Captains’ feat
Published : Dec 13, 2017 16:41 IST
6
The number of occasions when both captains made 150+ scores in same Test match. The latest instance came in the Delhi Test, where both Virat Kohli (243) and Dinesh Chandimal (164) made 150+ scores.
Captains making scores of 150+ runs in same Test match
| Runs | Captain-1 | For | Runs | Captain-2 | For | Venue | Month, Year | Result |
| 311 | B. Simpson | Aus | 174 | T. Dexter | Eng | Manchester | July 1964 | Drawn |
| 205 | S. Gavaskar | Ind | 187 | A. Kallicharran | WI | Mumbai WS | December 1978 | Drawn |
| 199 | S. Waugh | Aus | 153* | B. Lara | WI | Bridgetown | March 1999 | WI won by 1 wkt |
| 166 | M. Vaughan | Eng | 156 | R. Ponting | Aus | Manchester | August 2005 | Drawn |
| 240 | M. Jayawardene | SL | 313 | Younis Khan | Pak | Karachi | February 2009 | Drawn |
| 243 | V. Kohli | Ind | 164 | D. Chandimal | SL | Delhi | December 2017 | Drawn |
4
The number of occasions when a batsman made over 600 runs in a three-Test series. Virat Kohli finished the just concluded series against Sri Lanka with 610 runs — not bad when you consider he began the series with a duck!
The table below has the details.
Most runs scored in a three-Test series
| Runs | Batsman | For | Opp | Season | Inns | No | Ave | HS | 100s | 50 | Series result |
| 752 | G. Gooch | Eng | Ind | 1990 | 6 | 125.33 | 333 | 3 | 2 | Eng won 1-0 | |
| 688 | B. Lara | WI | SL | 2001/02+ | 6 | 114.66 | 221 | 3 | 1 | WI lost 0-3 | |
| 665 | M. Yousuf | Pak | WI | 2006/07 | 5 | 133.00 | 192 | 4 | 1 | Pak won 2-0 | |
| 610 | V. Kohli | Ind | SL | 2017/18 | 5 | 1 | 152.50 | 243 | 3 | 1 | Ind won 1-0 |
| 592 | D. Warner | Aus | NZ | 2015/16 | 6 | 98.66 | 253 | 3 | Aus won 2-0 |
+ away series
Gooch and Kohli are the only captains in the above list.
9
The number of Test series won successively by India since defeating Sri Lanka on September 1, 2015. This equals the record held by Australia, from October 2005 to June 2008.
Given below are India’s nine consecutive series victories against various opponents. During this period, India’s summary of Test results: Played 30, won 21, lost 2, Drawn 7 (win% 70.00). Australia’s mark: Played 26, won 22, lost 1, Drawn 3 (win% 84.62).
India’s unbeaten Test series victories
| No | Opponent | Series result | Tests | Result sequence | From | To | H/A | Captain |
| 1 | Sri Lanka | 2-1 | 3 | L W W | August 2015 | September 2015 | away | Virat Kohli |
| 2 | South Africa | 3-0 | 4 | W D W W | November 2015 | December 2015 | home | Virat Kohli |
| 3 | West Indies | 2-0 | 4 | W D W D | July 2016 | August 2016 | away | Virat Kohli |
| 4 | New Zealand | 3-0 | 3 | W W W | September 2016 | October 2016 | home | Virat Kohli |
| 5 | England | 4-0 | 5 | D W W W W | November 2016 | December 2016 | home | Virat Kohli |
| 6 | Bangladesh | 1-0 | 1 | W | February 2017 | home | Virat Kohli | |
| 7 | Australia | 2-1 | 4 | L W D W | February 2017 | March 2017 | home | Virat Kohli+ |
| 8 | Sri Lanka | 3-0 | 3 | W W W | July 2017 | August 2017 | away | Virat Kohli |
| 9 | Sri Lanka | 1-0 | 3 | D W D | November 2017 | December 2017 | home | Virat Kohli |
+ Ajinkya Rahane captained India in the 4 and final Test against Australia at Dharamsala, which India won.
On two occasions (see above) India managed to win the series after losing the opening Test.
299
Sri Lanka’s second innings score in Delhi — the highest by any visiting side in the fourth innings in India. The table below has the details.
Highest totals in the fourth innings by visiting sides in India
| Total | Overs | Visiting side | Venue | Date | Result | Target set |
| 299/5 | 103.0 | Sri Lanka | Delhi | 6 Dec 2017 | Drawn | 410 |
| 276/5 | 85.3 | West Indies | Delhi | 29 Nov 1987 | WI won | 276 |
| 272/6 | 107.0 | New Zealand | Ahmedabad | 12 Oct 2003 | Drawn | 370 |
| 270/7 | 93.0 | West Indies | Chennai | 18 Jan 1967 | Drawn | 322 |
| 266/10 | 81.4 | West Indies | MumbaiWS | 22 Nov 1994 | Ind won | 363 |
Note: Sri Lanka became the sixth visiting side to bat over 100 overs in the fourth innings of a Test match in India, with New Zealand doing so on most occasions — three! South Africa batted the longest — 143.1 overs at Delhi on 6-7 December 2015 (but lost Test by 337 runs!)
THIS WEEK IN 1933 17 December The third day of the Test between India and England at the Bombay Gymkhana: it was the first ever Test to be played on a Sunday. It was the 230th Test to be played in history since March 1877! Also on that day, two batsmen (Bryan Valentine and Lala Amarnath) scored centuries on debut — the only time it has happened in Test history. Incidentally, this Test was the first to be played in Asia! |
QUERIES CORNER Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan have been Sri Lanka’s best ODI openers. But have they ever opened an innings together? If yes, what is their overall aggregate as a pair? — Aalok Mehta Sanath Jayasuriya and Tillakaratne Dilshan have opened together in 30 innings in limited-over games from 2008 to 2011, aggregating 1063 runs @ 35.43 runs per innings. They have been involved in one century stand (124) and 10 stands between 50 to 99. Their record together as openers in ODIs and T20Is (they never opened in Tests):
In the recent Test in Wellington against New Zealand, West Indies batsman Sunil Ambris, making his debut, was out hit-wicket off the first ball he faced. How many debutants have been dismissed this way in Tests? — T. Ajit Krishnan, Chennai Sunil Ambris is only the sixth batsman in Test history to be dismissed ‘hit-wicket’ in the very first innings on debut, while five others have been dismissed in this manner in their second innings during debut. Interestingly, none of the other 10 batsmen made a duck while being dismissed hit-wicket. This obviously means that Ambris is also the first batsman to be dismissed while facing his first ball in Test cricket! None of the bowlers from either side managed to take a five-wicket haul in the recent India-Sri Lanka Test series. Is this happening for the first time? — Surya Kumar, Tirupati This is happening for the third time in a Test series of three or more matches. The first occasion was in Pakistan against New Zealand in 1964-65 when the 4 for 5 by Pakistani left-arm spinner Pervez Sajjad was the best of the series. The next instance came more recently in Australia, in 2016-17, when Mitchell Starc’s 4 for 36 against Pakistan was the best bowling figures of the series. This, however, has happened on 13 occasions in a two-Test series. Virat Kohli’s conversion of 50s to 100s is among the best. What about Steve Smith, David Warner, Hashim Amla, Joe Root and Kane Williamson? — Priya Gulati, Indore Among the Test batsmen with seven or more centuries, Virat Kohli’s conversion percentage of 57.14 (20 100s/15 50s) is the third best after Australian Don Bradman (29 100s/13 50s, 69.05%) and West Indian George Headley (10 100s/5 50s, 66.67%). See the list below for details of contemporary batsmen:
Note: All figures above are updated as on December 9, 2017. Readers may send in their queries to sportstar@thehindu.co.in |