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InDepth headlines national business sports cricket regional entertainment technology world travel autos health | in-depth coverage > 2004 - The Year That Was > Top five Indian Test innings in 2004 12.38 IST 31st Dec 2004 By Manish Kumar 
Though Virender Sehwag notched up the first triple century by an Indian, it is Maestro Sachin Tendulkar who finished 2004 with the best average in Test cricket for India.But Sehwag belted out the best batting performance of the year 2004 by becoming the first Indian in Test history to hit a triple hundred. In the first Test against archrivals Pakistan in Multan in March-April’04, Sehwag hit a blistering knock of 309 runs and India won the Test by an innings and 52 runs. Indian vice-captain Rahul Dravid’s career-best knock of 270 in the third Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in April is the second best innings by an Indian in 2004. After having failed in both the previous two Tests, Dravid made sure that he didn’t leave Pakistan without hitting a century and his knock was instrumental in India winning the Test by an innings and 131 runs. The next three highest Test scores came from the blade of Sachin. The great man rubbished critics’ claims that he was past his prime hitting three centuries (of which two were double) and two half-centuries at a mind-blowing average of 91.50. Sachin hit a career-best 248 not out in the first innings of the first Test against Bangladesh in December’04 as India won the Test by an innings and 140 runs. During this effort, Sachin also joined Sunil Gavaskar at the top of the batting summit with 34 centuries. Sachin had started the year 2004 with a bang hitting an unbeaten 241 at his favourite ground – the SCG in Sydney in the fourth Test against Australia in January. The Aussies had to fight hard to save Steve Waugh’s last battle and the Test ended in a draw. The next Test that India played after Sydney was against Pakistan in Multan in March-April’04. And Sachin continued with his form hitting an unbeaten 194 in the Indian first innings as India won the Test by an innings and 52 runs. That he remained not out in all his top three knocks of 248, 241 and 194, shows the strength of Sachin’s mental and physical character. Sachin played 10 Tests in 2004 to score 915 runs at an average of 91.50, while Sehwag and Dravid played 12 Tests each to accumulate 1141 and 946 runs at an average of 63.38 and 63.06 respectively. Indian skipper Sourav Ganguly and V V S Laxman had a relatively quiet 2004. Ganguly played 8 Tests to score 408 runs at an average of 45.33, while Laxman played 12 Tests to score 513 runs at an average of 32.06. Ganguly didn’t hit a century in the whole year and Laxman hit only one – 178 against Australia in Sydney in the very first Test of the year. in-depth coverage > 2004 - The Year That Was > |
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