In the Test format, teams need excellent opening batters who can face the new ball eminently. The opening phase of an innings is crucial, where the momentum can either be set or put off track for the rest of the innings.
India, a batting powerhouse, has produced many of the greatest Test batters in its history. Among those were the likes of Sunil Gavaskar, Virender Sehwag, and Gautam Gambhir, who stamped their authority with splendid batting as openers.
Here are the top 10 Indian openers who have scored the most runs in Test cricket.
Most Runs by an Indian Opener in Tests
| Player | Innings | Runs as Opener | High Score | Avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunil Gavaskar | 203 | 9607 | 221 | 50.29 |
| Virender Sehwag | 168 | 8124 | 319 | 50.14 |
| Gautam Gambhir | 101 | 4119 | 206 | 42.90 |
| Murali Vijay | 100 | 3880 | 167 | 39.19 |
| Navjot Sidhu | 69 | 2911 | 201 | 42.80 |
| KL Rahul | 83 | 2803 | 199 | 35.03 |
| Rohit Sharma | 66 | 2697 | 212 | 42.80 |
| Shikhar Dhawan | 58 | 2315 | 190 | 40.61 |
| Pankaj Roy | 74 | 2220 | 173 | 31.71 |
| Chetan Chauhan | 67 | 2069 | 97 | 31.83 |
Key Insights
9607: Sunil Gavaskar leads the run chart among Indian openers in the Test format. The legendary batter amassed 9607 runs in 203 innings at an impeccable average of 50.29. Gavaskar’s batting average is also the best for an Indian opener.
20: So far, only 2 Indian opening batters have smashed 20+ centuries in the longer format. Gavaskar again leads the pack with 33 hundreds, followed by Virender Sehwag with 22 tons.
300: Virender Sehwag, the fastest triple century in Tests.
0: Among the openers with 2000+ Test runs, Chetan Chauhan never scored a hundred in the whites. He mustered 16 fifties but couldn’t convert a single one into a century. Chauhan did come close to a hundred on 2 occasions, though he lost his wicket in the nervous nineties (93 & 97).
