Five batsmen with most centuries in fourth innings of Test

Test cricket is one of the traditional formats of the gentlemen’s game. The purest format of the game is all about patience, determination, resilience, and valiance. The batsmen need to bat with a lot of perseverance and they should have their basics clear if they want to excel in the Test format. Given the difficulty level, the batsmen who have scored centuries in the longest format are seen in high regard.

What makes a Test hundreds more special is when it comes in the last innings of the match. In this article, let’s take a look at five players with the most centuries in the fourth innings of a Test match.

Ricky Ponting – 4

Former Australian captain Ricky Ponting has phenomenal batting records under his belt in the purest format of the game. Ponting has four Test centuries to his name in the fourth innings. Ponting played a whopping 168 Test matches scoring above 13000 runs. His two out of four Test hundreds came against South Africa while he smashed one each against England and Bangladesh.

Ramnaresh Sarwan – 4

Ramnaresh Sarwan was a part of the West Indies elite batting line-up in the early 2000s. Just like Ponting and Smith, Sarwan also has four Test hundreds under his belt from 87 matches in the purest format. Sarwan scored one century each against Sri Lanka and England while his two hundreds came against Australia. The 40-year-old finished his Test career with 5842 runs at an average of 40.

Graeme Smith – 4

Graeme Smith is renowned as one of the finest captains and batsmen to play the gentlemen’s game for South Africa. The former Proteas skipper scored as many as four Test hundreds for South Africa in the last innings. The 40-year-old has represented Proteas in 117 Test matches scoring a stunning 9265 runs. While Smith’s two fourth innings Test centuries came against Australia, he scored one hundred each against England and New Zealand. One noteworthy point here is that all four centuries helped South Africa in winning the game.

Sunil Gavaskar – 4

Former Indian skipper and batting legend Sunil Gavaskar also features in the elite list. Gavaskar was the first to cross the landmark of 10000 runs in Test cricket. The Indian veteran has smashed 100+ score in the last innings of a Test match four times. Gavaskar also has an illustrious milestone to his name as he scored 221 runs 221 against England during the fourth innings of a Test match.

Younis Khan – 5

Pakistan’s legendary batsman Younis Khan finds himself sitting at the top of the list with five Test centuries in the fourth innings. The batsman has scored three Test hundreds in the last innings against the Proteas while he also smashed a hundred against India and Sri Lanka. Khan’s highest Test score in the last innings is unbeaten 171 against Sri Lanka in 2015.