How many Indian players have batted on all five days of a Test match?

Australian opener Usman Khawaja achieved a rare feat during his stupendous performance in the Edgbaston Test against England that ended on Tuesday, June 20. He joined a small list of cricketers who have batted on each day of a Test match.

Khawaja was the Player of the Match for his exceptional batting effort in the opening Ashes 2023 Test as Australia beat England by two wickets in a thrilling encounter. England won the toss and opted to bat first in the game. They declared before end of play on Day 1 and Khawaja was unbeaten at stumps.

The in-form left-hander batted through Day 2 of the Edgbaston Test and returned unbeaten on 126. He was dismissed for 141 on Day 3. After England were bowled out for 273 on the penultimate day of the Test, Khawaja went to stumps at 34*.

The southpaw was eventually dismissed for 65 off 197 balls on Day 5, having occupied the crease for 318 minutes in his second innings.

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Indians who have batted on all five days of a Test match

There are three Indian players who have batted on each of the five days of a Test. In fact, the first player to bat on each day of a five-day Test match was an Indian.

The late ML Jaisimha achieved the feat against Australia at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in January 1960. Jaisimha scored an unbeaten 20 in the first innings and 74 in the second in the drawn encounter.

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has also batted on each of the five days of a Test match. He also did so at Eden Gardens, against England in 1984/85. Shastri scored 111 off 357 balls in India’s first innings and an unbeaten seven off 50 balls in the second. This match also ended in a draw.

The third Indian player to bat on all five days of a Test match was Cheteshwar Pujara. The No. 3 batter also achieved the feat at the iconic Eden Gardens in a game against Sri Lanka in November 2017. Pujara scored 52 off 117 in the first innings and 22 off 51 in the second. This Test too ended in a stalemate.

Overall, Khawaja is only the 13th player to bat on each of the five days of a Test match. Apart from the three Indians mentioned above, the others on the list are Geoff Boycott, Kim Hughes, Allan Lamb, Adrian Griffith, Andrew Flintoff, Alviro Petersen, Rory Burns, Kraigg Brathwaite, and Tagenarine Chanderpaul.