Active Indians with twin tons in Test cricket

The ultimate zenith for a batter in the longest format of the game remains to register a ton. A hundred irrespective of the opposition and venue remains a commendable milestone for any batter. And achieving the same in both innings of a Test is a feat that deserves whole-hearted applause for the sheer grit and unwavering focus on display, among other reasons.

There have been a whole lot of iconic knocks played by Indian players over the years, with quite a few of these innings not being limited to just a hundred, but a score beyond it. However, there have been only three instances of Indians who are active currently and have scored tons in both innings of a Test match. Below is a brief overview of the instances when the three players have secured the noteworthy landmark.

1) Virat Kohli (115 & 141 vs Australia, Adelaide Oval, 2014)

Although Kohli’s first match as India’s Test skipper didn’t go the way he would have wanted in terms of the result, he surely led from the front with the bat in hand. Against a menacing pace attack with the likes of Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, and Peter Siddle in addition to the spin threat of Nathan Lyon, Kohli was elegant in his stroke play as he fought valiantly to bring up a fighting ton. It was courtesy of his ton in the first innings that India was able to somewhat neutralise the extent by which Australia would lead post the completion of India’s first innings.

With India needing 364 to win, they lost Shikhar Dhawan and Cheteshwar Pujara within a score of 60. However, it was the partnership between Murali Vijay and Kohli that reignited confidence within the Indian camp. Although Vijay fell excruciatingly shy of a well-deserved ton, it was Kohli who brought up his second of the game; a 141-run knock which entailed 16 fours and a maximum.

2) Ajinkya Rahane (127 & 100* vs South Africa, Feroz Shah Kotla, 2015)

The final Test of the four-match series against the Proteas is widely recalled for the dogged stubbornness exhibited by the South African batters to almost save the match by batting two entire days on a tricky Delhi track. However, the very foundation of the 337-run victory was Ajinkya Rahane’s

twin tons. Opting to bat first, India was removed from the spot of bother they were in via Rahane’s classical knock.

The second innings was all about capitalising on the 200-run-plus lead attained via Ravindra Jadeja’s exceptional five-wicket haul. Rahane restored the flow of runs after a difficult start with the bat and stitched a substantial partnership with Kohli to take the game away from South Africa. As soon as he racked up his second ton in the game, India declared and the rest is history.

3) Rohit Sharma (176 & 127 vs South Africa, ACA-VDCA Stadium, 2019)

Rohit made full use of the toss won by India to pile on the runs and misery on a South African bowling attack which failed to get any breakthroughs on an opening day. As many as 115 of the 202 runs scored on the first day were off Rohit’s bat. He went on to score 61 more runs before getting stumped. Rohit would surely have been kicking himself, considering his opening partner Mayank Agarwal went on to notch a double-ton while hitting the same number of fours (23) and sixes (6) as Rohit.

However, Rohit did not miss out on an opportunity to go big despite Mayank getting dismissed on a cheap score. Scoring at a rate quicker than what he had scored during India’s first innings, Rohit was dismissed by the same duo, but after accumulating 127 from 149 deliveries. It was the legend of Mohammed Shami who dismantled South Africa’s run-chase, resulting in a 203-run victory.