Cheteshwar Pujara broke the record for the most deliveries faced by an Indian batsman in an innings in Test cricket during his knock against Australia at Ranchi.
Having faced 525 deliveries during his innings of 202, the Saurashtra batsman broke the previous record held by Rahul Dravid. The former India captain had faced 495 balls during his knock of 270 against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2004.
Pujara’s innings is also the longest in terms of deliveries faced in a Test in India, bettering the record held by Pakistan’s Younis Khan [504].
During his marathon knock, Pujara hit 21 fours as he guided India to a first innings lead over Australia in the third Test.
Apart from Pujara and Dravid, other Indian batsmen to have faced over 470 deliveries in a Test innings include Navjot Singh Sidhu, Ravi Shastri, and Sunil Gavaskar.
The all-time record for the longest innings, in terms of number of balls faced, is held by England great Sir Len Hutton who faced 847 deliveries during his epic knock of 364 against Australia at The Oval in 1938.
The number of deliveries faced by Hanif Mohammad during his 337 against the West Indies in 1958, where he batted for 970 minutes, is unknown.
Here, we look at the top five batsmen who have faced the most deliveries in an innings for India.
No. | Player | Opposition | Score | Balls Faced | Venue | Year |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Cheteshwar Pujara | Australia | 202 | 525 | Ranchi | 2017 |
2 | Rahul Dravid | Pakistan | 270 | 495 | Rawalpindi | 2004 |
3 | Navjot Singh Sidhu | West Indies | 201 | 491 | Port of Spain | 1997 |
4 | Ravi Shastri | Australia | 206 | 477 | Sydney | 1992 |
5 | Sunil Gavaskar | England | 172 | 472 | Bengaluru | 1981 |