Top 5 Indian openers with most centuries in test cricket

Sunil Gavaskar has hit most centuries as an opener in test cricket for India.

Indian cricket will always be remembered for the quality of batters they have had in international cricket. From Vijay Merchant to now Virat Kohli, a lot of inspirational names have represented Indian team at international level. Big names like Nawab of Pataudi, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli have dominated the game for a long time. India’s upcoming generation also looks set to take the legacy forward in test cricket.

Former Indian opening batter Virender Sehwag did set a benchmark as an opener in test cricket during his playing days. He dominated the game for a long time with his unique batting approach towards the game. He is amongst the leading Indian batters with most centuries in test cricket. Let’s have a look at the top five Indian openers with the most centuries in test cricket.

5. Rohit Sharma – 8 :

Rohit Sharma began his journey as a middle-order batter in test cricket, but in 2019, he was promoted up the order following his success as opener in white-ball cricket. Since becoming an opener in test cricket, Rohit Sharma has improved his numbers as a batter in this format of the game. Sharma first opened in an innings in test cricket in 2019 against South Africa and hit twin centuries in the match in Vishakapatnam.

So far, Rohit Sharma has opened the batting in 30 tests and scored over 2300 runs including eight hundreds. His highest score as a test batter also came while batting as an opener. He hit 212 against South Africa in Ranchi test in 2019.

4. Gautam Gambhir – 9 :

Former opener Gautam Gambhir was one of the most consistent batters in test cricket. Gambhir scored fifty plus score in 11 consecutive test matches for India. He played 58 test matches after making his debut in 2004 against Australia and scored nine centuries as an opening batter. His first ever test hundred came against Bangladesh in 2004. He played 57 out of 58 matches as an opener.

3. Murali Vijay – 12 :

Murali Vijay is third in the list of Indian opening batters with most test centuries. He started his career as an opener in Indian side replacing Wasim Jaffer. Murali Vijay went on to play 61 test matches for India in the next 10 years. Vijay played 57 games as an opener and hit 12 test centuries. His first ever test century came against Australia at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2010.

2. Virender Sehwag – 22 :

Virender Sehwag a.k.a. Veeru began his test career as a middle-order batter in Indian team under Sourav Ganguly. Despite showing good results as a number six batter, Sourav Ganguly promoted Virender Sehwag as an opener. This historical decision gave the cricketing world a special player. Virender Sehwag made history as an opener and played many memorable knocks. Sehwag opened the innings in 98 test matches and hit 22 centuries.

1. Sunil Gavaskar – 33 :

Little Master Sunil Gavaskar leads the chart with 33 test centuries as an opener for Indian cricket team. Once he held the record for scoring most test centuries (34) as well, later that record was broken by Sachin Tendulkar. Sunil Gavaskar played 119 test matches for India as an opening batter and smashed 33 centuries. His first ever ton came against West Indies in his second test in 1971. Also among all cricketing nations, Sunil Gavaskar holds the record for hitting most centuries as an opener in the longest form of the game.

(All stats updated till 15th February, 2024)

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