Home Statsman Kohli tops elite list Mohandas Menon 20 September, 2018 15:52 IST Going great guns: India's captain Virat Kohli is the quickest to reach the 18,000-run mark in international cricket. - AFP Mohandas Menon 20 September, 2018 15:52 IST 15The number of times a batsman has managed to cross the 18,000-run mark in international cricket. Virat Kohli, in the Oval Test, became the latest entrant to this elite list. By achieving this landmark in just 382 innings, he is the quickest to do so — in terms of innings. He played 29 innings less than the previous quickest — Brian Lara.Fewest innings to reach 18000 international runsInnsMtsBatsmanForRunsAve100s50sFormatAgainstMonth, year382344Virat KohliInd1802855.645885TestEnglandSept 2018411335Brian LaraWI1819047.744396TestEnglandApr 2004412367Sachin TendulkarInd1800348.395782TestEnglandDec 2001422358Ricky PontingAus1806249.085186TestBangladeshApr 2006434375AB de VilliersSAf1803348.084595T20IAfghanistanMar 2016435372Jacques KallisSAf1803050.3642108TestPakistanOct 2007436388Rahul DravidInd1803747.3434113ODIWest IndiesMay 2006454411Kumar SangakkaraSL1808344.3235101ODINew ZealandMar 2011 5The number of occasions in Test cricket when a batsman has managed to register a century on his Test debut and also in his final Test match. Alastair Cook, in the recent Oval Test, became the latest entrant to this list.Batsmen registering centuries in their debut and final Test matchesBatsmanFor12OppVenueMonth, YearResultBatsman’s Test numberReggie DuffAus32104EngMelbourneJanuary 1902WonDebut Test 146 EngThe OvalAugust 1905Drawn22 Test match Bill PonsfordAus11027EngSydneyDecember 1924WonDebut Test 26622EngThe OvalAugust 1934Won29 Test match Greg ChappellAus108 EngPerthDecember 1970DrawnDebut Test 182 PakSydneyJanuary 1984Won87 Test match Mohd AzharuddinInd110 EngKolkataJanuary 1985DrawnDebut Test 9102SAfBangaloreMarch 2000Lost99 Test match Alastair CookEng60104*IndNagpurMarch 2006DrawnDebut Test 71147IndThe OvalSeptember 2018Won161 Test match Notes:** Chappell and Azharuddin are the only players to register centuries in their first and last Test innings.** Ponsford is the only player in the above list to do so in winning causes in both his debut and final Test matches.** Cook is the only player in the above list to register four scores of fifty-plus in his first and final Test matches, which included a century. Another batsman who had achieved this in Test cricket history was South African Bruce Mitchell on his Test debut against England at Birmingham in June 1929 when he made 88 and 61 not out, and then, 20 years later, in March 1949, he finished his Test career at Port Elizabeth also against England with scores of 99 and 56.** West Indian Andy Ganteaume (112), in February 1948, made a century in his only Test innings and match against England at Port of Spain.** New Zealander Rodney Redmond, against Pakistan, at Auckland in February 1973, in his only Test match, made 107 and 56. 14The number catches taken by K. L. Rahul in the series is the joint second-most claimed by any fielder in a series in Test cricket history. For the record, Rahul had earlier become the first fielder to claim 13 or more catches in any Test series on English soil.Most catches in a Test series by a fieldsman Test catches in seriesCtsTestsInnsFielderForOppInSeason123456Series Result15510Jack Gregory +AusEngAus1920/2131236-WON14611Greg ChappellAusEngAus1974/75172310WON1459KL RahulIndEngEng201820723-Lost1359Bob Simpson +AusSAfSAf1957/5833133-WON13510Bob SimpsonAusWIAus1960/6114521-WON13611Brian LaraWIEngWI1997/98040432WON1348Rahul DravidIndAusInd2004/054423--Lost1347Brian LaraWIIndWI20063145--Lost13510Alastair Cook #EngIndEng201811452-WON + debut series# final series Queries CornerHanuma Vihari, in his debut Test at The Oval, scored a fifty and also claimed three wickets in the second innings. Has any other Indian achieved this all-round feat on debut? — K Sampath, Hyderabad.Hanuma Vihari, with his 56 and 3/37 at the Oval, became the second Indian after Dattu Phadkar, who also achieved a similar feat of 51 runs and 3/14 on his Test debut in Sydney in December 1947.On how many occasions have teams successfully chased targets between 200 and 300 in Test cricket? — Sameer Naik, Vancouver, Canada.Please refer to my last column on the subject. For the record, targets of 200 or more have been set on 987 occasions in Test cricket, the summary of which is given below for the Tests won, lost, tied and drawn.Targets of…TotalWonLostTieDrawn400+3014240057300 to 399358261821149200 to 299328851051137Total9871155272343 Indian wicketkeepers in the recent series have conceded over 100 byes. Is this the most ever conceded by Indian wicketkeepers in a Test series?— Alok Jain, Mumbai.In the recent five-match Test series, Indian wicketkeepers Dinesh Karthik (30 byes in two Tests) and Risabh Pant (76 byes in the last three Tests) had, in all, conceded 106 byes. This is the first time an Indian bowling side had conceding over 100 byes in a Test series. The previous, dubious record came during the historic Test series in the West Indies in 1971, when debutant wicketkeeper P. Krishnamurthy had conceded 84 byes.Hanuma Vihari’s first two Test victims — Joe Root and Alastair Cook — had made 100+ scores. How often has this happened in Test cricket? — V. George, Kottayam.There are quite a few such instances in Test cricket history. Bangladesh’s Aftab Ahmed has the unique distinction of claiming his first three Test victims, who all had made 100+ scores. Interestingly, his fourth victim was dismissed for 94. The only other Indian, apart from Vihari to achieve this was Karn Sharma, whose first two Test victims had made centuries. In Sharma’s case, his fourth victim had also made a century. Note: All figures above are updated as on September 14 2018. 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. Clickbait sensationalism is not for us, but editorial independence is — we owe it to you. Support Quality Journalism Subscribe to our daily newsletter Get your daily dose of Sportstar with handpicked stories delivered right to your inbox! SUBSCRIBE Please enter a valid email address.
Kumar Sangakkara Rahul Dravid Ricky Ponting Sachin Tendulkar Brian Lara Virat Kohli Chris Gayle Mohammad Azharuddin Alastair Cook