While all Test batters start their careers with hopes of reaching that stratospheric 10,000 milestone, very few ever get there. Some get agonizingly close by reaching even the last landmark before that goal, but that in itself is really not much less of a feat.
Any player has to spend a significant portion of their life getting to 9,000 Test runs, with plenty of blood, sweat, and tears being shed both on and off the field. A cursory glance at the table will give you an idea of the kind of talent that constitutes this list. Here, we acknowledge the 10 men who got to 9k the quickest, defying age and all known conventions of form.
List of 10 batters fastest to 9,000 Test runs
| Player | Opposition | Ground | Match Date | Debut | Time | Mat | Inns | Scorecard |
| KC Sangakkara (SL) | v Pakistan | Sharjah | 3 Nov 2011 | 20 Jul 2000 | 11y 106d | 103 | 172 | Test # 2014 |
| R Dravid (ICC/INDIA) | v West Indies | Kingston | 30 Jun 2006 | 20 Jun 1996 | 10y 10d | 104 | 176 | Test # 1808 |
| BC Lara (WI) | v South Africa | Cape Town | 2 Jan 2004 | 6 Dec 1990 | 13y 27d | 101 | 177 | Test # 1681 |
| RT Ponting (AUS) | v England | Brisbane | 23 Nov 2006 | 8 Dec 1995 | 10y 350d | 106 | 177 | Test # 1817 |
| DPMD Jayawardene (SL) | v India | Ahmedabad | 16 Nov 2009 | 2 Aug 1997 | 12y 106d | 108 | 178 | Test # 1933 |
| SR Tendulkar (INDIA) | v Australia | Sydney | 2 Jan 2004 | 15 Nov 1989 | 14y 48d | 111 | 179 | Test # 1680 |
| Younis Khan (PAK) | v England | Dubai (DSC) | 22 Oct 2015 | 26 Feb 2000 | 15y 238d | 103 | 184 | Test # 2183 |
| JH Kallis (ICC/SA) | v New Zealand | Johannesburg | 8 Nov 2007 | 14 Dec 1995 | 11y 329d | 110 | 188 | Test # 1846 |
| SM Gavaskar (INDIA) | v Australia | Adelaide | 13 Dec 1985 | 6 Mar 1971 | 14y 282d | 110 | 192 | Test # 1032 |
| GC Smith (ICC/SA) | v Pakistan | Dubai (DSC) | 23 Oct 2013 | 8 Mar 2002 | 11y 229d | 112 | 195 | Test # 2100 |
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1. Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)
kara undoubtedly had a brilliant career overall, but his continued form even at the twilight of his career was truly remarkable. The Lankan captain got to 9,000 runs 11 years and 106 days into his career, taking 172 innings to get there. The match in question was a draw against Pakistan in Sharjah in November 2011, with Sangakkara’s 195 total runs — including 144 in the first innings — winning him the player of the match award.
2. Rahul Dra2. Rahul Dravid (India)
hout his career as a defensive, methodical player who never flailed his bat in anger, Dravid was, however, anything but slow at scoring. He brought up 9,000 Test runs in, interestingly, exactly 10 years and 10 days or 176 innings. In a low-scoring thriller against the West Indies in Kingston in June 2006, Dravid’s collection of 149 total runs across two innings formed almost half of India’s runs, and also carried them to victory.
3. Brian Lara (W3. Brian Lara (West Indies)
y batting records, Lara was one of the greatest left-handed batters in the history of cricket. He was third in line to 9,000 runs in terms of innings played, breaking the barrier in his 177th innings 13 years and 27 days into his career. The West Indies were playing South Africa in Cape Town at the very beginning of 2004, and the match in question came to a well-contested draw. Lara scored 115 in the first innings and 86 in the second.
4. Ricky Ponting4. Ricky Ponting (Australia)
’s greatest ever Test batters joins this list in fourth place. Ponting was the kind of captain who led from the front, and led with conviction. He breached the 9,000 wall just 2 weeks short of hitting 11 years since his debut, taking the same number of innings as Lara to reach it. In that match, Australia decimated England in Brisbane in November 2006, with Ponting’s 196 in the first innings and 60 in the second taking Australia to a romping 277-run victory.
5. Mahela Jayawarden5. Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka)
rdene was also a great captain who did well in charge of his national team. Whether it was himself or Sangakkara captaining the team, the two always seemed to make decisions together, and played well off and with each other. Jayawardene’s 9,000 came in a drawn affair against India at Ahmedabad in his 178th innings, when he scored 275 to help the Lankans post a ridiculous 760/7 in their only innings.
6. Sachin Tendulkar (I6. Sachin Tendulkar (India)
an is an ever-present name in all Test batting lists up to a certain point, Tendulkar takes over that role from there on end. His manner of reaching 9,000 Test runs came by virtue of his incredible 241* and 60* in Sydney in January 2004, during the first of which he famously played no cover drives. It was Tendulkar’s 179th innings, and took him 14 years and 48 days to reach. The match went on to be a draw, but it was a visual treat for fans of Test batting.
7. Younis Khan (Pakistan7. Younis Khan (Pakistan)
ni batter to crack the 9,000 mark, Younis Khan’s achievements are often overlooked. This is partly due to his team’s relative lack of achievements, and partly to their reduced presence in the Test cricket arena since the unfortunate incident in 2009. The veteran batter reached the milestone in his 184th innings, which came 15 years and 238 days into his career in October 2015. In that match, Pakistan beat England in Dubai, with Younis Khan scoring 56 and 118 in his two innings.
8. Jacques Kallis (South Afr8. Jacques Kallis (South Africa)
eatest Test all-rounder of all time, Kallis was nearly as potent with the ball as he was with the bat. He got to 9k 11 years and 329 days in while playing his 188th innings. In that game, South Africa massacred New Zealand in Johannesburg, with Kallis scoring 29 in the first innings, but offsetting that setback with a mammoth 186 in the second.
9. Sunil Gavaskar (India)9. Sunil Gavaskar (India)
ch 9,000 and, indeed, 10,000 Test runs, Gavaskar was known as the ‘Little Master’ before the name was transferred to Tendulkar. He went past 9,000 14 years and 282 days into Test cricket in an element-ravaged draw against Australia in Adelaide in December 1985. In that match, he scored 166* in India’s only time out with the bat. It was Gavaskar’s 192nd innings.
10. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
10. Graeme Smith (South Africa)
ricket was simply prolific with the bat. One of the most respected cricketers to ever grace the game, Smith made it past 9k in his 195th innings, 11 years and 229 days into his Test life. The match in question saw the Proteas devastate Pakistan in Dubai, with Smith’s 234 in South Africa’s sole batting innings signing Pakistan’s death sentence by way of an innings defeat.
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