Test Cricket, the oldest format of the game may only sound old but still demands a lot from the players. Even the best of batsmen in limited-overs cricket have struggled to bat throughout the day and not every time you get to witness an innings with full focus and determination.
On the contrary, we have also experienced some innings where the batsmen stood on the pitch with tremendous scoring rate and contrived to make life hell for the bowlers.
Today, we at Cricwizz present a list of batsmen that played hundreds of deliveries before getting dismissed, some of which stayed unbeaten for more than a single test match.
1) Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
A batsman with a unique stance, Chanderpaul was renowned for reasons more than his batting.
His career had dipped towards the year 2000 due to a foot injury but once he got it operated on, the world saw a Chanderpaul that didn't lose his wicket very easily.
There were times when he was not out for over 1000 minutes and not many have achieved this feat in their careers. Chanderpaul is not just one of them but he's also at the apex of this phenomenal list of test players.
Player | Runs | Minutes | Scores |
S. Chanderpaul | 362 | 1513 | 67*, 101*,136*, 58 |
Note: Multiple Scores mean that a batsman played multiple innings without getting dismissed.
2) Jacque Kallis (South Africa)
The Proteas was one of the best all-rounders the sport ever witnessed. Irrespective of the format, Kallis was always a reliable option and knew to change gears when needed. He used to capitalize on his chances and playing multiple formats in a single series was not an issue for the star all-rounder.
Kallis scored 13289 runs in Tests, while his record in ODIs was commendable too. With 11,579 runs in ODIs and a combined total of 565 wickets, Kallis was a gem.
Let's have a look at the time when Kallis chose not to lose his wicket at any cost.
Player | Runs | Minutes | Scores |
Kallis | 456 | 1241 | 157*, 42*, 189*, 68 |
3) Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Well, what can we say about the god of cricket? Sachin was another batsman who always knew what his plan was. A batsman who took care of his bat like a companion, a player that always played by the rules and always played the game with passion.
With so many records under his belt, there was not a single thing that Sachin didn't achieve. Be it scoring a double-century in an ODI or performing for his nation in the World Cups, Sachin did everything.
His presence in this list shows that he could annoy the bowlers too if he wanted and getting him out wasn't easy but almost next to impossible in some situations.
Player | Runs | Minutes | Scores |
Sachin Tendulkar | 497 | 1224 | 241*, 60*, 189*, 2 |
Sachin may be third in the list of total Minutes but even then, he scored the most runs, 41 runs ahead of Kallis.
4) Rahul Dravid (India)
India's "Wall" in cricket, Rahul Dravid was a batsman of another class. Perhaps the most malignant when it came to surviving on the crease, Dravid did it with ease, while bowlers toiled for hours and days to get a bowl right and get rid of Dravid.
Another batsman with over 24,000 combined runs in ODI and Tests, Dravid was technically sound as well. There were times when Dravid was unbeatable. Imagine a pacer running in, bowling a delivery of 140+ km/hr only to see a batsman punch it with such grace. Those were the days when the bowlers had to give up when Dravid stood like a rock.
Player | Runs | Minutes | Scores |
Rahul Dravid | 473 | 1145 | 41*, 200*, 70*, 162 |
5) Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies)
Yes, he's back. But do you know that he takes not just the next spot but the next three spots? Hysterical, isn't it?
Runs | Minutes | Scores |
371 | 1031 | 107*,77*, 79*,50 |
322 | 1074 | 116*, 136*, 70 |
313 | 1115 | 101*, 128*, 97*, 45 |
When we compare the balls faced, Chanderpaul is the only batsman to have faced over 1000 deliveries (1051), while Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid managed to survive for 879 and 791 balls respectively. The other batsmen mentioned in the above list may have stood on the crease for a lot of minutes but their minutes were less than 780.
What do you think? Do you see any other batsman from the current slot to achieve such a feat? Follow us on Instagram and Twitter for more updates.
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