Sir Donald Bradman. Inarguably the greatest batsman this game has ever seen. With 29 centuries at an unbelievable average of 99.94, Bradman certainly had mind-boggling numbers to back that claim.
Throughout his career, the great Australian batsman played many a remarkable knock. Here, we look back at the five best batting performances of the great Don Bradman.
 299* v South Africa, at Adelaide, 1932:
Bradman’s unbeaten 299 was then the highest ever score made by one man in a Test match in Australia. And while it wasn’t his most fluent knock as he had struggled in phases during the effort, it certainly was his most gritty one. He played for 396 minutes and struck 23 boundaries in this superlative effort that helped his team score a formidable total on a difficult pitch. The value of this innings can be gauged by the fact that no other batsman could even score a hundred in the entire match. It was a top-class performance as even while the others kept falling around him, he batted with the tail adeptly and kept on scoring with his flicks, cuts, and drives.
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334 v England, at Leeds, 1930:
This one remains the Don’s highest individual score and came on a tour where he had accumulated a whopping 974 runs at an average of 139.14. In the Test match at Leeds, a 21-year old Bradman came out to bat after opener Archie Jackson fell for just 1. He then began smacking the bowlers with utter disdain and displayed his full plethora of shots. Such was Bradman’s dominance that day that he went on to score an unbeaten 309 in a single day’s play. Apart from him, no one reached a hundred in that innings. It was Bradman at his fluent best as he smacked 46 fours in this masterful knock.
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304 v England at Leeds, 1934:
Another magnificent effort which came just 15 months after the end of the infamous 'Bodyline' series. Bradman was determined to help Australia regain the Ashes and he was especially severe in the Headingley Test match. He put on 388 with Bill Ponsford and smacked 43 fours and two sixes in his marathon effort. None of the bowlers could contain Bradman as he showcased some of his very best shots in this knock. His 304 helped Australia score a mammoth 584 in the first innings but the match was eventually drawn.
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270 v England at Melbourne, 1937:
This knock is ranked as the No.1 Innings of all time by the Wisden Cricket Almanack, and for some good reason as well. On a sporty Melbourne track, Australia were struggling at 97-5 in the second innings of the 3rd Ashes Test. But it was Bradman who pulled his team out of trouble even when the ball was moving around a great deal. He attacked fiercely and also played some deft strokes to completely control the English bowlers who had no answers to him. His scintillating 270 came off just 375 balls and contained 22 sparkling hits to the fence. Bradman put on 346 runs with Jack Fingleton (136) and helped Australia score 564 runs which eventually led the way to a 365-run victory.
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103* v England at Melbourne, 1932-33:
This is one of the most special Bradman knocks as it came in the infamous ‘Bodyline’ series where every other batsman struggled immensely. In the 2nd Test of the series at Melbourne, it was Bradman’s unbeaten 103 which was the sole highlight of the second innings. Even as others kept crumbling around him, Bradman displayed true grit. As the English bowlers kept attacking his body, Bradman took the blows bravely and then went on to cut, pull and drive after settling in for a bit. His knock contained only 7 fours but it helped Australia post 191 and set a target of 251 for England to chase in the final innings. The visitors lost the match by 111 runs and it was Bradman’s tenacious 103 which helped Australia win the match.
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