Most Double Centuries in Test Cricket: The Complete List (Updated for 2026)

Test matches have been about patience and technique and the desire for big scores has always been its staple diet and nothing proves this better than the list of most double hundreds in test cricket. A double century (scoring 200 or more in an innings) is one of the toughest benchmarks to reach as far as records in the longest format are concerned. You need not just the skill, but you have to concentrate, and also maintain your fitness level as well and can bat for two complete days without losing concentration.

Here in this article, we dig deep into the players with the most double centuries in test cricket, how that list has changed over time and where matters stand now as we head lower towards the 2026 international season focusing on India’s role within those elite clubs.}

Table of Contents

What Exactly Counts as a Double Century?

Well, realistically before we get to our list of test cricketers with most double centuries, we will have to know what a metric is. A double century records all the innings of 200 or more – this does not aggregate runs scored in two innings in a single Test match. Note: If a batter scores 199 in the first innings and takes to the crease for his second innings and then ends up scoring 105, it will NOT count as a double hundred even after having scored two centuries inside one test. The record only acknowledges a merely complete innings going beyond the 200 runs.

The first double hundred in Test cricket came surprisingly early, too; it was just the 16th Test match played. Former Australia captain Billy Murdoch made 211 against England at The Oval in August 1884. The race to create the most 200 plus runs in test cricket has seen some of the most memorable innings in World sporting history since.

Don Bradman: The Undisputed King of Double Centuries

You cannot speak about most double centuries in test cricket without referring to Sir Don Bradman. After all, the Australian great made only 52 Test appearances for his country from 1928 to 1948 but smashed an incredible 12 double hundreds a world record that has remained unbroken since it was set more than five decades and three-quarters of a century ago. Bradman ended his career with the highestTest batting average, and arguably the greatest statistic in all of sport 99.94, more than three-quarters of his runs coming in innings where he made a century.

One of the even bigger interesting parts about Bradman being at number 1 on that list for the most double hundreds in test cricket is how many they come. A double hundred Once Every 4.3 Tests – no player converts a double hundred anywhere near once every 4.3 Tests and it’s been nearly a century since he played, yet there’s nobody remotely close picking up the mantle.

Kumar Sangakkara: Sri Lanka’s Run Machine

Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka)- Amongst the, former Sri Lankan great Kumar Sangakkara is second on the list for most double centuries in test cricket with a tally of 11 double hundreds. You have played 134 Test matches and scored more than 12,400 other with an average above 57. He was a fully fledged runmaker, capable of batting long at home and away which made him probably the most complete batsman of his era.

While his second on the most double centuries in test cricket list is likely to remain comfortably behind Bradman (2 away and five ahead of anyone still active) – needing around 12 Tests per double century a big reason for this is how gangly Sangakkara made batting look amid different conditions.

Brian Lara: Flair Meets Substance

Brian Lara, one of the legendary players in Test cricket history, takes third place on the list of most double centuries scored in test matches with 9 double hundreds from 131 Tests. Lara is also the owner of the highest score in Test history an unbeaten 400 against England in 2004 along with a famed 375 against the same nation just over a decade before. Lara has also scored five double tons as captain, the most by any captain (October 2003). The finesse and reckoning in his craft keeps him ever-present every time he is part of a conversation around the most double centuries in test cricket.

The Joint Fourth Spot: Hammond, Kohli, and Jayawardene

3 icons are tied for fourth place for the most double centuries in test cricket (7 each):

Wally Hammond (England) a vintage player with a classical technique.
Virat Kohli – (India) The modern Indian batting great and the leading Indian in this category
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) – Record-holder for the 374 he scored against South Africa in 2006.

Any discussion on Indian cricket cannot leave out a presence as significant as Virat Kohli’s. Kohli is the Indian batter with the highest number of double hundreds and he scored four in four successive series between 2016 and 2017 – an unprecedented run of form. Kohli is India’s most successful modern-day captain-batter and records his name at the top of one of test cricket’s most coveted lists, so it’s a point of massive national pride, and as you read this in 2026 Kohli is still the active player with the most double centuries.

The Six-Double Century Club

The white list for the most double centuries in test cricket is larger, with many legends already tied up with 6 double centuries each below fourth place.

Marvan Atapattu (Sri Lanka)
Virender Sehwag (India)
Ricky Ponting (Australia)
Javed Miandad (Pakistan)
Younis Khan (Pakistan)
Sachin Tendulkar (India)
Joe Root (England) – active
Kane Williamson (New Zealand) – Current

Virender Sehwag’s is a notable inclusion, him being unlike anyone else with his rollicking high strike-rate-Test batting which also includes one of the fastest triple nearing double hundreds scored ever in Tests at 319 against South Africa. Sachin Tendulkar & Six double centuries in 24-year career, spanning generations of Bowlers by now.

Full Table: Most Double Centuries in Test Cricket (2026 Update)

Rank	Player	Country	Double Centuries	Tests Played
1	Don Bradman	Australia	12	52
2	Kumar Sangakkara	Sri Lanka	11	134
3	Brian Lara	West Indies	9	131
4	Wally Hammond	England	7	85
4	Virat Kohli	India	7	Active career
4	Mahela Jayawardene	Sri Lanka	7	149
7	Marvan Atapattu	Sri Lanka	6	90
7	Virender Sehwag	India	6	104
7	Ricky Ponting	Australia	6	168
7	Javed Miandad	Pakistan	6	124
7	Younis Khan	Pakistan	6	118
7	Sachin Tendulkar	India	6	200
7	Joe Root	England	6	Active career
7	Kane Williamson	New Zealand	6	Active career

Points to consider: Since all of the active players (Joe Root, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson) were still playing Test cricket in 2026, their figures continue to change.

The Latest Entrant: Shubman Gill and India’s Rising Star

Their discussion of the most double centuries in test cricket has taken one of its more thrilling recent twists featuring India’s precocious talent, Shubman Gill. Gill hit his first Test double century (269) at Edgbaston yet again against England in July 2025 The innings also broke a record for the highest Test score by an Indian captain and is another sign that India’s next generation are more than ready to step into the shoes of Kohli, Sehwag and Tendulkar. Cricket loving nation of India will keep a close eye on Gill’s progress until 2026 if he is able to score more double-centuries and rise above the list of most double centuries in test cricket.

Why Double Centuries Matter So Much in Test Cricket

When you compare a double hundred to a century, a regular century is much easier because it requires the most discipline for two full days of intense play fighting fatigue and yet resisting the temptation to stop after three figures. This is precisely why the list of batter double century marks in test cricket is so sparse – only a few batters across almost 150 years have done it more than five or six times. It also helps explain why Bradman’s record of 12 remains unchallenged for more than seven decades despite modern players playing many more Test matches each year than their predecessors.

India’s Growing Presence on the List

In the last 20 years, India’s representation on this list of most double centuries in test cricket has seen steady growth. From six double hundreds from Sachin Tendulkar to the aggressive six of Virender Sehwag and now this seventh for Kohli formalizing him as joint-fourth all-time with pure run-aggregated here in Test cricket, Indian batters have staked an irreversibly right up there amongst the greats of the format. The Indian cricket fans can be rightfully assuming that the number is only going to rise as Shubman Gill enters the fray and India’s tally on the most double centuries in test cricket chart.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who holds the record for the most double centuries in test cricket?

Australian Don Bradman, for example, amassed 12 double centuries in only 52 Test matches between 1928 and 1948.

2. Who is the Indian player with the most double centuries in test cricket?

Virat also holds the record among Indian batters, with 7 double hundreds that puts him joint-fourth globally.

3. How many double centuries has Kumar Sangakkara scored?

With his 11th double hundred earlier this year, he has moved to the second-most double hundreds in test cricket history, one behind Don Bradman.

4. What was the first-ever double century in test cricket?

Billy Murdoch of Australia scored the first double hundred in Test history, 211 vs England at The Oval August 1884.

5. Who scored the most double centuries as a captain?

Brian Lara has five double centuries while captaining a Test team, most of any player in history.

6. Has any active player come close to breaking Don Bradman’s record?

Bradman’s 12 double hundreds surpass all living players by quite some margin. Virat Kohli leads currently active batsmen with 7, Joe Root & Kane Williamson neatly tucked up behind on 6 and closing a five-double gap in the same body of work is next to impossible.