6 Openers With Most Test Hundreds Away From Home Since KL Rahul’s Debut

KL Rahul is currently leading the Indian Cricket Team in the ongoing second Test against South Africa at the Wanderers Cricket Stadium. It has been a complete turnaround of fortunes for KL Rahul in just a space of six months.

He wasn’t even in India’s first-choice playing XI over six months ago. However, injuries to Mayank Agarwal and Shubman Gill helped him open the innings alongside Rohit Sharma on India’s Test tour of England. There has been no looking back since.

KL Rahul scored runs heavily during the series. He gave exceptional starts at the top of the order alongside Rohit Sharma. In 4 Tests, he scored 368 runs at an average of close to 40. He recently scored his maiden Test century in South Africa. KL Rahul made his Test debut back in 2014 on Boxing Day (26th January) at Melbourne Cricket Ground. So far in his Test Cricket Career, has scored 2467 runs in 41 Tests at an average of 36.3.

In this article, we take a look at 6 openers with most Test hundreds outside of the home since KL Rahul’s debut.

6 Openers With Most Test Hundreds Away From Home Since KL Rahul’s Debut

Dimuth Karunaratne: 4 centuries 

Sri Lanka’s Test captain, Dimuth Karunaratne is a veteran cricketer in the longest format of the game. The left-handed batsman is a vital cog in Sri Lanka’s Test team. He has consistently scored heavily for the team since his arrival in Test Cricket. Karunaratne made his Test debut against New Zealand on November 17, 2021, at Galle International Stadium.

He has scored 5454 runs in 74 Tests at an average of close to 40. He has 13 centuries and 1 double-century to his name in Tests. Since KL Rahul’s debut, Dimuth Karunaratne has managed to hit 4 centuries outside of the home in Test Cricket.

Alastair Cook: 4 centuries 

Arguably, the greatest Test batsman ever to play Test Cricket, Alastair Cook finds himself at number four in the list. The former England skipper has scored tons of runs in his Test Cricket career. He is currently the highest run-scorer for England and, overall, the fifth-highest run-scorer in Test Cricket. Cook played 161 Tests during his career and scored 12,472 runs at an average of 45.35.

Cook was as effective with the bat at home as he was in foreign countries. He played 136 Test away from home and scored 5904 runs at an average of 45.81. Since KL Rahul’s debut in Test Cricket, Alastair Cook managed to hit 4 centuries outside of the home.

Dean Elgar: 4 centuries

South Africa’s current skipper in Test Cricket, Dean Elgar is a prolific run-scorer in the longest format of the game. Dean Elgar has an exceptional record in home Tests. So far in his Test Cricket career, the southpaw has batted in 69 Tests innings and scored 2803 runs at an average of 45.95.

Having said that, Elgar has been pretty effective with the bat in the away Tests as well. In 54 innings in away Tests, Dean Elgar has 1650 runs at an average of 31.73. Since KL Rahul made his debut in Test Cricket, Dean Elgar has hit four centuries away from home.

Azhar Ali: 4 centuries 

Former Pakistan skipper, Azhar Ali is a constant name in Pakistan’s Test batting unit for several years now. He has been a prolific run-scorer for the team. Batting at the number three position, he is credited for weathering the storm and blunted the new-ball threat on numerous occasions in Test Cricket. Azhar Ali is just 9 matches away to complete 100 Tests in his career.

In his illustrious career so far, Azhar Ali has scored 6721 runs in 91 matches at an average of 42.5. He has batted outside of the home in 161 innings and scored 6418 runs at 41.50. Since KL Rahul’s debut, Azhar Ali has managed to hit 4 centuries in Test Cricket.

Shikhar Dhawan: 4 centuries

Shikhar Dhawan has is no longer in India’s scheme of things in Test Cricket. Not a lot of people would have forgotten the manner in which he started his Test Cricket career. The southpaw got the opportunity to make his Test debut against Australia in the third Test in 2013. Dhawan played aggressively right from the start of his innings and went on to score 187 runs in just 174 balls.

He went on to play 34 Tests for India and scored 2315 runs at an average of 40.6. He had a pretty record in Test at the outside of the home. Dhawan batted in 41 innings in away Tests, scoring 1605 runs at an average of 39.15. Since KL Rahul’s debut in Test, Dhawan scored 4 Test centuries.

KL Rahul

KL Rahul is making headlines in every series he has been part of across formats. Such has been his form with the bat. He recently hit his first century in Test Cricket in South Africa. KL Rahul made his debut back in 2014 against Australia on 26^th December in Melbourne. He couldn’t do anything substantial with the bat but came back with a century in the following Test in Sydney.

He then made a century in Sri Lanka to prove that he was equally adept in playing on spinning tracks. In the five-match Test series in England last year, KL Rahul amassed 315 runs in 4 Tests, including as many as 3 centuries.

In his illustrious Test cricket career so far, KL Rahul has managed to score 2467 runs in 41 Tests at an average of 36.3. Since his Test debut, KL Rahul has hit 6 centuries away from home- the most by any player.