derail the Indian spinners.

He took his chances and on the day everything seemed to gel for the right-handed batter. Pope defied all odds and scored a magical 196 which came off 276 deliveries, including 21 fours.

His knock set the match up perfectly for England. The inexperienced spinner Tom Hartley bagged seven wickets in the second innings to script a 28-run win for England.