Stats: Most balls faced in a Test innings in India

By Sampath Bandarupalli

Updated - 19 Mar 2017, 18:22 IST

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52 Min Read

A marathon knock from Cheteshwar Pujara which lasted for over 11 hours ensured India took first innings lead at the JSCA Stadium at Ranchi in the ongoing 3rd Test match of the series against Australia. Pujara struck his 3rd double century in his Test career as he scored 202 off 525 balls.

By facing 505 balls in the innings, Pujara broke the Indian record for most balls faced in a Test inning and became the first Indian player to face 500 deliveries in an innings in Test cricket. He went past his idol Rahul Dravid’s 495-ball record knock that he had played against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 2004.  Dravid recorded his career best score of 270 during that innings.

Pujara hit 21 fours during his 668 minutes marathon innings and brought up his double century in 521 balls, the slowest double century by an Indian in Test cricket.

Here is the list of Indian players who have faced most balls in a Test inning:

Player Runs Mins Balls 4s 6s Inns Opposition Ground Start Date
CA Pujara 202 525 21 0 2 Australia Ranchi 16-Mar-17
R Dravid 270 740 495 34 1 2 Pakistan Rawalpindi 13-Apr-04
NS Sidhu 201 673 491 19 1 2 West Indies Port of Spain 14-Mar-97
RJ Shastri 206 572 477 17 2 2 Australia Sydney 2-Jan-92
SM Gavaskar 172 708 472 19 0 2 England Bengaluru 9-Dec-81
R Dravid 217 629 468 28 0 2 England The Oval 5-Sep-02
VVS Laxman 281 631 452 44 0 3 Australia Kolkata 11-Mar-01
R Dravid 233 594 446 23 1 2 Australia Adelaide 12-Dec-03
SM Gavaskar 221 490 443 21 0 4 England The Oval 30-Aug-79
AD Gaekwad 201 671 436 17 0 2 Pakistan Jalandhar 24-Sep-83

Pujara, in fact, also broke the record for the most balls faced by any player in a Test inning in India. He went past Pakistan legend Younis Khan, who faced 504 balls in his innings at Bangalore in 2005.

Most balls faced in a Test innings in India.

Player Team Runs Mins Balls 4s 6s Inns Opposition Ground Start Date
CA Pujara INDIA 202 525 21 0 2 Australia Ranchi 16-Mar-17
Younis Khan PAK 267 690 504 32 1 1 India Bengaluru 24-Mar-05
HM Amla SA 253* 675 473 22 0 1 India Nagpur 6-Feb-10
SM Gavaskar INDIA 172 708 472 19 0 2 England Bengaluru 9-Dec-81
AJ Hall SA 163 588 454 17 0 1 India Kanpur 20-Nov-04

(Stats updated till 19th March 2017)

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