Stats: Rohit Sharma joins elite list after scoring 303 runs in the first Test against South Africa

Rohit Sharma has taken the opening in Tests like a fish in the water. While the right-handed batsman opens in limited-over cricket and is arguably the best in the world, there were apprehensions that he might struggle against red-ball which is completely a different ball game. However, it did not take long for Rohit Sharma to put those apprehensions on the bed.

After batting in the middle-order in Tests since making his debut in 2013, Rohit Sharma was tried out as an opener in the ongoing first Test against South Africa and the result so far has been absolutely outstanding. He scored a century in both the innings of the match to put India in the driver’s seat. The Mumbai star scored 176 runs in the first innings before backing it up with a fine knock of 127.

Rohit looked at ease throughout his knock and was almost toying with the South African bowlers. He slammed his 127 from just 149 balls with the help of 10 fours and 7 maximums. Riding on the opener’s knock, India piled up 323 for 4 to set the Proteas an improbable target of 395. At the end of the day, South Africa were 11 for 1 with Ravindra Jadeja picking up the important wicket of Dean Elgar.

Most runs in one game

Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, added several feathers to his cap after scoring his second century of the match. One of them was to join the list of Indian players with most runs in a single Test. Rohit became just the eighth Indian to score more than 300 runs in a Test and incredibly he is the only player in the current squad to have achieved it.

Rohit’s aggregate from the match is 303 runs. The list is led by former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar who scored 344 against West Indies in 1971. Gavaskar is followed by VVS Laxman who scored 340 runs in the famous Eden Gardens Test against Australia in 2001. Virender Sehwag is the only player from India to score more than 300 runs in a game twice.

Karun Nair is the only other active player in the list for his famous triple century against England in 2016. Nair had played a historic knock of 303 to become just the second Indian to score a Test century after Sehwag. The other stalwarts in the list are Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid.

List of Indian cricketers with 300+ runs in a Test