No cricketer playing the wonderful sport sets out on the field in an attempt to make or break some record. It is their impressive display in the game and consistent performances to follow later that they make their way into record books of cricket. Had the players thought about it before approaching the encounter, the burden of the milestone might have weighed down the supreme batsmanship of the player and it may well lead to a sudden slump in the blossoming career. The majority of the batsmen, who have played the game at the highest level, didn’t pay any heed to such personal glory and hence could carve a remarkable career for themselves. It is their hard work, perseverance and commitment to the sport that they wrote some unique records against their name and earned a special place in the heart of cricket fanatics. We will be talking about one such record in the present article. In the below piece, we look at 5 batsmen to score the most runs in their first 100 Tests:
1. Brian Lara – 8916
Carrying the legacy forward of his abled predecessors like Richards, Sobers and Weekes, Lara came out as a modern-day great in world cricket. He had stroked 8916 runs in his first 100 Tests.
Inspite of possessing one of the most unique stance in world cricket, Lara found a way to score big and that too at a faster clip. He was quick on his feet and played both the front-foot and back-foot shots with aplomb.
The younger generation can take a leaf out of his batting masterclass, which was all about precision, timing and temperament than the technical aspect of it. Lara had smashed 11953 runs from 131 Tests at an average of 52.88 and had 34 centuries to his name.
2. Kumar Sangakkara – 8651
One of the Sri Lankan legends, Sangakkara had scored 8651 runs in his first 100 Tests. The southpaw came into the national side as a classical batsman, who had an appetite for slamming big knocks and could single-handedly blow away the opposition.
His wicket-keeping wasn’t the greatest when he first burst onto the scene but his stellar batting always kept him afloat, making it impossible for the selectors to displace him taking into account his sloppy glovework.
As the years progressed, Sangakkara corrected the flaws that existed in his keeping and came out as an immaculate keeper-batsman for the country. Given his captaincy stint in Test cricket, he had to give away his keeping but continue to do so in the white-ball formats.
His record-breaking partnerships with fellow countrymen, Jayawardene are widely known and with their retirement, Sri Lanka still hasn’t figured out the batting pair, who could be able successors to these stalwarts of the game. Sangakkara had blasted 12400 runs from 134 Tests at an average of 57.40 with 38 centuries.
3. Younis Khan – 8640
One of the batting greats from Pakistan, Younis had struck 8640 runs in his first 100 Tests. The hard-hitting right-hander had established his reputation as the one who would bail the team out of trouble in testing times.
Unlike other batsmen, who crumble under pressure, Younis trusted his batsmanship to garner runs and throw the bowlers off their rhythm. It is this counterattacking cricket that made the opposition bowlers and the captain think differently and even bestowed a renewed confidence to the batsman at the non-striker’s end.
Younis’s greatness can be ascertained from the fact that he achieved maximum success in the fourth innings when there is extra help for the bowlers to deal a final blow. The man had scored runs almost everywhere and this rich mix of aggression and composure had a huge role to play in the same. Younis had hammered 10099 runs from 118 Tests at an average of 52.05 and had 34 centuries to his name.
4. Rahul Dravid – 8553
‘The Wall of Indian cricket’, Dravid had amassed 8553 runs in his first 100 Tests. The right-hander has to be the last technically sound, classical Indian batsman, who never defied his astute skills to achieve success at the international level.
Be it the Test format or 2 white-ball formats, Dravid played with the same technique, often acting as a glue that held the Indian innings together. He did face a lot of criticism for his one-paced, one-dimensional play, even getting dropped from the limited-overs side, but continued to be at his best at the Test arena.
His patience, grit, determination and ability to bat for long hours was impossible to be displaced and the man is doing a phenomenal job even after his retirement, helping the younger lot realize their potential and make it big for the country. Dravid had hit 13288 runs from 164 Tests at an average of 52.31, including 36 tons.
5. Joe Root – 8507
England’s current Test captain, Root has mustered 8507 runs in his first 100 Tests. One of the important members among the Fab 4 batsmen in world cricket, Root is doing a phenomenal job as a skipper leading a bunch of experienced and younger men.
It is his free-flowing batsmanship that has earned him all the praise and accolades and also saw the England selectors thrust the captaincy responsibilities onto his shoulders. The right-hander is unique in the way he approaches his game, he looks to push the ball into vacant spaces and run hard between wickets.
Unlike most other English batsmen, Root is a prolific player of spin-bowling, who uses both the conventional and reverse-sweeps to garner runs against them. It won’t be early if we predict Root to shatter all the esteemed records held by his predecessors. The batsman has plundered 8546 runs from 101 Tests at an average of 49.97, including 20 centuries.
