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
| Player | 1st Inn | 2nd Inn | Total Runs | Against | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Gooch (ENG) | 333 | 123 | 456 | India | Lord’s | 26 Jul 1990 |
| Mark Taylor (AUS) | 334* | 92 | 426 | Pakistan | Peshawar | 15 Oct 1998 |
| Kumar Sangakkara (SL) | 319 | 105 | 424 | Bangladesh | Chattogram | 04 Feb 2014 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 400* | – | 400 | England | St John’s | 10 Apr 2004 |
| Greg Chappell (AUS) | 247* | 133 | 380 | New Zealand | Wellington | 01 Mar 1974 |
| Matthew Hayden | 380 | – | 380 | Zimbabwe | Perth | 09 Oct 2003 |
| Andy Sandham (ENG) | 325 | 50 | 375 | West Indies | Kingston | 03 Apr 1930 |
| Brian Lara (WI) | 375 | DNB | 375 | England | St John’s | 16 Apr 1994 |
| Mahela Jayawardene (SL) | 374 | – | 374 | South Africa | Colombo (SSC) | 27 Jul 2006 |
| Garry Sobers (WI) | 365* | – | 365 | Pakistan | Kingston | 26 Feb 1958 |
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.
