One short of a double: Batsmen who registered 199 in Test cricket

South Africa got the better of Sri Lanka in the first Test hosted by SuperSport Park in Centurion. The home team’s dominating batting performance played a key role in handing an innings victory over the Lankans. The former skipper Faf du Plessis’ career-best performance was the reason behind South Africa’s success. The No.4 batsman of the Proteas got 199 in 276 balls thanks to the 24 boundaries he struck during his 412-minute stay at the crease.

While Du Plessis miscued a hit straight to mid-on, sad faces appeared in the dressing room, especially of opener Dean Elgar. Interestingly, it was Elgar who was the last player to be dismissed on 199 in Test cricket. Elgar recorded it three years ago when they took on Bangladesh in Potchefstroom. Elgar and Du Plessis are the only South Africans who are part of a list of 11 players who got dismissed on 199 in the longer format. The highest Test score of both Dean Elgar and Faf Du Plessis is 199 only.

At the moment, they are two of the five players whose highest Test score reads 199. Mohammad Azharuddin and Matthew Elliott ended their respective Test careers with the highest individual score of 199. Azharuddin, in fact, had played exactly 99 matches in his Test career. KL Rahul is another player who is having the highest Test score of 199 but has got enough time to change that misfortune. Rahul also has a Test dismissal on 149 with Adil Rashid being the bowler on both occasions.

Alongside the 11 players to be dismissed on 199, there are two players who have ended up being unbeaten on 199 in this format. Andy Flower, in the 2001 Harare Test against South Africa, scored an unbeaten 199 while following-on. His knock did help Zimbabwe to avoid an innings defeat but ended one short of a double century with his team all out on 391. Andy scored 142 out of Zimbabwe’s 286 in the first innings. Kumar Sangakkara, in the 2012 Galle Test against Pakistan, was the other instance of 199* in Test cricket.