Firing on ten cylinders

This week’s column is inspired by Ajit Krishnan, a resident of Chennai, and an avid reader of Sportstar.

India's captain Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for three, was the only batsman who did not manage a double-digit score in the first innings against Sri Lanka in the Galle Test.

In the first Test of the ongoing India-Sri Lanka series, in Galle, 10 of India’s batsmen made double-digit scores in the first innings. Virat Kohli, who was dismissed for three, was the only batsman who did not manage this.

There has been only one instance of all 11 players from a visiting team making double-digit scores against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. This was achieved by Allan Border’s Australian team at the Sinhalese Sports Club, Colombo, during its famous win in 1992. If Kohli had managed to score at least 10 runs in the first innings of the Galle Test, India would have become only the second visiting team to achieve this feat.

The last time that at least 10 Indian batsmen made double-digit scores in an away Test was almost 10 years ago. This happened at The Oval, during the first innings of the third Test of the India-England series, in 2007. In fact, in the match, all 11 Indian batsmen made double-digit scores, including 110 runs by Anil Kumble, 92 by M. S. Dhoni, 91 by Dinesh Karthik, 82 by Sachin Tendulkar and 55 by Rahul Dravid. There have only been two instances when all 11 Indian batsmen made double-digit scores in an away Test. Apart from the instance mentioned above, the only other occasion when this happened was during India’s five-wicket victory against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1968.

Occasions when 10 or more Indian batsmen made double-digit scores in an away Test

Opp	Venue	Inns	Batsmen	100	50	Year
New Zealand	Dunedin	2	11		2	1968
Australia	Adelaide	4	10		4	1978
England	Oval	1	10	2	2	1990
England	Lord's	2	10	1	1	1996
Zimbabwe	Bulawayo	2	10	2	2	2005
England	Oval	1	11	1	5	2007
Sri Lanka	Galle	1	10	2	2	2017

 

Q&A Shikhar Dhawan scored 126 runs in the post-lunch session (i.e. between lunch and tea) during the India-Sri Lanka Test in Galle. What is the record for the most runs scored: (a) in the post-lunch session; and (b) in a single session? — B. K. Harinath, Mysore, Karnataka Shikhar Dhawan’s 126 runs in the post-lunch session on the first day of the first Test of the ongoing India-Sri Lanka series, was the fourth most number of runs scored by any batsman in the session. The record is held by Denis Compton, who scored 173 runs in the post-lunch session, during the England-Pakistan Test in Nottingham, in 1954, which is also the most number of runs by any batsman in any single session of a Test match. The most number of runs scored in a single day is 309, by Don Bradman, against England, at Leeds, in 1930. During that innings, he scored 105 runs in the first session (12th most), 115 runs in the post-lunch session (6th most). Cheteshwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan made 150-plus scores during the first innings of the India-Sri Lanka Test in Galle. Have two of India’s top-three batsmen ever made 150-plus scores in an away Test? —  Vikramjit Ray, Bengaluru, Karnataka Scores of 190 from Shikhar Dhawan and 153 from Cheteshwar Pujara in the first innings of the first India-Sri Lanka Test in Galle, was only the second ever instance of two of India’s top-three batsmen making 150-plus scores in an away Test innings. The only other time this happened was when India’s openers — Murali Vijay (150) and Dhawan (173) — made two such scores against Bangladesh, at Fatullah, in 2015. However, there have been four other instances of India achieving this feat at home.  James Anderson recently picked up his 300th   Test wicket, in England. How many bowlers have taken 300-plus wickets in a single country? —  Swarnima, Ranchi, Jharkhand James Anderson is the first pacer and fourth bowler — after Muttiah Muralitharan (493 in Sri Lanka), Anil Kumble (350 in India) and Shane Warne (319 in Australia) — to pick up 300-plus wicket in a single country. Shane Warne also holds the record for the most wickets in a single country, outside home — 129 wickets in England. No other bowler has taken 100-plus wickets in a single country outside his country.