Only a few Indian batsmen have been able to put on a rocking show at the Oval
The Oval in Kennington, London, is a world-renowned cricket venue, set to host the fifth and final game between England and India in the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Given how tricky English conditions have always been, over the decades, only a handful of Indian batters have managed to register decent high scores in a single innings.
Ahead of the game, take a look at the highest scores registered by Indian batters in a Test match at the Oval.
In 1979, the fourth Test match of India’s tour in England was played at the Oval. Batting first, England had put 305 runs on the board, but in response, India succumbed to 202. Gavaskar had only managed 13 runs as an opener in the first innings.
The second innings saw England score 334 runs, but this time, a determined Gavaskar took the onus on himself and went on a rampage against the English bowlers, scoring 221 runs in 443 balls. Nearly four decades have gone by, but this remains the highest score by an Indian in a Test innings at the Oval.
In 2002, India’s tour of England featured the fourth game hosted at the Oval. Batting first, Michael Vaughan stole the show with his 195 runs, helping England put up 515 in the first innings. India’s openers faltered, but then came a young Rahul Dravid, who put on one of the finest batting displays ever seen on English soil.
Rahul came pretty close to Gavaskar’s record but missed by whiskers, i.e., only by five runs, as he got out at 217 runs in 468. To date, Rahul Dravid is the only Indian batter to have two Test centuries at the Oval.
In 1990, India posted one of its largest totals against England in a Test match, thanks to Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev. Opening the act, Shastri scored 187 runs in 436 balls at a strike rate of 42.88, including 23 fours. Down the order, Kapil Dev also joined Shastri’s party, hitting 110 runs off 142 balls, helping India post 606 runs. Despite the effort by India’s two stalwarts, the match ended in a draw.
The Oval game in 2018 did not go in India’s favour, as England secured a victory by 118 runs. However, despite India’s loss, two people stole the show. One of them was KL Rahul with his 149 runs in 224 balls at a strike rate of 66.51. The other player was Rishabh Pant, who had 114 runs in 146 balls.
As mentioned earlier, Rahul Dravid is the only player with two Test centuries at the Oval. After his 217 in 2002, he scored 146 runs in the 2011 Oval Test. In the first innings, when five of India’s 11 batting line-up left with single digits on the board, Dravid stayed 146 not-out trying to salvage the situation. Unfortunately, India lost the match by an inning and eight runs.
