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5 Highest Scores By Indian Batters At Number 8 In Test Cricket

MS Dhoni in action for India against South Africa in 2010 (x.com)MS Dhoni in action for India against South Africa in 2010 (x.com)

Team India boasts of a rich batting history, especially in Test cricket. In a country enriched with some of the greatest top-order and middle-order stars of the game, the Indian team is also familiar with an occasional exhibition of a remarkable rearguard resistance from a lower-order player.

Here at OneCricket, we take a look at five of the best batting performances put up by India’s number eight batters in Tests.

5. Kapil Dev - 116 vs England, 1982

Indian all-rounder Kapil Dev blasted 116 runs from just 98 deliveries while batting at number eight against England during the Kanpur Test of 1982. After England amassed 378/9d in the first innings, hosts India slipped to 207-6 at one stage as they braced themselves for conceding a huge deficit. However, Kapil at number eight took India within a run of England’s total by sharing 169 runs for the seventh wicket with half-centurion Yashpal Sharma. 

The charismatic all-rounder smacked 16 boundaries and two sixes in his match-saving innings that helped Team India seal the six-match Test series by a 1-0 margin.

4. Wriddhiman Saha - 117 vs Australia, 2017

Wriddhiman Saha (x.com)Wriddhiman Saha (x.com)

Wriddhiman Saha listed his career-best Test score while batting at number eight against Australia during the 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy match in Ranchi. Chasing Australia’s first innings total of 451, the Indian team lost its first six wickets at 328 to find themselves 123 runs behind the visitors. Up against a raging Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon; Saha formed forces with batting barnacle Cheteshwar Pujara and two orchestrated 199 runs together for the seventh wicket.

The Indian wicketkeeper-batter himself belted 117 runs with eight boundaries and a six as the hosts amassed 603-9d.

3. Ravichandran Ashwin - 124 vs West Indies, 2013

Ravichandran Ashwin (x.com)Ravichandran Ashwin (x.com)

In a series that was celebrated for the Test debuts of Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami as well as for the swansong of Sachin Tendulkar’s career, a relatively young all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin chipped away with runs and wickets to seal a remarkable series win for India. In the first Test match at the Eden Gardens, Ashwin punched out 124 runs from 210 balls with 11 boundaries while batting at number eight against the West Indies.

His 280-run partnership with Rohit Sharma lifted India from 156-6 to 436-7 to set a huge first innings lead for the hosts.

2. MS Dhoni - 132* vs South Africa, 2010

MS Dhoni (x.com)MS Dhoni (x.com)

Leading India in a two-match home Test series against South Africa in 2010 at the Eden Gardens, captain MS Dhoni made an unbeaten 132 from 187 balls during his 259-run partnership with VVS Laxman. Batting at number eight, Dhoni arrived to the crease at 384-6 following the dismissal of Amit Mishra. 

The wicketkeeper-batter belted 12 boundaries and three sixes and recorded one of the highest Test scores by a number eight batter in Indian Test history. Dhoni’s innings helped India set up a first innings lead of 347 runs against the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Jacques Kallis. 

1. MS Dhoni - 144 vs West Indies, 2011

MS Dhoni (x.com)MS Dhoni (x.com)

Nearly two years after pummelling South Africa, captain MS Dhoni broke his own record of tonking the highest Test score for an Indian number eight. Facing West Indies in the second Test of the late-2011 series in Kolkata, the legendary Indian batter pounded 144 runs from just 175 deliveries. 

Forming forces with VVS Laxman at 396-6, the two cricketers added 224 runs for the seventh wicket to take India to 631-7 before first innings declaration. India won the match by an innings and 15 runs to go 2-0 up in the series.