Home Statsman Lucknow joins a special list Lucknow becomes the fourth city to host Tests at three or more grounds, Rahkeem Cornwall becomes the eighth visiting bowler to takes a seven-wicket haul on Indian soil, and more. Mohandas Menon 19 December, 2019 15:41 IST The Ekana stadium became the 121st ground in Test cricket and only the second stadium in India to host a Test match without the participation of the host country when Afghanistan and the West Indies played each other in cricket’s longest format for the first time. - Rajeev Bhatt Mohandas Menon 19 December, 2019 15:41 IST 4The number of cities that have the distinction of hosting Test cricket at three or more grounds. The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow recently become the latest entrant to this elite city list, joining Johannesburg, Mumbai and Colombo. The Ekana stadium became the 121st ground in Test cricket and only the second stadium in India to host a Test match without the participation of the host country when Afghanistan and the West Indies played each other in cricket’s longest format for the first time. In March, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Dehradun had hosted the Afghanistan-Ireland Test match.Cities hosting Test matches at three or more grounds/stadiumsNumber of grounds/stadiumsCityCountryStadiumsPeriodTests hosted4ColomboSri LankaSinhalese Sports Club1984-201843 Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium1982-201922 R. Premadasa Stadium1992-20179 Colombo Cricket Club Ground1984-198733JohannesburgSouth AfricaThe Wanderers1956-201940 The Old Wanderers+1896-193922 Ellis Park+1948-195463MumbaiIndiaWankhede Stadium1975-201625 Brabourne Stadium1948-200918 Bombay Gymkhana Ground+193313LucknowIndiaUniversity Ground+19521 K. D. Singh Babu Stadium19941 Ekana Stadium20191+ Now not used for first-class cricket. 8The number of visiting spin bowlers to claim a seven-wicket haul in an innings on Indian soil, West Indian Rahkeem Cornwall, against Afghanistan at Lucknow, becoming the latest. Aussie Nathan Lyon is the only one to appear on the list twice.Seven-plus wicket hauls in an innings by visiting spin bowlers in IndiaBowling figuresBowlerCountryVenueMonth/yearResultBowling style8/50Nathan LyonAustraliaBengaluruMarch 2017LostRight-arm off-spin8/215Jason KrejzaAustraliaNagpurNovember 2008LostRight-arm off-spin7/49Hedley VerityEnglandChennaiFebruary 1934WonLeft-arm slow7/72Richie BenaudAustraliaChennaiOctober 1956WonRight-arm leg-break7/75Rakheem CornwallWest IndiesLucknowNovember 2019WonRight-arm off-spin7.94Nathan LyonAustraliaDelhiMarch 2013LostRight-arm off-spin7/98Lance GibbsWest IndiesMumbai (Wankhede)January 1975WonRight-arm off-spin7/100M. MuralitharanSri LankaDelhiDecember 2005LostRight-arm off-spin7/143Jim HiggsAustraliaChennaiSeptember 1979DrawRight-arm leg-breakNote: Cornwall’s figures came against Afghanistan. The rest were against India. 149The number of innings David Warner needed to reach his maiden triple century in Test cricket, at Adelaide against Pakistan. This is now the third most innings required by batsmen to reach their maiden triple century in Test cricket.Most innings to reach maiden Test triple centuryInningsBatsmanScoreCountryOpponentVenueDateHundred No.Result208Kumar Sangakkara319Sri LankaBangladeshChittagongFebruary 5, 201434Draw173Mark Taylor334*AustraliaPakistanPeshawarOctober 16, 199819Draw149David Warner335*AustraliaPakistanAdelaideNovember 30, 201923Won145Brendon McCullum302New ZealandIndiaWellingtonFebruary 18, 20149Draw142Graham Gooch333EnglandIndiaLord’sJuly 27, 199010WonNote: India’s Karun Nair needed the fewest innings to reach his maiden triple century – just three innings, against England at Chennai in December 2016. 126The number of innings that Steve Smith needed to reach 7,000 runs in Test cricket, against Pakistan at Adelaide, is now the quickest. England’s Walter Hammond held the previous record of 131 innings, since 1946, i.e. for 73 years. Incidentally, Smith became the 50th batsman in Test cricket to go past the aggregate of 7,000 runs.Fewest innings to reach 7,000 Test runsInningsTestsBatsmanCountryOpponentVenueDateResult12670Steve SmithAustraliaPakistanAdelaideNovember 20, 2019Won13180Walter HammondEnglandIndiaThe OvalAugust 19, 1946Won13479Virender SehwagIndiaSri LankaColombo (PSS)August 4, 2010Won13685Sachin TendulkarIndiaSouth AfricaBloemfonteinNovember 3, 2001Lost13879Garry SobersWest IndiesIndiaGeorgetownMarch 24, 1971Draw13883Kumar SangakkaraSri LankaPakistanColombo (SSC)July 23, 2009Draw13881Virat KohliIndiaSouth AfricaPuneOctober 11, 2019WonNote: Don Bradman scored 6,996 runs in just 80 innings from 52 Tests! Queries CornerIn the recent day-night Test match at Adelaide, Australia declared their innings when the partnership was 99 between David Warner and Matthew Wade. Has this happened before in Test matches? – R. Bharath, Coimbatore.This is the first occasion in Test cricket where a partnership ended on an unbeaten 99 runs because of a declaration. An unbeaten partnership one short of a 100 has occurred on three other occasions when the match was called off on the last day as a draw. For the record, the other three instances are listed below.BatsmenCountryOpponentVenueMonth/yearFor wicket No.Arthur Morris and Don BradmanAustraliaEnglandAdelaideFebruary 1947SecondScott Styris and Robbie HartNew ZealandWest IndiesGrenadaJune 2002SixthYounis Khan and Kamran AkmalPakistanSouth AfricaPort ElizabethJanuary 2007Sixth Also, Dilip Vengsarkar and Gundappa Viswanath had an unbeaten partnership of 99 runs for the third wicket against England at Chennai in January 1982 when the former had to retire hurt.How many Indian captains have made Test centuries in Pakistan? – Aditya Prakash Tripathi, Kanpur.Two Indian captains have achieved this in Pakistan on three occasions: Sunil Gavaskar’s 127 not out at Faisalabad in 1982-83 and Rahul Dravid’s 128 not out at Lahore in 2005-06 and 103 at Faisalabad in 2005-06.Yasir Shah as a batsman scored a century at Adelaide but went wicket-less while conceding nearly 200 runs. Has any other player done this before in a Test match? – Alok Mitra, Hooghly.In Test cricket, four players have now managed to score a century and also go wicket-less while conceding over 100 runs.PlayerScoreBowling figuresCountryOpponentVenueMonth/yearResultJacob Oram126*0/116New ZealandAustraliaBrisbaneNovember 2004LostAbul Hasan1130/113BangladeshWest IndiesKhulnaNovember 2012LostBen Stokes1010/115EnglandNew ZealandLord’sMay 2015WonYasir Shah1130/197PakistanAustraliaAdelaideNovember 2019LostNotes: Hasan was making his Test debut at Khulna; Stokes had hit a 92 in the first innings and then claimed 3/38 in the second at Lord’s. Note: All figures above are updated as of December 6, 2019. Support Sportstar Dear Reader, Support our journalism — where text and pictures intermingle so seamlessly — and help us scale up your experience as the world changes around us. Your contribution is vital to our brand of uninfluenced, boots-on-the-ground reportage that’s worth your while. 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