KL Rahul becomes first Indian to score seven Test fifties in a row

Bengaluru, August 12: Opener KL Rahul became the first Indian batsman to score fifties in seven successive innings in Test cricket. He achieved the feat on the first day of the third Test against Sri Lanka at Kandy on Saturday (August 12).

He overtook statemates Rahul Dravid and GR Viswanath, who have made six fifties each.

Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Navjot Singh Sidhu and Sanjay Manjrekar have five consecutive half-centuries in the traditional format.

West Indians Everton Weekes and Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, Australia's Cris Rogers and Zimbabwean Andy Flower are the other batsmen to have scored seven half-centuries in a row in Test cricket.

However South African AB de Villiers holds the record of most number of consecutive fifties in Tests - 12. India's Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir had made 11 fifties in as many Tests, while Sachin Tendulkar made 10 half-centuries in similar number of Tests.