5. Vijay Hazare:
The first thing that comes to mind when the legendary Vijay Hazare is mentioned is his performance during India’s tour of England in 1946. With the likes of Denis Compton and Sir Leonard Hutton in England’s ranks, Hazare famously topped the run-scoring chart in the three-match series, amassing 245 runs at an average of 46 with the help of one century and a half-century.
Hazare made his debut in 1933 and retired from Test cricket in 1951, playing mere 10 Tests and scoring 859 runs with an average of almost 48. His highest score was 154, as he scored three centuries and as many half-centuries. And while his record in international cricket was exceptional at that time, first-class cricket was his real forte.
In all first-class cricket, he made over 13,000 runs at an impressive average of 71, which is still the second-best behind Don Bradman’s 95.14 and took 65 wickets.