The Test Cricket finds its First ever match in March 1877 between Australia & England (at Melbourne), at the International level.
England is the team having appeared in the most number of matches in Test Cricket History while Australia comes with the most number of wins.
For the individuals, Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs in Test cricket history while Muthiah Muralidharan has claimed the most wickets in the longest format of the game. Brian Lara holds the record of the highest individual score & Jim Laker does that in the category of the best bowling figures.
With a total of 3 so far, the inaugural ICC World Test Championship finds New Zealand as the Champions in 2021.
Also Read – BAN Vs PAK Test | IND Vs BAN Test | ZIM Test | IND Vs ENG ODI | AUS Vs IND ODI | SA Vs NZ ODI | NZ Vs PAK ODI | IND Vs NZ Test | Asia Cup
15th March 1877 : Australia Vs England At The Melbourne Cricket Stadium – The First Ever Match In Test Cricket History, Charles Bannerman – The First Batsman To Score A Hundred In The Test Cricket History And A Hundred On The Test Debut
15 March in 1877 – is the Day on which the Inauguration of Test Cricket at the International level takes place, between the countries Australia and England. It finds the Melbourne Cricket Stadium as the hosting Venue.
Playing a knock of 165* in the first innings, the Australian opener Charles Bannerman becomes the first ever batsman to hit a Century in the Test cricket history.
The Aussie bowler, Billy Midwinter becomes the first ever bowler to claim a 5 wickets haul in Test cricket history. This leads the Australian team win by 45 runs.
| 1st Inns | HS | BBI | 2nd Inns | HS | BBI | ||
| AUS – | 245/10 | C Bannerman(165*) | A Shawarma(3/51) | 104/10 | T Horan(20) | A Shaw(5/38) | |
| ENG – | 196/10 | H Jupp(63) | B Midwinter(5/78) | 108/10 | J Selby(38) | T Kendall(7/55) |
Also Read : Fastest 10000 Runs | Fastest 100 Wkts | Fastest 1000 Runs – In Test Cricket History
Which Team Has Played The Most Matches In Tests? Which Team Has Won The Most Matches In The Test Cricket History? Reliance ODI WC 1987, ICC 1999 ODI WC, ICC 2003 ODI WC, ICC 2007 ODI WC, ICC 2015 ODI WC And ICC 2023 ODI WC Winner Australia Team Wins In The Test Cricket, ICC T20 World Cup 2007, 2024 & 2026 Winner India In Test Cricket Format, ICC ODI WC 2019 Champions England Team In Test Cricket, ICC World Test Championship 2025 Winner South Africa Test Cricket History, India Asian Games 2026 Gold Medal Winning Team In Cricket
The England Team has played the most number of matches(1100) in the Test cricket history, with 408 wins and 356 draws(most). The Aussies have the most wins(427) in the bag, with 884 as the total number of appearances.
Against Sri Lanka in 2026 series, India become the 3rd having played 600 Test cricket matches.
| Most Matches | Most Wins | Most Draws | |
| 1. | England(1100, 1877-2026) | Australia(427) | England(356) |
| 2. | Australia(884, 1877-2026) | England(408) | India(225) |
| 3. | India(601, 1932-2026) | South Africa(191, 1889-2025) | Australia(219) |
Also Read : Most Runs | Most Wickets – In IND Vs ENG Test Cricket
The Highest Team Total In Tests, Which Team Has Scored The Most Runs In A Test Match Innings? Sri Lanka Vs India 1997 Test Match At Colombo, The Most ODI Sixes Batsman For SL Sanath Jayasuriya Stats, The Highest ODI Total Team & England Vs Australia 1938 Test Match, What Is The Lowest Team Total In A Test Match Innings? NZ Vs ENG 1955 Test Match
Following India’s 537/8d in the first innings(1st Test 1999 At Colombo), Sri Lankan posts the highest ever team total in Test cricket history.
Batting for 271 overs, the team declares at 952/6, after a mammoth 340(578 balls, 36 fours & 2 sixes) by Sanath Jayasuriya and 225(561 balls, 27 fours) by Roshan Mahanama.
| Highest Total | Lowest Total | |
| 1. | Sri Lanka(952/6, Vs IND 1997) | New Zealand(26, Vs ENG 1955) |
| 2. | England(903/7, Vs AUS 1938) | West Indies(27, Vs AUS 2025) |
| 3. | England(849, Vs WI 1930) | South Africa(30, Vs ENG 1896) |
To the side of the lowest team total, the New Zealand team gets bundled out for a score of 26, in the second innings of the 2nd Test match(at Auckland) of England Vs New Zealand series 1955.
What Is The Largest Win By Runs In Test Cricket History? What Is The Biggest Win In Test Cricket By Runs And Innings? The Smallest Wins By Runs In Test Cricket? The Biggest Win By Runs In ODI Cricket Team England Vs Australia 1928 Test Match, ENG Vs AUS 1938 Ashes Series, The Prudential World Cup 1975 & 1979 Winner WI Vs AUS 1993 Test Match
The English team holds the record of the biggest win in the Test format both by – runs as well as innings & runs.
They record a 675 runs victory over the Aussies, in the 1st Test of the Ashes Series 1928, after the scores of 521 & 342/8d for England and 122 & 66 for Australia.
In the 5th match of 1938 series, England find a win by an innings & 579 runs. Before getting Australia all out for 201 & 123 in the two innings, England find a mammoth total of 903/7d. This includes Len Hutton’s 364 – a record that stands nearly for 20 years till Garry Sobers snatches it in 1958.
| Largest Win(By Runs) | Largest Win(By Inns) | Smallest Win(By Runs) | |
| 1. | England(675, Vs AUS 1928) | England(579, Vs AUS 1938) | West Indies(1, Vs AUS 1993) |
| 2. | Australia(562, Vs ENG 1934) | Australia(360, Vs RSA 2002) | New Zealand(1, Vs ENG 2023) |
| 3. | Bangladesh(546, Vs AFG 2023) | New Zealand(359, Vs ZIM 2025) | England(2, Vs AUS 2005) |
Also Read : Most Runs | Most 100s | Most 6s | HS | Best Bowling | Fastest 100 | Fastest 50 | Highest Team Total | Most Runs Single Edition – In IPL Cricket History
Test Team Captain : Who Is The Youngest Captain In The World Test Cricket History? Which Player Has Played The Most Test Matches As A Captain? Rashid Khan Vs Bangladesh 2019 Test Match, The Top 10 Highest ODI Total Team South Africa Captain Graeme Smith Stats, WG Grace Is The Oldest Captain In Tests History(50Y,320D) : 1899 ENG Vs AUS Test Match
In 2019 against Bangladesh(at Chottogram), the Afghanistan allrounder Rashid Khan becomes the youngest ever captain(20Y,350D) to lead a Test side.
The former Proteas opener, Graeme Smith has played the most Test matches as a captain, doing so in 109 matches from 2003-14. There are 53 wins and 29 losses.
| Total Mts | As Captain | Won | Lost | Drawn | Span |
| 117 | 109 | 53 | 29 | 27 | 2003-14 |
The Australian great captain, Allan Border appears second with 93 Tests(1984-94) which include 32 wins. Also, this is a record for the most consecutive Test matches as a captain of the team.
Batting Records : Which Batsman Has Scored The Most Runs In Test Cricket History? Who Has The Most Hundreds In Test Cricket? The Highest Individual Score In Test Cricket All Times, Who Hit The Most Sixes In Test Cricket All Time? The Most Runs Off One Over In Tests?
The most runs in ODI format batter, Sachin Tendulkar holds the most runs record in Test cricket as well, with a number reading 15921. Also, the second most ODI 100s batsman tops the chart of most Test 100s.
Batting in 329 innings(200 Tests), 51 times Sachin goes over the 100 runs mark, including the 6 double hundreds. 2058 times. The most runs in IND Vs RSA Tests batsman sends the ball past the boundary line – the most.
Having been the only batsman to register a 400, the former Carribbean great Brian Charles Lara has the record of playing the longest innings by runs in the Test cricket history.
To the best batting average, there is not a batsman who has come within an arm’s distance of Don Bradman’s average – 99.94.
One of the greatest allrounders in Test cricket history, Ben Stokes comes out with 138 as the most 6s in the format, batting in 220 innings. The Indian bowling spearhead, Jasprit Bumrah owns the record of the most runs in a single over, with 35 runs(4,wd,4,nb,6,4,4,4,6,1) against Stuart Broad(in 2022), including 33 by Bumrah.
| Most Runs | Most 100s | HS | Most 4s | Most 6s | Best Avg(min. 20 inns) | |
| Player – | S Tendulkar(15921) | S Tendulkar(51) | B Lara(400*) | S Tendulkar(2058) | B Stokes(138) | D Bradman(99.9) |
| Team – | IND | IND | WI | IND | ENG | AUS |
Also Read : Most Runs | Most Wickets – In IND Vs SA T20Is
Bowling Records : Who Has Claimed The Most Wickets In Test Cricket History? Which Bowler Has The Most 5 Wicket Hauls In Test Cricket? The Best Bowling Figures In A Test Match Innings, The Most 10 Wicket Hauls In The Longest Format Of Cricket
A giant performer, the former Sri Lankan off spinner Muthiah Muralidharan has claimed the most number of wickets in ODIs as well as in Tests. What the spin wizard has done in bowling is akin to what Sachin has done in batting.
Bowling in 230 innings(133 Mts), he has claimed 800 wickets at an average of 22.7 which includes the 67 five-wicket hauls(most) and 22 ten-wicket hauls(most).
| Most Wkts | Most 5s | Most 10s | BBI | BBM | Best Avg(min. 20 inns) | |
| Player – | M Muralidharan(800) | M Muralidharan(67) | M Muralidharan(22) | J Laker(10/53) | J Laker(19/90) | G Lohmann(10.7) |
| Team – | SL | SL | SL | ENG | ENG | ENG |
Wicketkeeping Records : Who Is The Best Wicketkeeper In The World? Which Wicketkeeper Has The Most Catches In Test Matches? Which Wicketkeeper Has The Most Stumpings In Test Cricket?
One of the finest wicketkeepers in the game, Mark Boucher comes first both for the – most dismissals(555) as well as the most catches(532), in the Test cricket history. The former Proteas player keeps the wickets in 281 innings of 147 matches.
Adam Gilchrist(AUS), appears 2nd with 416 dismissals(379 Cts, 37 Stmps) in 191 innings of the 96 Tests he goes on playing.
| Mts | Inns | Cts | Stmps | Total | Best | Career |
| 147 | 281 | 532 | 23 | 555 | 6 | 1999-2012 |
Bert Oldfield(Australia), owns that in respect of the most stumpings in the longest format of the game. He has 52 stumpings(101 inns, 54 mts) in his Test cricket career(1920-37).
In 2013 Ashes series, Brad Haddin creates the record of the most dismissals in a series by the wicketkeeper. He claims 29 catches in 10 innings(5 Mts).
Partnership Records : The Highest Partnership By Runs For Any Wicket In Test Cricket History, The Tenth Wicket Highest Partnership In Test Cricket, Sri Lanka Vs South Africa 2006 Test Match At Colombo, India Vs England 2014 Test Match At Nottingham, 249 Runs Khalid Ibadulla And Abdul Kadir Test Cricket Highest Partnership By Debutants : PAK Vs AUS 1964 Test Match At Karachi
624 by Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene – are the most runs in a Test match innings by a pair, for any wicket.
| Runs | Balls | 4s | 6s | S.R. | |
| M Jayawardene – | 374 | 572 | 43 | 1 | 65.3 |
| K Sangakkara – | 287 | 457 | 35 | 0 | 62.8 |
The Sri Lankan duo puts on a record breaking 3rd wicket stand against South Africa after 14/2 which leads the team to a win, by an innings & 153 runs.
They surpass the previous record of 576 runs(now second), by Sanath Jayasuriya and Roshan Mahanama(Vs IND 1997, Colombo).
Joe Root and James Anderson share 198 runs – the highest partnership for 10th wicket, doing so against India(at Nottingham), in the 2014 IND Vs ENG Series.
Player Awards : Which Player Has Won The Most Player Of The Match Awards In Test Cricket History? The Most Man Of The Series Awards In Tests, One Of The Greatest Allrounders In Cricket History Jack Kallis Stats, The Top 5 Fastest 500 Wickets In Test Cricket History Bowler R Ashwin Stats, R Ashwin Top 10 IND Vs SA Tests Most Wickets Taking Bowler
The only man having 10000+ runs and 250+ wickets in both formats(Test & ODI) of the game, Jack Kallis has owned 23 as the most man of the match awards in Test format, in addition to 9 man of the series awards.
| Mts | Runs | Inns | HS | 100s | Wkts | Inns | BBI | 5s | POM | POS | Career | |
| 166 | 13289 | 280 | 224 | 45 | 292 | 272 | 6/54 | 5 | 23 | 9 | 1995-2013 |
The top 10 most wickets in IPL history bowler, Ravichandran Ashwin equally shares the record of most player of the series awards(11), alongwith Muthiah Muralidharan.
| Mts | Wkts | Inns | BBI | 5s | Runs | Inns | HS | 100s | POS | POM | Career | |
| 106 | 537 | 200 | 7/59 | 37 | 3503 | 151 | 124 | 6 | 11 | 10 | 2011-2024 |
Also Read : Most Runs | Most Wickets – In IPL 2025
ICC World Test Championship : ICC WTC 2021 Winner – Kyle Jamieson Man Of The Match In Final, ICC WTC 2023 Winner – Travis Head Final Man Of The Match, ICC World Test Championship 2025 Winner – Aiden Markram Player Of The Match In Final, R Ashwin Most Wickets In WTC Cycle 1 And M Labuschagne Most Runs In WTC Cycle 1, The Most Fifties Batsman In Test Cricket History Joe Root In ICC World Test Championship
The International Cricket Council finds the inaugural World Test Championship cycle starting off in September 2019 and crowns New Zealand as the champions & India as the runner ups, in 2021.
The 2021-23 cycle finds Australia as the winners while India repeating the status same as in 2021.
In 2023-25 cycle, South African team comes out as the World Test Champion, breaking the 27 years jinx of not winning an ICC trophy. They beat Australia in the Final match, at the Lord’s.
| Cycle | Winner | Runner Up | Most Runs | Most Wkts | Final POM |
| 1.(2019-21) | New Zealand | India | M Labuschagne(1675) | R Ashwin(71) | K Jamieson |
| 2.(2021-23) | Australia | India | J Root(1968) | P Cummins(80) | T Head |
| 3.(2023-25) | South Africa | Australia | J Root(1272) | J Tongue(64) | A Markram |
Also Read – Most Runs | Most Wkts | Most 100s | HS | Most 50s | Best Innings Bowling | Most 5s | Best Match Bowling | Most 10s – In India Vs Australia Test Cricket History
FAQs(Frequently Asked Questions)
How many Tests has India won?
The Indian Test cricket history involves 187 wins out of 601 matches so far.
When did Test match cricket start?
15 March 1877, the day on which Test match cricket started, on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, between Australia and England.
How many WTC has India won?
Till 2025, India has not won a single WTC(World Test Championship) but has come runner up in 2021 and 2023 WTC
Who won the most test matches?
Australian team has won the most matches(427 out of 884) in Test cricket history.
Which is the biggest test win?
675(by ENG) is the biggest test win by runs while 579(by ENG) is the biggest test win by runs & innings.
Who won the first Test match in 1877?
Australia won the first ever Test match in 1877, beating England by 45 runs.
When was India’s first test win?
In 1952, the team India got its first ever win in Test cricket, beating England by an innings and 8 runs, at Chepauk.
When was Test cricket started in India?
Test cricket in India was started, on 25 June 1932 at the Lord’s.
Who hit the first test century?
Charles Bannerman(Australia) was the first to hit a century in Test cricket history, doing so against England in the inaugural Test match(1877).