5 Greatest Knocks Played By Indian Batsmen In Test Cricket 

Test Cricket is the purest form of the game. It is the form of the that really 'tests' a player’s character- a batsman’s ability to play the waiting game, a bowlers ability to toil all day long, a Captain’s ability to persist with his tactics.

India has produced several great players in Test Cricket who have gone on to enthrall and bewitch the cricketing world. Sunil Gavaskar was the first big Superstar that Indian cricket produced. The ‘Little Master’ was India’s only hope during his time, as he faced up to the fearsome pace quartet of the West Indies and thrived.

Then, came the age of the iconic Sachin Tendulkar. There has been no cricketer in the history of the game, who has been venerated as much as Tendulkar was, during the course of his unprecedented career that lasted almost a quarter of a century.

The age of Tendulkar also saw a host of other great batsmen, including the likes of Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly, VVS Laxman, and Virender Sehwag. These five men were the pillars of the Indian batting line up during the entire first decade of the new millennium.

After the retirement of Tendulkar, Virat Kohli has taken the legacy of the master forward. The current Indian skipper has pulverised bowling attacks all over the world and has emerged as the monarch of all that he has surveyed. He is now the fulcrum of the Indian batting line up.

In this article, let us look at five of the greatest knocks played by Indian batsmen in Test match cricket.

#5.Virat Kohli- 141 Vs Australia (Adelaide 2014)

Kohli carved out the greatest innings played by an Indian batsman in the fourth innings of a Test

India were taking on Australia in their back yard and were set a daunting 364 to win the match. Most teams would have tried to play it safe, but Kohli was a man of a different breed.

He and the Indian batsmen went after the target, and in the process, Kohli carved out possibly the greatest innings ever played by an Indian batsman in the fourth innings of a Test match. The dangerous Mitchell Johnson was driven with grace, Nathan Lyon was cut and pulled to the boundary. The Aussies even made Steven Smith roll his arm over but to no avail. Kohli dismantled the Australian bowling attack in his own inimitable way.

But just when India were gaining the upper hand, their skipper perished, out for a magnificent 149. And with the dismissal of Kohli, the hopes evaporated as well, as India went on to lose the match by 48 runs.

The loss brought back the memories of the 136 that Tendulkar had conjured in Chennai in the year 1998, against Pakistan, where India fell like a pack of cards after the master’s dismissal.

The same pattern repeated here, seventeen year later, with Kohli as the protagonist. And with this knock, Kohli achieved the rare feat of scoring two hundreds in the same test, an achievement that had eluded even the legendary Sachin Tendulkar.

#4.Virender Sehwag-195 Vs Australia (Melbourne 2003)

Sehwag can be brutally devastating, and at the same time, be delightfully pristine.

Virender Sehwag is a combination of two opposite virtues. At his sublime best, Sehwag can be brutally devastating, and at the same time, be delightfully pristine.

And, in front of a packed house at the MCG, Sehwag blasted his way to a stunning 195, an assault that left the Australians in a daze. At the start of his innings, Sehwag was hit on the helmet twice by a vicious Brett Lee, but that did not stop him from just brutalising the Australian attack.

Sehwag just pulverised the opposition- Brett Lee was cut ferociously past point, Brad Williams was driven gloriously past cover, Stuart MacGill was whipped past mid-wicket, and driven down the ground. The Australians even made Steve Waugh roll his arm over but to no avail. Sehwag was just unstoppable.

He scored 195 out of a team total of 366, but it was not enough as Australia won the match by 9 wickets. Nevertheless, the audacious stroke play of Sehwag and the way he ripped apart the best bowling attack in the world will be etched in the minds of cricket lovers forever.

#3.Rahul Dravid-270 Vs Pakistan (Rawalpindi 2004)

Dravid was a man blessed with impeccable technique and unwavering concentration

Rahul Dravid resembles a monk on a cricket field. He was a man blessed with impeccable technique and unflappable concentration. And, in the final test match against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2004, Dravid flattened the fearsome Pakistani attack consisting of the likes of Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Saqlain Mushtaq in a classic display of pure batsmanship.

His square cuts were pristine, his flick was ethereal, the head was steady and the weight was transferred on either foot with ease. And, in a classic that lasted 495 balls, Dravid conjured a magnificent 270, studded with 34 glorious hits to the fence. It was cricket’s most technically gifted player at his sublime best, and the Pakistani bowlers were left searching for answers as Dravid carved out a magnificent inning at Rawalpindi.

#2.Sachin Tendulkar-241 Vs Australia(Sydney 2004)

Great Sportsmen like Tendulkar can mould their game to suit any situation

Great sportsmen are made of a mental make-up that is inaccessible to the lesser mortals of the sport. They can mould their game to suit the situation, and look at the challenge in the eye, and vanquish it.

And, in the year 2004, at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Sachin Tendulkar took batsmanship to a whole new level by refusing to play a single cover drive through the off side. It was a master showing the world that he can entirely cut out one part of the field, but can still play the way he wanted to.

Brett Lee was driven down the ground, Nathan Bracken was flicked past mid-wicket, and Stuart MacGill was cut and swept to the boundary. And, in a vigil that lasted 436 balls, Tendulkar carved out a magnificent 241*, that left the Australians dumbfounded.

It was after this knock, that Australian great Matthew Hayden remarked

“I have seen God. He bats at No.4 for India.”

#1.VVS Laxman-281 Vs Australia (Kolkata 2001)

VVS Laxman used the bat in his hand like a magic wand at the Eden Gardens

The year 2001 was a watershed moment in Indian cricket. It was the year when the Indian team showed the world that they too, can fight, that they too, can stand up to a challenge. Steve Waugh’s mighty Australia embarked on a tour to India. And Waugh even added spice to the series by labeling India as ‘The Final Frontier’.

The Australians thrashed the Indians by 10 wickets in the first test, and in the second test at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, made India follow on after dismissing the hosts cheaply in the first innings.

It was expected that India would crumble again in the second innings as well, but then, a man called VVS Laxman had other plans…

Laxman used the bat in his hand like a magic wand and played strokes of breathtaking beauty that cast a spell on the Australians. Even the likes of Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne were left clueless as Laxman enchanted the Aussies and the crowd on his way to a splendid 281 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

It was such a special inning, that Dravid’s 180 in the same match was overshadowed by the wizardry of Laxman.

It was an innings that instilled a sense of immense self-belief in the Indian team, and also gave India the confidence that they can come back from any situation and win a match.