India and West Indies will play a two-match Test series starting on July 12th. India, who lost the recent World Test Championship final, will aim to start the new WTC cycle with a series win. West Indies will look to upset India after a disappointing exit from the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 Qualifiers. The teams have played each other 24 times in Test series, with West Indies winning 12, India winning ten, and two ending in a draw. Indian batters have registered seven double centuries against West Indies in Tests, and we rank all seven.
201 off 491 – Navjot Singh Sidhu in 1997
Navjot Singh Sidhu, once known for his hard-hitting in ODIs, proved his capability in the longest format of the game. In the 1997 Test series against West Indies, Sidhu scored a patient double-century of 201 runs in 488 balls, which is still the slowest Test double ton by an Indian. In the second Test, after India lost VVS Laxman for a duck, Sidhu partnered with Rahul Dravid (57) to steady the ship and take India past 400 runs. The match ended in a draw, but Sidhu’s knock earned him the ‘Man of the Match’ award and marked his comeback to the Indian team.
205 off 342 – Sunil Gavaskar in 1978
Sunil Gavaskar is one of the greatest Test batters of all time, with an immaculate average of 65.45 against the mighty West Indies. He also scored three double centuries against them. During the 1978/79 series in India, Gavaskar scored his second Test double hundred against the Caribbean team at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. His 342-ball 205-run knock in the first innings helped India post 424 runs. Although the match ended as a draw, Gavaskar’s magnificent series performance included 732 runs at an average of 91.50 across nine innings.
200 off 283 – Virat Kohli in 2016
The latest double ton on this list was scored by Virat Kohli against the Caribbean unit in 2016. After his maiden double hundred in Test, he went on to score five more double tons in just one year. After India’s exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016, they toured the West Indies for a four-match Test series. Kohli started the series with a special knock, hitting 24 boundaries and scoring 200 runs. Along with Ravichandran Ashwin’s 113, Kohli’s innings took India to 566/8 in the first innings. India bowled out the hosts twice in the next two days and won the game by an innings and 92 runs.
212 off 399 – Wasim Jaffer in 2006
Wasim Jaffer’s 212 in the Antigua Test in 2006 is the first knock in this list that came in the second innings of a Test match. After India posted only 241 runs in the first innings and trailed by 130 runs when the hosts piled up 371 runs in their first innings, Wasim Jaffer helped India make a comeback in the match. Jaffer only scored one run in the first innings but played his natural game and dominated the West Indies bowling attack. The match ended in a draw as India picked up nine of the required ten wickets on Day 5, but Fidel Edwards and Corey Collymore played out the last The remaining overs helped West Indies draw the game.
236* off 425 – Sunil Gavaskar in 1983
Sunil Gavaskar scored his personal highest Test score of 236* against the West Indies in 1983, a monumental day in his career. The West Indies’ golden generation had won the six-match Test series in India 3-0. Gavaskar had a quiet series leading up to the last Test in Chennai, and he had requested to be put in at four instead of his usual opening position. When India began batting, however, Malcolm Marshall immediately sent back Anshuman Gaekwad and Dilip Vengsarkar. Gavaskar played a masterful innings and went on to score 236* off 425, determined to get India out of trouble.
212 – Dilip Sardesai in 1971
Dilip Sardesai’s 212 runs in India’s tour of the West Indies in 1971 was one of those high-calibre innings that impacted Indian cricket enormously. On the opening day of the first Test, the Sabina Park track offered great help for the fast bowlers, and India found themselves 75/5 against the likes of Vanburn Holder, Sir Garry Sobers, and Grayson Shillingford. Dilip Sardesai clobbered 17 boundaries and a six to take India from being 75/5 to 387/10, putting the Windies bowling attack on the back foot.After restricting the hosts to 217, India enforced the follow-on.The home side put up a far better show in the second innings and managed to hold on for a draw, reaching 385/5 at the end of the match. Sardesai once again scored a century in the next match in Trinidad, where India went on to win.India’s first-ever Test series victory against West Indies by 1-0 was achieved as the next three games ended in draws.
220 – Sunil Gavaskar in 1971
Sunil Gavaskar was a phenomenon against the West Indies in the ICC. One of the greatest innings on West Indies’ soil by an Indian batter came in the same series as Sardesai’s 212.During his Test debut against the mighty West Indies in March 1971 at the age of 21, Sunil Gavaskar scored 65 and 67. In the second innings of the Port of Spain match, the young opener struck 220, having already notched up 124 in the first essay.He made his debut in the second game of the series, and his maiden double ton was smashed in the fifth and final game, resulting in a total score of 774 an average of 154.80.Gavaskar made the host bowlers toil hard and showcased why he was touted to dominate the cricketing world in the years to come, smashing 22 boundaries en route to his double hundred.