Test cricket is always known for testing the patience level of both batsmen and bowlers. It is always seen that a team would start quite slowly, building tall opening partnerships, and then the other batters would take over them and lead the team to a massive team total.
Only sometimes do we see a team making totals of 600-650+. This has been because of the potent threat the bowling lineup always poses. But, with the harsh batting conditions, carrying the bat throughout is not easy in seaming conditions. Even in the subcontinent, it is challenging to have high scores.
India has been known for its defensive approach, at least from the batting perspective. Also, India would post such huge totals, and players scoring those daddy hundreds are also uncommon.
In this article, we will look at the top 5 Test team totals of the Indian Cricket Team.
5) 687/6d vs Bangladesh
- Venue: Hyderabad (Deccan), India
- Overs: 166
- Year: 2017
It was the only Test between the two sides played in that series. With the men in blue to bat first, we saw a massive total put up by the Indian cricket team. Kl Rahul got bowled at first, not troubling the scorecard much. Then came Cheteshwar Pujara, who, combined with the other opener in the team, Murali Vijay, laid the perfect foundation for the team to score big.
Cheteshwar failed to reach the three-digit mark; he hit a calm, composed 83 off 177 balls. On the other hand, Vijay went on to score a good hundred. Next came the former captain, Virat Kohli, who, as usual, was at it his best and showcased his masterclass by hitting a double century in his fourth consecutive Test series. He has had the knack of scoring those daddy hundreds consistently. The knock he played was at an astonishing strike rate of 82.93, which is excellent, considering we are talking about Test cricket.
Following him were some significant lower-order contributions made by Jinks, who scored a valuable 82, and Saha, who made a good century. Also, the two good cameos from the twin spin duo of Jadeja and Ashwin made helped India reach 687 with a loss of 6 wickets.
4) 705/7d vs Australia
- Venue: Sydney, Australia
- Overs: 187.3
- Year: 2004
This was the first instance wherein India crossed that 700+ runs mark in Test cricket. But, of course, India needed a combined effort from all the players to make it possible. But, it did happen with the openers, Aakash Chopra and Virender Sehwag giving a quick start, with one scoring 45 and the latter 72. Dravid couldn’t do much, though.
Then came Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar, who hit his second-highest Test score ever, an unbeaten 241, by hitting 33 boundaries and many singles and doubles. The great Laxman played an unforgettable innings, too – a gritty knock of 178 runs, followed by a counterattacking reversal of Parthiv Patel, which came at a strike rate of 124.
3) 707/10 vs Sri Lanka
- Venue: Colombo SSC, Sri Lanka
- Overs: 225.2
- Year: 2010
Having Sri Lanka put up a massive score of 642/4d, it wouldn’t be an easy task upfront for the Indian batting lineup. And the Indian team didn’t disappoint a bit. We got glimpses of Vintage Sehwag, who scored 99 at almost run-a-ball with Vijay partnering him; he scored 58. Unfortunately, Rahul Dravid couldn’t do much that day as he fell into the trap of Randiv’s delivery.
Next comes Sachin Tendulkar, who did take his good enough time. He made yet another double century. Next, Suresh Raina played a handy knock of 120, arriving at six, followed by Dhoni’s 76 and a few handy runs hit by the lower-order batsmen.
2) 726/9d vs Sri Lanka
- Venue: Brabourne, India
- Overs: 163.3
- Year: 2009
One would always yearn to see the openers laying a good foundation for the team to score a massive team total. So what could have been better than one opener scoring 87 and the other one going to hit a humongous knock of 293, that too at a strike rate of 115.35? Yes, this was made possible in Test cricket. Only vintage Viru could have done that, and he did so impressively, smashing bowlers for fun hitting 40 boundaries and seven maximums in the course of his innings. Three fifties followed this by the walking-in batters and a good hundred hit by MS Dhoni.
1) 759/7d vs England
- Venue: Chennai, India
- Overs: 190.4
- Year: 2016
Time for the highest Test team total India has ever hit. England scored an excellent 477 runs in their first innings. To counter that, India had a challenging task waiting for them, which turned out to be relatively straightforward. Kl Rahul started with a magnificent innings. The Mangalore lad, unfortunately, got out at 199, just a whisker away before reaching his what could have been maiden double century in Test cricket.
Another cracker of an innings was played by the man, who is no longer in talks about even being in the squad, let about being in the playing 11. Karun Nair it is. This guy hit a triple century, and yes, that was the last match he ever played for India in the whites. It was an outstanding knock, wherein he hit 32 boundaries and 4 big hits out of the ground striking at 79.52, scoring 303 not out. Two good cameo innings followed this magnificent knock of Nair by Ashwin and Jadeja, both hitting half-centuries.
