5 Indian Captains who have scored double hundred in test cricket: Test cricket is the oldest and the most beautiful format of cricket. Undoubtedly, test cricket is the pinnacle form of the game and is a treat to watch for any die-hard cricket fan. Test cricket began in 1877 with England and Australia taking on each other. In the case of India, it took 55 years to play their first-ever test match in 1932.
India debuted the game in 1932 against England under the leadership of CK Nayudu and since then Indian test team has been led by 32 different captains over 89 years. Interestingly, just 5 of those players have been able to score a double hundred while captaining India. Today, we are going to mention the five captains who scored a double hundred for India.
5. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi – 1
Veteran MAK Pataudi was the first Indian captain to score a Test double hundred in the year 1964. He achieved the feat against England in Delhi. It was a special knock as it came in the third innings of the match after India conceded a lead of 107 runs after the first innings.
In the marathon innings, Pataudi hit 23 boundaries and two sixes for his innings of 203 runs. Along with Budhi Kunderan (100 runs), the Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, Pataudi took India’s score to 463 and helped India draw the match.
4. Sunil Gavaskar – 1
Second, on the list, we have Sunil Gavaskar, often known as the Little Master. Gavaskar scored a brilliant 205 against the West Indies in 1978. It was the first match of the six-match test series when the mighty West Indies toured India and Mumbai became the witness of the masterclass.
Gavaskar played 342 deliveries and hit as many as 29 boundaries alongside two sixes in his innings of 205 runs. After his double hundred in the first innings, he scored a half-century in the second innings as India drew the match.
3. Sachin Tendulkar – 1
The Master Blaster, not recognized as one of the finest Indian captains, has got a Test double century to his name as the captain of India. His innings of 217 runs came against New Zealand in 1999 during New Zealand’s tour of India.
In the third match of the series, Sachin scored a brilliant 217 runs off 344 balls in the first innings. India posted 587 runs but still could not win, as NZ successfully drew the Test.
2. MS Dhoni – 1
Dhoni became the first test captain of India to win a match after scoring a double hundred. He achieved the feat in 2013 against Australia in Chennai.
Dhoni smashed 6 sixes in his knock of 224 runs off 265 deliveries along with 24 fours. MSD was the man of the match as India beat Australia comfortably by eight wickets in the first test match of the series.
1. Virat Kohli – 7
Kohli, one of the modern-day era’s greatest batsmen, has left every player way behind in this competition. He has scored a total of 7 Test double hundreds, all of them coming while captaining India.
The first of them came against the West Indies in 2016 in Antigua, whereas the latest one being scored against South Africa in 2019 in Pune. He scored his first four double tons in 4 consecutive Test series against WI, NZ, England, and Bangladesh.
The following two came against SL in 2017 in two consecutive test matches, while the last came against SA in 2019. Kohli hasn’t scored any century since 2019 yet we expect the king to come back strong with his eighth double ton soon.
