Most Runs by a Batter in a Single Test Match

A batter’s mastery with the bat reflects in their consistent performances, match after match. To do this in the Test format is a testament to the batter’s skills and endurance.

Accumulating a triple-digit score in a Test is a great achievement, and following up that with another one in the same match is an even bigger accomplishment. A few notable batters have displayed their penchant for scoring huge runs across both innings in a single Test match.

Here are the top 10 instances of batters who have scored the most runs in a single Test match.

Most Runs by a Batter in a Test Match

Key Insights

456: England’s Graham Gooch holds the record for scoring the most runs in a Test match across 2 innings combined. The prolific English batter wielded his willow against India at Lord’s, scoring 333 in the 1st innings and 123 in the 2nd innings. His 2 innings scores aggregated 456 runs, and the record has been untouched since 1990.

2: Only 2 batters have followed up their triple centuries with a hundred in one match in the Test format. Besides Gooch, Kumar Sangakkara is the other batter to achieve this feat against Bangladesh. 

400: This is the most runs scored by a batter in a single innings. The West Indies batting maestro Brian Lara amassed 400* runs against England — the highest individual score in the red-ball format. 

350: Lara’s hunger for accumulating huge scores can be seen from his three 350+ aggregate runs in Test matches. He is the only batter with three 350+ runs combined across 2 innings in a Test match. Apart from the 2 instances listed above, Lara garnered 351 runs — 221 in the 1st innings and 130 in the 2nd innings — against Sri Lanka in 2001. (Check out Brian Lara’s double centuries in Test cricket here.)

300: There are over 60 instances of batters who have accumulated 300 or more runs in a single match.