Wriddhiman Saha has been recently coming good with the bat for India in the Test matches. The Bengal lad was in sparkling form in the series against New Zealand where he scored two back-to-back fifties at the Eden Gardens in the second Test.
India won the series 3-0 and Saha was highly praised for his efforts with both the bat and the gloves. Prior to the series, in the West Indies, the 31-year-old smashed his way to his first Test century in Gros Islet where India won by 237 runs. But previously wicket-keepers were considered to be specialists who would only concentrate on their glovework, with time, however, the mentality has changed. Captains now want their keepers to be brilliant batters too, who can contribute whenever required.
India have had problems finding suitable keepers who could bat, and that is why is the early 2000s Sourav Ganguly had opted to have Rahul Dravid as a makeshift wicket-keeper but then the likes of Mahendra Singh Dhoni arrived, who with his batting talents coupled with his keeping skills cemented a place in the side.
After Dhoni’s retirement from Tests, Saha was drafted into the team. Here in the list, we look at the highest scores by Indian wicket-keepers across all formats but surprisingly Saha’s swashbuckling 106 does not feature in the top five.
#5 Farokh Engineer 121 versus England, 1972-73
He was one of the most flamboyant wicket-keeper batsmen India ever had. He had the audacity to attack the best bowlers of the rival team hitting their fiercest bouncers to the ropes. He was a quite brilliant with his glovework too.
In 1972-73 India were playing England and in the fifth and final Test at the Brabourne Stadium, he registered his best score of 121. India had lost the first Test but then leveled it up in Kolkata where Farokh scored a gutsy 75. In the third Test India were bolstered by MAK Pataudi’s presence and they beat England convincingly, the fourth again was a draw.
India needed just a stalemate in the fifth to ensure they win the series 2-1. Farokh came up with the timely 121 in 280 minutes as India got to a mammoth 448 in their first innings. England, however, surpassed it to notch a lead of 32 runs. But then Gavaskar and Farokh took India’s score to 102 for no loss to ensure a draw.
#4 Rahul Dravid 145 versus Sri Lanka, 1999
It was the ICC Cricket World Cup and India were being led by Mohammad Azharuddin who had asked Dravid to keep wickets for the group game against Sri Lanka in place of regular gloveman Nayan Mongia. Sourav Ganguly was at his lethal best in the game smashing it to all parts of the ground. He ended up with 183—his highest individual ODI score.
Giving him company at the other end was Dravid who himself got a blistering 145. Prior to the knock Dravid was mainly recognised as a Test batsman who would take hours to get going. But on the day he hammered 17 fours and a six to get to the score in 179 balls. India set a target of 374 for the islanders and then clinched the issue with 157 runs remaining.
There were no questions ever asked about his batting skills but his glovework lacked the finesse of a regular keeper. In 2003 too when Ganguly was the captain of the national team he entrusted Dravid with the responsibility of keeping wickets so that he could play an extra batsman or a bowler.
#3 Nayan Mongia 152 versus Australia in 1996
It was the inaugural Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy which was played at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground from October 10 to 13 in 1996. Mongia was sent in as the makeshift opener and the wicket-keeper not known too much for his batting skills did not disappoint. He dropped the anchor and accumulated the runs slowly.
En route to his 152 he hit 18 fours and a six which inturn helped India post 361 in their reply to Australia’s first innings score of 182. They again bowled out the visitors for 234 and chased down the 58 runs required losing just two wickets. Surprisingly, Mongia who got that majestic hundred scored a duck the second time around.
#2 Budhi Kunderan 192 versus England in 1964
He was an agile wicket-keeper and a hard hitting batsman. In 1964 while playing against England in Chennai Kunderan smashed his way to 192 with 31 fours. Aided by Vijay Manjrekar’s 108 India put on a massive 457. England in reply came up with 317. Kunderan in the second innings only got to 38. The match ended in a draw.
“The 192 he made in Chennai against England in 1964 was an innings that was ahead of its time - the sort that today's big hitters would play. As a wicketkeeper he showed the others how to keep to BS Chandrasekhar, using his body as a second line of defence. He was flamboyant, versatile and a good human being,” former Indian offspinner Erapalli Prasanna was quoted by espncricinfo.
In 18 Test matches, Kunderan scored 981 runs at an average of 32.70.
#1 MS Dhoni 224 versus Australia in 2013
The highest individual score by an Indian wicket-keeper has come from the bat of the most flamboyant of the lot. Dhoni’s hitting abilities have always been given more importance than his wicket-keeping skills and time and again he has proved why it is so.
It was the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar trophy in 2013 which was played at Chepauk. Australia, batting first had scored a challenging 380 and India were struggling at 196-4. Dhoni ran hard between the wickets and hit the occasional boundaries to build the innings, once in the groove he lashed out with his trademark shots to race to his double century. En route to his 224, he hit 24 fours and 6 sixes. India finished at 572.
The hosts then bundled out the Aussies for 241 and chased down the target of 50 runs with 8 wickets to spare. Dhoni for his knock was also adjudged the man-of-the-match.
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