IND vs BAN first Test stats review: Ashwin, India’s Mr. Reliable

R. Ashwin became the latest to join the elite list of batters with back-to-back Test hundreds at Chepauk. This and more in this edition of Statsman.

Ravichandran Ashwin played a pivotal role in India’s win against Bangladesh in the first Test. | Photo Credit: R RAGU

 

4 The number of batters who have scored back-to-back centuries at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, in Chennai. R. Ashwin became the latest to join this elite list along with three other players.

Back-to-back centuries at Chepauk, Chennai

Batter (team)	Scores	Opponent	Month, Year	Result
Duleep Mendis (Sri Lanka)	105 & 105	India	Sept 1982	Drawn
Sachin Tendulkar (India)	136	Pakistan	Jan 1999	Lost
	126	Australia	Mar 2001	Won
Andrew Strauss (England)	123 & 108	India	Dec 2008	Lost
R Ashwin (India)	106	England	Feb 2021	Won
	113	Bangladesh	Sep 2024	Won

Note: Both Mendis & Strauss made twin centuries in their only Test match at Chepauk.

 

3 The number of players older than R. Ashwin to register a three-figure score in Test cricket for India.

Oldest to score a Test century for India

Age	Batter (Runs)	Opponent	Venue	Date	Result
40y-22d	Vijay Merchant (154)	England	Delhi	3 Nov 1951	Drawn
38y-307d	Rahul Dravid (119)	West Indies	Kolkata	14 Nov 2011	Won
38y-269d	Vinoo Mankad (231)	New Zealand	Chennai (Corpn)	6 Jan 1956	Won
38y-2d	R. Ashwin (113)	Bangladesh	Chennai (MAC)	19 Sep 2024	Won
37y-255d	Sachin Tendulkar (146)	South Africa	Cape Town	4 Jan 2011	Drawn

Note:
** Only the player’s last century has been listed above.

** Dravid had five Test centuries after the age of 38.

** Vinoo Mankad had two Test double centuries at the age of 38

** Merchant was playing the final Test match of his career.

 

2 The number of batters who have scored a maximum of four Test centuries while batting at number eight. Ashwin’s century at Chepauk against Bangladesh allowed him to match New Zealander Daniel Vettori. For the record, Vettori has scored five Test centuries from batting positions eight and lower (including one at #9), while Ashwin has scored four (all at #8).

Most Test centuries in batting position #8

100s	Batter at #8	1st 100	2nd 100	3rd 100	4th 100	(Total Test 100s)
4	Daniel Vettori (NZ)	127	118	140	110	(6)
4	R. Ashwin (Ind)	103	124	106	113	(6)
3	Kamran Akmal (Pak)	109	154	113	—	(6)

 

Most Test centuries in batting positions from #8 to #11

100s	Batter at #8	#8	#9	(Total Test 100s)
5	Daniel Vettori (NZ)	4	1	(6)
4	R. Ashwin (Ind)	4	0	(6)
3	Kamran Akmal (Pak)	3	0	(6)
3	Jason Holder (WI)	2	1	(3)

 

4 The number of occasions when India’s batters in batting positions 7 and 8 scored 80-plus in the same Test innings. Incidentally, In Test cricket history, batters at #7 and #8 have scored centuries together on 12 occasions. In a Test match in Delhi in November 1948, the West Indian pair of Everton Weekes (128) at #7 and Robert Christiani (107) at #8 achieved this feat, which is the only instance on Indian soil.

Batters at numbers 7 and 8 making scores of 80+ in the same Test innings for India

Batter #7	Batter #8	Opponent	Venue	Month, Year	Result	Inns	Total
Chandu Borde (84)	Salim Durani (90)	England	Mumbai (BS)	Jan 1964	Drawn	1	300
M. S. Dhoni (92)	Anil Kumble (110*)	England	The Oval	Aug 2007	Drawn	1	664
Rishabh Pant (159*)	Ravindra Jadeja (81)	Australia	Sydney	Jan 2019	Drawn	1	622/7d
Ravindra Jadeja (86)	R. Ashwin (113)	Bangladesh	Chennai	Sep 2024	Won	1	376

Note: Ashwin, in Chennai, became the first Indian to register a three-figure score on Day1 of a Test match at #8

 

9 The number of times a batting partnership fell just short of reaching 200 runs in Test cricket. The Chennai Test match provided the latest instance of Jadeja and Ashwin being the unfortunate pair.

199-run partnerships in Test cricket

Wkt	Batter1	Batter2	For	Opp	Venue	Month, year	Result	M Inns
4th	Alick Bannerman (70)	Percy McDonnell (147)	Aus	Eng	Sydney	Mar 1882	Won	2
3rd	Gordon Greenidge (226)	Richie Richardson (99)	WI	Aus	Bridgetown	Apr 1991	Won	3
5th	Michael Slater (143)	Steve Waugh (151*)	Aus	NZ	Wellington	Mar 2000	Won	2
2nd	Gary Kirsten (220)	Jacques Kallis (157*)	SA	Zim	Harare	Nov 2001	Won	1
3rd	Lou Vincent (104)	Stephen Fleming (105)	NZ	Aus	Perth	Nov 2001	Drawn	1
2nd	Graeme Smith (147)	Hashim Amla (69)	SA	WI	Durban	Jan 2008	Won	2
7th	Cheteshwar Pujara (202)	Wriddiman Saha (117)	Ind	Aus	Ranchi	Mar 2017	Drawn	2
6th	Angelo Matthews (145*)	Dinesh Chandimal (124)	SL	Ban	Mirpur	May 2022	Won	2
7th	Ravindra Jadeja (86)	R. Ashwin (113)	Ind	Ban	Chennai	Sep 2024	Won	1

 

6 The number of Indian pace bowlers with 400-plus wickets in all international matches for India. Jasprit Bumrah recently became the latest addition to this exclusive club of Indian pace bowlers during the first innings of the Bangladesh innings in Chennai, when he took the wicket of Hasan Mahmud. His strike rate of 33 balls per wicket is also the best among the bowlers listed in the table below.

Indian pacers with 400-plus wickets in international cricket

Wkts	Bowler	M	Ave.	S/R	Tests	ODIs	T20Is
687	Kapil Dev	356	28.83	56.68	434	253	—
610	Zaheer Khan+	303	31.48	48.50	311	282	17
551	J. Srinath	296	29.11	49.07	236	315	—
448	Mohd. Shami	188	26.06	37.90	229	195	24
434	Ishant Sharma	199	32.35	53.39	311	115	8
402	Jasprit Bumrah	196	21.02	33.33	164	149	89

+ Zaheer also played for the Asia XI in ODIs. His wicket tally includes 13 in 6 games.

Note: Overall, Bumrah is the 10th Indian bowler to claim 400-plus wickets across formats, with Anil Kumble leading the tally with 953 wickets.

 

3 The number of Bangladeshi players to appear in Tests after the age of 37 years. On the third day of the Chennai Test match, Shakib Al Hasan, at 37y-181d, became the oldest to take the field for Bangladesh in Tests.

Oldest to appear in a Test match for Bangladesh

Age	Player	Final Test date	Opp	Venue	Result	Career span
37y-182d	Shakib Al Hasan	21 Sep 2024	Ind	Chennai	Lost	17 years
37y-180d	Mohd Rafique	3 Mar 2008	SA	Chattogram DS	Lost	7 years
37y-59d	Enamul Haque	27 Apr 2003	SA	Chattogram MAA	Lost	2 years

 

0 The number of Bangladeshi bowlers to claim a five-wicket haul in Tests in India before Hasan Mahmud.

Best bowling performances by Bangladeshi bowlers in India

Bowling	Bowler	Venue	Month, Year	Result	Type
5/83	Hasan Mahmud	Chennai	Sep 2024	Lost	Pace
4/108	Abu Jayed	Indore	Nov 2019	Lost	Pace
3/55	Taskin Ahmed	Chennai	Sep 2024	Lost	Pace
3/85	Al-Amin Hossain	Kolkata	Nov 2019	Lost	Pace
3/91	Ebadat Hossain	Kolkata	Nov 2019	Lost	Pace
3/156	Taijul Islam	Hyderabad	Feb 2017	Lost	Spin+

+ left-arm

 

164 The number of wickets claimed by Jasprit Bumrah at the end of the Chennai Test match, which was the 37th match of his Test career. His wicket tally is by far the most claimed by any Indian pace bowler at this stage of their career.

Most wickets by Indian pace bowlers after their 37th Test match

Wkts	Bowler	Date	Venue	Opponent	Ave.	S/R
164	Jasprit Bumrah	22 Sep 2024	Chennai	Bangladesh	20.51	44.56
145	Kapil Dev	18 Jan 1982	Chennai	England	27.82	56.08
133	Mohd Shami	10 Dec 2018	Adelaide	Australia	29.76	52.35
128	J Srinath	7 Feb 1999	Delhi	Pakistan	31.96	66.48
122	Ishant Sharma	13 Aug 2011	Birmingham	England	34.03	59.36

 

5 The number of Test sides with the distinction of winning more Test matches than defeats. Team India, the latest entrant to this special list, created history by achieving this landmark for the first time in its Test history since its inaugural Test match in 1932, 92 years ago.

Teams with more Test wins than defeats (W-L)

Team	Win-Loss	(W-L ratio)	Playing Test cricket since
Australia	414-232	(1.78)	March 1877
England	397-324	(1.23)	March 1877
South Africa	179-161	(1.11)	March 1889
Pakistan	148-144	(1.03)	October 1952
India	179-178	(1.01)	June 1932

 

All records are correct and updated until 22 Sept 2024.