Sachin Tendulkar’s name is synonymous with cricketing records, isn’t it? And here he is topping yet another chart like a boss.
In a format where batters have a hard time scoring runs, Tendulkar showed the art of batting with grit and determination. And his batting excellence is pretty much visible from the number of 50+ scores he amassed throughout his career.
On that note, let’s look at the top 10 batters with the most 50+ scores in Test cricket.
Most 50+ Scores in Tests
| Player | Innings | 50+ Scores | 100s | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sachin Tendulkar (IND) | 329 | 119 | 51 | 68 |
| Joe Root (ENG) | 288 | 105 | 39 | 66 |
| Jacques Kallis (SA) | 280 | 103 | 45 | 58 |
| Ricky Ponting (AUS) | 287 | 103 | 41 | 62 |
| Rahul Dravid (IND) | 286 | 99 | 36 | 63 |
| Shivnarine Chanderpaul (WI) | 280 | 96 | 30 | 66 |
| Allan Border (AUS) | 265 | 90 | 27 | 63 |
| Alastair Cook (ENG) | 291 | 90 | 33 | 57 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 233 | 90 | 38 | 52 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 252 | 84 | 34 | 50 |
Key Insights
119: Sachin Tendulkar has the most 50-plus scores in Test cricket. The Master Blaster converted his starts into 119 50-plus scores in the longest format. And all of those knocks came as a middle-order batter for India. Furthermore, he leads the chart in the ODI format as well.
51: Moreover, Tendulkar has smashed the most centuries in Test cricket for India. His tally of 51 hundreds is almost unbreakable.
55: All the Fab 4 batters — Joe Root, Steven Smith, Kane Williamson, and Virat Kohli — have crossed 55 or more 50+ scores in their respective Test careers. Root, the former England captain, is inching closer to the 100 mark.
50: There are over 105 batters who have 50+ knocks of 50 or more runs in the Test format.
12: Australia’s greatest batter, Don Bradman, amassed 42 50-plus scores in 80 innings. Bradman converted 12 out of those 42 knocks into 200-plus scores — the most double centuries by a batter in the longer format.
86: Out of Alastair Cook’s 90 50+ scores, 86 came while batting as an opener. This is the most 50-plus scores by an opener in Test cricket.
23: Daniel Vettori, who is among the top 5 Test wicket-takers for New Zealand, has 23 scores of 50 or more runs in red-ball cricket. His handy batting lower down the order earns him the tag of most 50-plus scores by a tailender (No. 8 to 11).
