Highest Individual Scores by Indian Captains in Test Cricket

This article explores the record-breaking batting achievements of Indian captains in Test cricket, highlighting historic milestones and legendary performances.

Table of Contents

Toggle

Highest Individual Scores by Indian Captains in Tests

Player	Score (Balls)	4s/6s	Innings	Against	Venue	Match Date
Shubman Gill	269 (387)	30/3	1	England	Birmingham	2 Jul 2025
Virat Kohli	254* (336)	33/2	1	South Africa	Pune	10 Oct 2019
Virat Kohli	243 (287)	25/0	1	Sri Lanka	Delhi	2 Dec 2017
Virat Kohli	235 (340)	25/1	2	England	Wankhede	8 Dec 2016
MS Dhoni	224 (265)	24/6	2	Australia	Chennai	22 Feb 2013
Sachin Tendulkar	217 (344)	29/0	1	New Zealand	Ahmedabad	29 Oct 1999
Virat Kohli	213 (267)	17/2	2	Sri Lanka	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017
Virat Kohli	211 (366)	20/0	1	New Zealand	Indore	8 Oct 2016
Sunil Gavaskar	205 (342)	29/2	1	West Indies	Wankhede	1 Dec 1978
Virat Kohli	204 (246)	24/0	1	Bangladesh	Hyderabad	9 Feb 2017
Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi	203* (NA)	23/2	3	England	Delhi	8 Feb 1964
Virat Kohli	200 (283)	24/0	1	West Indies	North Sound	21 Jul 2016

Want to see how these legends perform in white-ball cricket? Check out the top Indian captaincy knocks in ODIs here and T20Is here.

Key Insights on Record Batting Performances by Indian Test Captains

Double Centuries and Historic Individual Scores as Indian Test Skippers

Shubman Gill has racked up the highest individual score as an Indian captain in Test cricket, scoring 269 against England in the first innings of the 2025 Birmingham Test.

Shubman Gill added a 161-run knock in the third innings of the same Test, making him the first Indian captain to score a double century and a hundred in the same Test match. Here are all the records Shubman Gill broke in this Test match.

Virat Kohli has recorded the highest individual score by an Indian captain in a home Test, scoring an unbeaten 254 against South Africa in the 2019 Pune Test.

Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi was the first Indian captain to score a double hundred in Tests, having struck an unbeaten 203 against England in the 1964 Delhi Test.

MS Dhoni’s 224 against Australia in 2013 remains the highest individual score by an Indian wicketkeeper-captain in Tests.

Check: Everything You Need to Know About Indian Double Centurions

Boundary Records and Leading Century Makers

Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 254 included 33 fours, the most by an Indian captain in a single Test innings.

Shubman Gill’s 161 in Birmingham included eight sixes, the most by a captain for India in a single Test innings.

Virat Kohli has smashed the most double centuries as an Indian captain in Tests, with seven knocks to his name.

Virat Kohli also holds the record for the most Test centuries among Indian skippers, with 20 scores of 100-plus.

MS Dhoni has scored the most Test hundreds as an Indian keeper-captain, with five knocks.

Fourth Innings Heroics and Away Milestones as Indian Captain

Virat Kohli’s 141-run knock in the 2014 Adelaide Test is the highest by an Indian skipper in the fourth innings of a Test match.

Mohammad Azharuddin is the only other Indian captain to score a Test hundred in the fourth innings, with a score of 106 against Australia in 1992.

Kapil Dev holds the record for the highest individual score by an Indian captain in an away ODI (175* in 1983), but in Tests, Shubman Gill’s 269 in Birmingham is the new benchmark for captains playing overseas.

Sunil Gavaskar (107 & 182* vs WI, 1978) and Virat Kohli (115 & 141 vs AUS, 2014) are the only other Indian captains alongside Shubman Gill to record twin centuries in a single Test.

Saurabh Chede

Saurabh is a cricket enthusiast who crafts content around the sport. Being from a cricket-crazy nation, he developed an unbreakable bond with the sport. When he's not watching cricket, you'll find him creating funny memes or watching old TMKOC episodes!