In the year 1932, India became the 6th nation to be granted Test status but it took 20 years for them to win their first ever Test match. India gained popularity in the cricketing circles with the emergence of batsmen like Vijay Hazare, Vijay Merchant, Polly Umrigar and the batting started improving with the emergence of these players.
The year 1971 witnessed the rise of one of the greatest ever batsman India has produced – Sunil Gavaskar. He rewrote history by scoring 774 runs in his debut Test series with 4 centuries against the mighty West Indies. It was an extraordinary achievement by the “Little Master” against the best bowling attack in the world. Gundappa Vishwanath along with Sunil Gavaskar forged a solid base for the India batting line-up during the 1970s and India became a very competitive side. Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri also contributed to the team’s success.
Mohammed Azharuddin brought flair and flamboyance to the batting line-up during the 1990s and his wonderful strokeplay changed the complexion of India batting. He had wonderful wrists and was one of the best exponents of the flick shot. Just 2 years after the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar, a man of the same physique and height entered the scene who went on to break every possible batting records in the subsequent years – none other than the ‘Superhero” of cricket Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.
The class of batsmen like Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Dravid and Kohli meant that India was gradually becoming a force to reckon with especially outside the subcontinent. Slowly, but steadily, India became competitive when touring countries like England, Australia, and the West Indies.
We bring you the list of 5 Indians with most Test centuries outside the Indian subcontinent -
#5 VVS Laxman (8 centuries)
VVS Laxman, the stylish batsman from Hyderabad made his Test debut in the year 1996 against South Africa, scoring a fifty in his second innings. Laxman was unable to cement his place in the star-studded middle order as he got to play only one Test in the tour to South Africa, that followed the home series.
He was eventually dropped from the team and regained his place after solid performances in the domestic circuit. The home series against Australia in 2001 changed Laxman’s career forever. His unbelievable 281 at Kolkata helped India win the Test match after following on.
Laxman played a pivotal role in the tour to Australia in 2004 where India drew the series 1-1. He scored heavily against the Australians and they gave him a special name, ‘Very Very Special Laxman’. The playing style of Laxman resembled his childhood idol, Mohammed Azharuddin, and both of them were the two best exponents of the wristy flick shot.
Laxman scored 8 Test centuries away from Asia: 4 in Australia, 2 in West Indies and 1 each in New Zealand and Zimbabwe.
#4 Virat Kohli (8 centuries)
The current Test captain of India, Virat Kohli came into the limelight after captaining the Indian U-19 team to a World Cup victory in 2008. He was immediately purchased by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the inaugural IPL auction.
He made his Test debut against West Indies in the year 2011 but was unable to make an impact in his debut series. In the series against Australia, Kohli registered his first Test century at Adelaide. In a series where India suffered a whitewash at the hands of Australia, Kohli was the only bright spot. With the retirement of stalwarts like Dravid, Tendulkar, and Laxman, the Indian team was in the process of rebuilding and Kohli has played a vital role in the process taking additional responsibilities.
In his next tour to Australia in 2014-15, Kohli scored 4 centuries in 4 Tests and looked in sublime form. It was high-quality batsmanship by the modern great.
He scored his first Test double century against West Indies in the first Test of the 2016 West Indies series. Kohli has a total of 8 centuries away from the Indian subcontinent with 5 in Australia and 1 each in West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand.
#3 Rahul Dravid (14 centuries)
Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly made their Test debut in the same match and both made an immediate impact. While Sourav scored a century, Dravid fell just five short of a well deserved century. Dravid opened the innings in his 2nd Test but was again demoted in the 3rd Test. It was in 1997 that he notched his maiden Test century against South Africa at Johannesburg. He top scored for India in the next series in West Indies but was unable to score a century.
The next few years witnessed the rise of a man who scored runs all over the world. He bailed India out of trouble on numerous occasions and along with Tendulkar, Ganguly, and Laxman formed a formidable middle order which could take on any opposition.
In the 2002 series in England, he made a brilliant double century and followed it up with a match-winning 148. It was this innings which laid the foundation for a historic Test win at Leeds. In the next series in Australia, Dravid looked at his imperious best. In the 2nd Test of the series, his double century brought India back into the game after they had conceded more than 550 in the first innings. India went on to win the Test match.
His ability to stay at the crease for long periods of time and his terrific defensive technique earned him the tag “The Wall”. Though he had a miserable outing in his last two Test series, he will be remembered as the batsman who steered India out of trouble more than anyone else.
Dravid has scored a total of 14 centuries away from Asia. He has been a prolific run-getter in England scoring 6 centuries. He has a total of 3 centuries in West Indies, 2 in New Zealand and scored one century each in Zimbabwe, Australia, and South Africa.
#2 Sunil Gavaskar (15 centuries)
Sunil Gavaskar made his Test debut against the mighty West Indies in their own backyard in the year 1971 and went on to score 774 runs in his debut series with 4 centuries. It was an extraordinary performance by the young man considering the bowling line up the Windies had. Throughout his career, Gavaskar was always at his best when playing against West Indies and very rarely did the Windies bowlers taste success against him. After his scintillating debut, he couldn’t back it up against England in the next series, scoring only 2 fifties.
In the following years he went on to become one of the greatest batsmen of the Indian batting line up. Gavaskar was also the first player in history to complete 10,000 Test runs and his tally of 34 centuries was the highest, later broken by Sachin Tendulkar.
Gavaskar scored 15 centuries outside the Indian subcontinent with a very high percentage in West Indies and Australia. He scored 7 centuries in West Indies, 5 in Australia, two centuries in England and a solitary century in New Zealand.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar (18 centuries)
Arguably the greatest batsman ever, Sachin Tendulkar started making headlines as a school kid. Along with his childhood friend Vinod Kambli, the duo posted a mammoth 664 run partnership for their school Shradhyashram Vidyamandir in the year 1988 which was the highest partnership at any level of cricket before being broken by Monoj Kumar and Shaibaz Tumbi in 2006.
The wonder kid from Mumbai made his Test debut the following year against the mighty Pakistanis. His introduction to Test cricket was not like his fairytale 1st class debut but he got into his groove in the 2nd Test with a fighting half century. He followed it up with a terrific half-century in the 4th Test after getting hit in the nose by a Waqar Younis delivery.
In his next series in England, Sachin became the youngest Indian and second youngest overall to register a Test century. India was in a precarious situation when Manoj Prabhakar joined Sachin and the duo stitched together a crucial partnership which bailed India out of trouble.
The series against Australia in the year 1992 marked the transition from a boy to a man. At the age of 19, he dominated against a quality bowling attack and scored two centuries in the series. The innings at Perth will rate high among his all-time best Test innings. The young man grew from stature to stature in the following years and was soon regarded as the best batsman in the world.
Tendulkar has scored Test centuries against all Test playing nations. Outside the Indian subcontinent, Tendulkar has scored 6 centuries in Australia, 5 in South Africa, 4 in England, 2 in New Zealand and 1 in West Indies thus taking his tally to 18.
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
