Top 5 run-getters in Test cricket in 2021

Joe Root

2021 has come to an end. India started the year by beating Australia in Australia for the second consecutive time in a row and ended the year by beating South Africa at Centurion, while the New Zealand side emerged as the champions of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship (WTC).

The Aussies have retained the urn in the holy grail of Test cricket, The Ashes, and have thrashed England in the first three Test matches to take a 3-0 lead. This year witnessed some willow wielders who were in superb form and made their opponents chase leather. In this article, let us take a look at the top 5 run-getters in 2021 in Test cricket.

  1. Cheteshwar Pujara

For all the talk about his form, Cheteshwar Pujara has managed to still find a place in the top 5 highest run-getters of 2021 in Tests. Pujara played 26 innings in 2021 in Test cricket and amassed 702 runs at an average of 28.08. The right-hander also struck six fifties in 2021 in the white flannels. His highest score was the 91 that he struck against England at Headingley in August.

  1. Rishabh Pant

The 4th place is occupied by Rishabh Pant. The Indian wicketkeeper scored 748 runs this year and scored his runs at an average of 39.36. Moreover, Pant scored a hundred and five fifties this year. Pant’s only century this year came against the England side at home in March 2021. Pant’s rollicking 101 helped India thrash their opponents by an innings and 25 runs.

  1. Dimuth Karunaratne

Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne was in stellar form in 2021 and dismantled bowling attacks with dexterity and flamboyance. The left-hander scored 902 runs in just 13 innings this year and scored them at a whopping average of 69.38. Karunaratne scored four centuries and three fifties as well and was in ominous form.

  1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma occupies the second spot in the list. The ‘Hitman’ scored 906 runs in 2021 and scored his runs at an average of 47.68. Sharma also plundered two centuries and four fifties in the year. Sharma’s standout performance was the 161 that he blasted against the England side at Chennai, paving the way for India to pummel their opponents by 317 runs.

  1. Joe Root

Joe Root had a dream run with the willow in 2021. The England batting colossus scored a staggering 1708 runs in Tests this year and scored them at a stupendous average of 61.00. Root struck six centuries and four half-centuries in 2021 in the whites as well. Root’s highest score in the year was the 228 that he plundered against Sri Lanka in January 2021, which helped his side to decimate their opponents by seven wickets.