3 players to win most Test matches for India as part of Playing XI
The Indian cricket team played its first ever Test match in the year 1932 against England. And, over the course of almost nine decades, India has produced a plethora of match winners in its illustrious cricketing history. These legendary players have made the country proud with their resplendent deeds on the field. In this article, let us take a look at the top 3 players who were involved in a win for the Indian side on most occasions in the white flannels.
3. Cheteshwar Pujara (50)
For almost a decade, Cheteshwar Pujara has been the pillar of the Indian Test batting line up. The 33-year-old has played 85 Tests and scored 6244 runs at an average of 46.60. Also, Pujara achieved a special feat when the Indian side beat England in the 4th Test at Ahmedabad. He became the third Indian cricketer to feature in 50 Test wins for his country.
Pujara has an excellent record in a win for India in the whites. The right-hander has scored 3966 runs in wins, and has scored them at an excellent average of 53.59. Pujara will be looking to help India to a win in the summit clash of the World Test Championship (WTC) when Virat Kohli’s men lock horns against the Black Caps in June.
2. Rahul Dravid (56)
Ahead of Pujara at the second place is the man nicknamed ‘The Wall’. Rahul Dravid was the mainstay of the Indian Test batting line up for over a decade and a half. The 48-year-old is the second most prolific Indian batsman in Test cricket, and has amassed 13288 runs in the whites. Dravid also plundered 36 hundreds and 63 fifties in his career.
Out of the 164 Tests that he played, Dravid was part of 56 Test wins for India, scoring 5131 runs at a whopping average of 65.78. Also, 15 out of his 36 Test hundreds came in a winning cause as well.
1.Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar bags the top spot and it should not come as a surprise. After all, Tendulkar is the only man on the planet to have featured in a mind-numbing 200 Test matches. The Master Blaster has scored a staggering 15921 runs in Test cricket, and is also the only batsman in history to have plundered over 50 Test centuries. Tendulkar was involved in 72 Test wins for the Indian team.
And, one look at his numbers in India’s wins reveal why Tendulkar was extremely crucial to the fortunes of the Indian team. The batting maestro scored 5946 runs in victories and scored them at an average of 61.93. Also, 20 out of his 51 Test hundreds came in a winning cause.
