Test Cricket is the pinnacle of our sport in which every player dreams of representing his country. Test performances immortalise a player and set him in an elite list. Indian cricket has always given emphasis to Test cricket.
Nothing gives more satisfaction to a batsman than celebrating a Test ton in whites. Over the years we have seen several great hundreds been made by great Indian batsmen in red-ball cricket. From Sunil Gavaskar to Sachin Tendulkar and now Virat Kohli, Test cricket in Indian continues to remain the top priority of great Indian cricketers.
Even though the strike rate in Test cricket isn’t given much interest but there has been a time when some Indian batsman have dominated like a match of ODI. But who has hit the fastest Test century among Indian batsmen in Test cricket?
Here are the 5 Fastest Test Centuries scored By Indian Batsmen:
5. Hardik Pandya
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya struck in maiden Test match ton against Sri Lanka in 2017. Riding high on his success in the Champions Trophy, the Indian all-rounder hit an 86 ball hundred taking the Sri Lankan bowlers to the cleaners.
In that innings, he also smashed 26 runs in a single over which is a record for any Indian batsman. Pandya scored 108 runs in which he hit seven huge sixes and played a special Test match innings.
4. Shikhar Dhawan
The swashbuckling opener from Delhi, Shikhar Dhawan in his very first Test match annihilated the bowling attack of Australia. The southpaw struck an 85 ball century which is the fastest for any player in their debut match.
Dhawan lit up Mohali with his exquisite stroke play and scored runs all around the ground. He took the match away from Australia as he batted at a strike rate of over 100 in the entire innings. Dhawan ended his innings at 187 in which he smashed 33 boundaries and 2 maximums.
3. Virender Sehwag
The ‘Nawab of Najafgarh’ has to feature in this list after all he completely changed the definition of Test match batting in Indian cricket. Virender Sehwag was known for his destructive batting against the new ball who never really cared about what the match situation way. He saw the ball and hit it during his entire career and scored over 8K runs at a strike rate of 83.
Sehwag hit his fastest Test ton against a helpless West Indies bowling attack in just 78 deliveries. The opening batsman scored 180 runs that included 20 fours and 2 sixes in his majestic knock.
2. Mohammad Azharuddin
One of the pillars of India’s batting line up in the 1990s Mohammad Azharuddin is next in the list of fastest Test centuries by Indian batsmen. The former Indian skipper in 1996 against South Africa at Eden Gardens batted like a dream.
The stylish wristy batsman scored India’s joint fastest Test hundred in just 74 balls. Azharuddin in his knock of 109 runs struck 18 boundaries and one six.
1. Kapil Dev
Arguably the greatest cricketer India has ever produced Kapil Dev is at the numero uno spot. A player who was well ahead of time very often produced some remarkable knocks during his legendary career.
Way back in 1986, Kapil Dev at Kanpur against Sri Lanka celebrated a 74 ball century. The former World Cup-winning captain taught the bowling attack of Sri Lanka a harsh lesson and scored 163 runs. He completely tore apart the entire Sri Lankan bowling attack.
34 years later no Indian batsman has been able to break Kapil’s record and he still has the fastest Test ton by an Indian.