The Indian team have always banked on their batsmen to win them Test matches. Over the years there have been several Indian batsmen who have gone on to become cricketing greats of the world. Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid are only three such names.
India had the best batting line-up among all their contemporary teams from the year 2001 to 2011 with the likes of Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman playing at the same time.
The Quint takes a look at the top run-getters for India in Tests as the team gets ready to play its 500th on Thursday (against New Zealand).
Sachin Tendulkar
This man needs no introduction. When one thinks about batting, the first name that comes to mind is of the great Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar, who has played the most number of Test matches, has broken almost all batting records during his career.
He has scored the most runs and most number of centuries in Tests among all the batsmen in the world.
The Mumbai lad is not just a player, he is an enigma for world cricket.
Dravid, Gavaskar and Laxman
The next three batsmen in the top run-getters list – Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and VVS Laxman – were the most reliable batsmen for India of all time.
Sunil Gavaskar made the country believe that Indians could stand up to the best bowlers in the world and excel against them.
In his very first series against West Indies, Gavaskar scored 774 runs in four Tests, which included four hundreds and three fifties.
The Mumbai lad, who made the bowlers earn his wicket almost every time, went on to become the first batsman to notch 10,000 runs in Test cricket.
Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman followed Gavaskar’s footsteps. They weren’t players who got their runs quickly, but they made sure that they held one end allowing their teammates to play with more freedom.
Dravid and Laxman’s defensive game helped India draw many Test matches and also win several games.
The duo will always be remembered for their 376-run partnership against Australia in 2001 which helped them win the match after following on.
Sehwag, Ganguly and Vengsarkar
Virender Sehwag was one of the most feared opening batsman during his career as he knew only one approach: ‘see ball hit ball’. Once he got going, no bowler in the world could stop him.
The Delhi lad, who scored over 8,000 runs in his Test career, smashed two triple hundreds and six double centuries.
Sehwag should give credit to the former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly, who is India’s sixth highest run-getter in Tests himself, for his success.
Sehwag, who joined the Indian team as a middle-order batsman, was asked to become an opening batsman by Ganguly. The decision was the turning point in the Delhi lad’s career.
Ganguly notched up 16 hundreds in his career, but will always be remembered for his captaincy. The Bengal lad made his team believe that they are good enough to be competitive in Tests overseas.
Under his captaincy, India drew a Test series against the mighty Australians in Australia in 2003-04 and also drew a Test series against England in their backyard in 2002.
Dilip Vengsarkar, who is the seventh highest run-getter in Tests for India, mostly played in the shadow of the great Sunil Gavaskar.
The Mumbai lad scored six hundreds against West Indies, who at that time had a fearsome bowling attack in Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall and Andy Roberts. The right-handed batsman was also the man of the series when India beat England on their home turf in 1986.
Azharuddin, Viswanath and Kapil Dev
Mohammad Azharuddin announced his arrival with three hundreds in his first three Test matches, which was scored against England. The Hyderabad lad, who scored over 6,000 runs, went on to become of the most flamboyant batsmen of all time.
Gundappa Viswanath was one of India’s most technically sound batsmen. After getting out for a duck in the first innings of his debut Test match, he fought back and scored 137 runs in the second innings and helped India save the Test against Australia in 1969. He went on to help India save and win several matches in his career.
Kapil Dev is arguably the best all-rounder India has ever had. He is the only player in the world to achieve the feat of scoring 5,000 runs in Tests and taking 400 wickets.
The Punjab lad used to come lower down the order and score some quick runs for the team.
A story about Kapil goes like this. Once during a Test match against England in 1990, India needed 24 runs with one wicket in hand to avoid follow on. And Kapil Dev smacked Eddie Hemmings for four consecutive sixes and did the needful.
Stat inputs: Arun Gopalakrishnan
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