Perth (Australia): Southpaw Opener Yashasvi Jaiswal broke current India coach and former cricketer Gautam Gambhir's 16-year-old record on Day 2 of the Perth Test on Saturday, November 23, 2024. Jaiswal has surpassed Gambhir's tally of runs in 2008 to become the Indian southpaw with most runs in a calendar year.
Gambhir had amassed 1134 runs in 2008 at an average of 70.67 in eight Tests and had scored six half-centuries and three hundreds. Jaiswal currently has more than 1200 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 57.09. He also record for hitting most sixes in calender year - 36.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is now only behind Joe Root on the list of players with the most runs in Test cricket in 2024. Root has amassed 1338 runs for England this year.
The southpaw didn't get a perfect start to his Australia tour as he was dismissed for an 8-ball duck on Friday. After Jasprit Bumrah's 5-wicket haul had bundled out Australia for 104, the Indian openers came out with a mission to pile on the misery on the hosts.
This time, Jaiswal was more composed and started to play his shots freely without any moments of panic. He would score 42 off 88 balls as India went at stumps with a lead of 130 runs.
Most Test runs by an Indian left-handed batter in a calendar year
Player
Matches
Innings
Runs
Average
50s
100s
Year
YBK Jaiswal
12
23
1156
55.04
7
2
2024
G Gambhir
8
16
1134
70.87
6
3
2008
SC Ganguly
10
19
1106
61.44
4
3
2007
SC Ganguly
16
25
945
41.08
5
2
2002
SC Ganguly
11
15
848
56.53
3
3
19
Jaiswal has been India's best batter in the Test format this year. The Mumbai batter started his incredible run during the England series as he scored more than 700 runs and hit 2 double hundreds. He has hit seven fifties and two hundreds so far in the format in 2024 and will be looking to continue his fine run in Australia. With atleast four more Tests remaining this year, he has great opportunity to break Pakistan's Mohammad Yusuf's record for most Test runs in calender year. Yusuf had amassed 1788 runs in 2006 with the help of nine hundreds and three fifties.