Test cricket is the pinnacle of the sport. This format, like the name suggests, literally tests you. Firstly, it tests your batting skills, your perseverance, your ability to soak in pressure and many others. Test cricket sometimes becomes a nightmare for its players due to the game’s brutality. Playing for five whole days in front of the hot sun is indeed challenging. No wonder people retire from Test cricket at an early age. It is highly demanding for both the physical body and your mental self. However, certain players have still performed immensely well in this format. They have not only survived this format but dominated it. And so, we will try to rank the top 8 batters who have scored the most number of runs in Test cricket. Among these players, you will notice that no one is currently active in the international circuit. They are all retired, which shows how the modern generation is prioritizing the shorter formats of the game rather than the longer ones. You can check ICC ranking batsman to know more about these great players:
Sachin Tendulkar
The legendary batter with the most number of runs in Test cricket is Sachin Tendulkar. The former Indian captain was born on 24 April 1973 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. He made his international Test debut at the tender age of 16 against Pakistan on 15 November 1989. Sachin finished his test career with 200 matches played, the most by any cricketer in Tests, and 15,921 runs scored, including 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries. The 49-year-old holds the record for hitting the most number of boundaries in Test cricket, with 2058 fours.
Ricky Ponting
The two-time Cricket World Cup-winning Australian captain, Ricky Ponting, stands second on the list of highest scorers in Test cricket. The Australian batter was born on 19 December 1974 in Launceston, Australia. The Australian batter made his Test debut against Sri Lanka on 8 December 1995. He has played a total of 168 matches in his Test career, the 3rd most by any player. The 47-year-old finished his tally with 13,378 runs scored, including 41 centuries and 62 half-centuries. Ponting is the most successful international cricket captain, with a whopping winning rate of 67.91%.
Jacques Kallis
The South African legendary all-rounder, Jacques Kallis, has scored the third highest number of runs in Test cricket. Considered by many the greatest cricketer ever because of his remarkable batting and bowling prowess, Kallis was born on 16 October 1975 in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. The 46-year-old has scored 13,289 runs in his Test career of 166 matches. He has scored 45 centuries, the second most by any batsman, and 58 half-centuries, the second highest, in Test cricket. Kallis was the second fastest batsman to reach 13,000 runs, only behind the Indian great Sachin Tendulkar.
Rahul Dravid
The current Indian team coach, Rahul Dravid, ranks fourth among the highest run scorers in Test cricket. Nickname as ‘The Wall’ due to his phenomenal defensive shot playing abilities, Dravid was born on 11 January 1973 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. He played the first match of his Test career against England on 20 June 1996. Playing his last game on 24 January 2012, Dravid ended his Test career with 13,288 runs scored, including 36 centuries and 63 half-centuries, in 164 matches. The 49-year-old holds the recording for getting in the nineties the most number of times in Test cricket, happening in 10 games.
Alastair Cook
A former captain of the English test side, Alastair Cook, has also scored the 5th most number of runs in Test cricket. Born on 25 December 1984 in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England, Cook retired from cricket at the early age of 34. He played his first Test match against India on 1 March 2006. The 37-year-old retired from Test cricket after playing 161 games and scoring 12,472 runs, including 33 centuries and 57 half-centuries. He holds the record for playing the most number of consecutive matches for a team in Test cricket, playing 159 of them at a streak.
Kumar Sangakkara
Born on 27 October 1977 in Matale, Sri Lanka, the left-handed Sri Lankan batter comes into the 6th spot on the list of all-time highest run scorers in Test cricket. Making his Test debut against South Africa on 20 July 2000, Sangakkara finished his 15-year-long Test career with 134 matches played and 12,400 runs scored. He had a batting average of 57.40 and scored 38 centuries and 52 half-centuries, with a top score of 349, in Test cricket. The 44-year-old has achieved the second most number of double hundreds in Test cricket and holds the record for being the fastest at reaching the milestones of 9,000-14,000 runs in one’s Test career.
Brian Lara
The Trinidadian cricket player, Brian Lara, is the seventh-highest run-scorer in Test cricket.
The destructive left-handed batter was born on 2 May 1969 in Santa Cruz, Trinidad and Tobago and played his first Test match against Pakistan on 6 December 1990. He had played 131 Test matches and scored 11,953 runs, including 34 centuries and 48 half-centuries, at an average of almost 53. Lara holds the record for achieving the highest individual score in a single Test inning, scoring an unbeaten 400 against England, and also for scoring the most number of
triple hundreds in Test cricket.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul
The former captain of the West Indies team, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, captured our last spot on the list. Known for his unusual batting stance, Chanderpaul was born on 16 August 1974 in Unity Village, Guyana, and played his first Test match against England on 17 March 1994. He ended his illustrious Test career with 11,867 runs and 164 games, with a batting average of 51. The 48-year-old has scored 30 centuries and 66 half-centuries in Test cricket. Changer Paul holds the record for achieving the highest number of half-centuries in consecutive innings in Test cricket, scoring seven on a streak.
These players have proved their mettle at the peak form of Test cricket. Their harsh and gritty attitudes, missing any notion of fear while batting, has made them Test cricket legends. But even after surviving the tortures of Test cricket, it is not particularly rewarding for the players. Day by day, an increasing number of people are losing interest in Test cricket because of the long duration of the games.
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