Batting Records

Top 10: Indian Batters with Most Runs in a Bilateral Test Series

India is a prosperous land known for producing some of the best batters in the cricketing world. The Indian batters have excelled at scoring bagful of runs with their grit and skills.

Over time, as the batters don the whites for India, they develop a fondness for taking on formidable opponents. That translates into a penchant for accumulating runs against the opponent in a bilateral series.

This article will list the top 10 instances of Indian batters with the most runs in a Test series.

Most Runs in a Test Series for India

Player Innings Runs Avg High Score Test Series
Sunil Gavaskar 8 774 154.80 220 West Indies vs India, 1971
Sunil Gavaskar 9 732 91.50 205 India vs West Indies, 1978/79
Yashasvi Jaiswal 9 712 89.00 214* India vs England, 2024
Virat Kohli 8 692 86.50 169 Australia vs India, 2014/15
Virat Kohli 8 655 109.16 235 India vs England, 2016
Dilip Sardesai 8 642 80.25 212 West Indies vs India, 1971
Rahul Dravid 8 619 123.80 233 Australia vs India, 2003/04
Virat Kohli 5 610 152.50 243 India vs Sri Lanka, 2017
Rahul Dravid 6 602 100.33 217 England vs India, 2002
Mohinder Amarnath 9 598 66.44 117 West Indies vs India, 1983

Key Insights

Only 2 Indian batters have breached the landmark of 700+ runs in a bilateral Test series. Renowned batter Sunil Gavaskar did so twice, both against the West Indies, and a young Yashasvi Jaiswal accomplished it against England.

Gavaskar’s 774 runs are the most by any batter in a debut Test series. He showcased his mettle against the West Indies on the 1971 Caribbean tour. With that, Gavaskar became the first-ever batter to amass 700+ runs in a Test series for India.

4 centuries each, notched up by Sunil Gavaskar and Virat Kohli, are the most for India in a bilateral Test series. Gavaskar scored 4 centuries twice against the West Indies, while Kohli levelled the record in 2014 against Australia. (Check out Virat Kohli’s Test record against all teams here.)

Vinoo Mankad, Kohli, and Jaiswal hammered 2 double centuries each in a single series.