Rohit Sharma for India in Tests. Image Credits: X
India skipper and batting stalwart, Rohit Sharma, is currently active only in ODIs after retiring from the Tests and T20Is. His Test retirement on May 7, 2025, didn’t come as a normal development in Indian cricket, as nobody would have expected such a sudden announcement.
Nevertheless, Rohit left a decent Test legacy behind him, bidding adieu to the game with 4301 Test runs in 116 innings of the 67 Tests, hitting 12 centuries and 18 half-centuries. In his 12-year-long Test career, he also played some match-winning knocks for India in the longest format of the game.
Given that, here’s a look at Rohit Sharma’s five best innings in Tests during his celebrated Test career of more than a decade.
Rohit Sharma’s 5 best Test innings
177 against West Indies - Kolkata Test 2013
The last Test series of former India legend Sachin Tendulkar’s career was also the debut series for the then-young batter Rohit Sharma. In the first Test of the two-match series, India and West Indies took on each other from November 6, 2013, onwards. The visiting skipper, Darren Sammy, won the toss and decided to bat first.
The Caribbean side was bundled out at the score of 234 runs in the first innings. After losing their top four batters for the score of 82 runs, India responded with the centuries of debutant Rohit Sharma and star all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin. In his first Test innings, Rohit scored 177 runs off 301 balls, with 23 fours and a six.
His knock, alongside Ashwin’s century, helped India post 453 runs in the first innings and take a lead of 219 runs. Later in the second innings, the Indian bowlers bundled out the West Indies at 168 runs to win by an innings and 51 runs. Rohit Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his match-winning century.
212 against South Africa - Ranchi Test 2019
After taking an unassailable lead of 2-0 with a win by an innings and 137 runs in the second Test, India took on South Africa in the third and last Test of the three-match series in October 2019. The then-India skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to bat first.
India faced a top-order collapse, losing three wickets at the score of just 39 runs, before the opener Rohit Sharma stabilized the innings with a game-defining knock of 212 runs. He also stitched a much-needed 277-run partnership with Ajinkya Rahane for the fourth wicket.
Rohit’s double ton, followed by Rahane’s 115-run knock, helped the hosts score 497 runs for the loss of nine wickets before declaring the innings. India ended up winning the game by an innings and 202 runs, with Rohit Sharma winning the both ‘Player of the Match’ and ‘Player of the Series’ awards.
161 against England - Chennai Test 2021
After facing an embarrassing defeat by 227 runs in the first Test of the four-match series, India hosted England in the second Test at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The host skipper Virat Kohli won the flip of the coin and opted to bat first.
After losing his opening partnership without even the team getting off the mark, Rohit Sharma stayed there in the middle to stabilize the innings.
Rohit went on to play a match-winning knock of 161 runs off 231 balls, with 18 fours and two sixes. On the back of his century, followed by Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant’s half-centuries, India scored 329 runs in the first innings before bundling out England at 134 runs to take a massive 195-run lead.
Later in the second innings, India scored 286 runs and posted a 482-run target for England. The Three Lions were wrapped up at the score of 164 runs, with the hosts winning the game by a mammoth margin of 317 runs.
127 against England - The Oval Test 2021
India and England took on each other in the fourth Test of the five-match Test series. The then-England skipper Joe Root won the toss and invited India to bat first. The visitors were bundled out at the score of 191 runs owing to the top-order collapse, followed by the half-centuries of Virat Kohli and Shardul Thakur.
England responded with a 290-run total, taking a 99-run lead at the end of the first innings. Later in the second innings, Rohit Sharma’s match-winning century (127 runs off 256 balls, with 14 fours and a six) helped India post 466 runs and set a target of 368 runs for England.
Eventually, the Indian bowlers restricted England to the score of 210 runs and won the game by a significant margin of 157 runs to take a lead of 2-1 in the five-match series. Rohit Sharma won the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his 127-run knock.
120 against Australia - Nagpur Test 2023
India and Australia faced each other in the first Test of the four-match series in India from February 9, 2023, onwards. The visiting skipper, Pat Cummins, won the toss and decided to bat first. However, the Aussie batters couldn’t live up to the captain’s expectations as they could score just 177 runs in the first innings.
Leading India’s response from the front, skipper Rohit Sharma played a game-changing knock of 120 runs off 212 balls, with 15 fours and two sixes. His knock, followed by Ravindra Jadeja’s 70 and Axar Patel’s 84 runs, helped the hosts score 400 runs.
Furthermore, the visitors’ batting attack couldn’t sustain against India's spin-heavy bowling attack and were wrapped up at the double-digit score of just 91 runs. Eventually, Rohit Sharma’s men won the game by an innings and 132 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.
 (1).jpg?type=mq "IPL Winners List")
.jpg?type=mq "Ryan Rickelton makes SA20 history")
