Opening batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has stood out in an otherwise dismal collective batting show by India in the ongoing Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, and the 23-year-old youngster’s performance also made him the second highest Test run-getter for India in a calendar year, going past greats like Virender Sehwag and the legendary Sunil Gavaskar.
With 359 runs in 8 innings at an average of 51.29 in four Tests of this BGT, Jaiswal is India’s top-run getter.
Had Jaiswal not failed in the two Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane, he could have topped the list; but he fell 85 runs short of eclipsing the leader and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar‘s record.
Jaiswal ended his prolific 2024 with 1478 runs, which included 3 hundreds and 9 fifties. Tendulkar holds the record for India with his performance in the year 2010, which saw him scoring 1562 runs at a staggering average of 78.10, including 7 hundreds and 5 fifties. Incidentally, the top score for both Tendulkar and Jaiswal during the respective calendar years is 214.
Jaiswal’s show so far on his maiden tour of Australia included his 161 not out in Perth as the major highlight besides his fifties in both the innings of the Melbourne Test.
Here’s the top-five list of Indian batters with most runs in a calendar year:
| Batter | Year | Tests | Innings | Runs | Highest | Average | 100s | 50s |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 2010 | 14 | 23 | 1562 | 214 | 78.10 | 7 | 5 |
| Yashasvi Jaiswal | 2024 | 15 | 29 | 1478 | 214* | 54.74 | 3 | 9 |
| Virender Sehwag | 2008 | 14 | 27 | 1462 | 319 | 56.23 | 3 | 6 |
| Virender Sehwag | 2010 | 14 | 25 | 1422 | 173 | 61.82 | 5 | 8 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 1979 | 17 | 26 | 1407 | 221 | 54.11 | 4 | 8 |
Australia’s 284-run win in the fourth Test in Melbourne saw them come back from 0-1 down to take a 2-1 lead in the five-Test series.
If the Aussies manage to draw or win the last Test in Sydney, they will reclaim the Border Gavaskar Trophy after a gap of ten years.
