Statistical Highlights : India v South Africa : Kanpur Test

1st Day:

• Zander de Bruyn and Thami Tsolekile were making their Test debut for South Africa. A total of 294 players have now appeared for South Africa in Test cricket.
• Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 50th Test at home soil. He became fourth Indian to do so after Sunil Gavaskar (65), Kapil Dev (65) and Dilip Vengsarkar (54).
  
• Sourav Ganguly was opening the bowling for India in first innings of a Test for the sixth time in his career. The last such occasion for him was against England at Bangalore in 2001-02
  
• Andrew Hall (78*), opening the batting for the first time in Test cricket, scored his third fifty.
  
• Jacques Kallis,on 33, completed his 6,000 runs in Test cricket in his 81st Test and 134th innings. He became second South African after Gary Kirsten and 38th batsman in the world to do so.
  
• The dismissal of Jacobus Rudolph was the 50th time Anil Kumble got rid of a batsman without letting him open his account. He became only second Indian after Kapil Dev (68) to do so.
• Interestingly Kumble is only the third spinner (after Muralitharan and Warne) out of the 16 bowlers who have inflicted 50 or more ducks in Test cricket.
  
  2nd Day:
  
• Andrew Hall (163 off 453 balls) scored his maiden Test century - his previous highest was an unbeaten 99 (off just 87 balls!) against England at Leeds in 2003.
  
• Hall’s innings is now the highest ever by a South African player on Indian soil. The previous highest was Daryll Cullinan’s unbeaten 153 at Kolkata in 1996-97.
  
• Hall’s innings is the third highest for a player playing his first innings against India on Indian soil. Only Australia’s Dean Jones (210 at Madras in 1986-87) and England’s Tom Graveney (175 at Bombay Brabourne in 1951-52) have made higher scores.
  
• Hall also became second South African to score a century in his first innings against India. Kepler Wessels is the only other batsman to do so (118 at Durban in 1992-93).
  
• Hall took 433 minutes to complete his century. This is the second slowest Test century by a South African. Jackie McGlew had taken 545 minutes to complete his century against Australia in 1957-58, which still remains the slowest ever for South Africa. Hall’s century is also the fifth slowest in any Test on Indian soil.
  
• The sixth wicket partnership of 144 runs between Andrew Hall and Zander de Bruyn is South Africa’s best for this wicket against India – home or abroad. This surpassed the previous record stand of 112 runs between Brian McMillan and Shaun Pollock at Johannesburg in 1996-97. Incidentally the previous record sixth wicket partnership for South Africa on Indian soil was a paltry 18 run between Brian McMillan and Dave Richardson at Kanpur in 1996-97
  
• The seventh wicket partnership of 60 between Pollock and de Bruyn is South Africa's best against India in India. The pair surpassed the unbroken 36 run stand between Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher at Mumbai in 1999-00.
  
• Anil Kumble (5-116) took a five wicket innings haul for the 28th time in his career, which equals Shane Warne’s tally. Now only Muralitharan (44) and Richard Hadlee (36) are ahead of Kumble.
  
• Kumble was bowling 50 overs in an innings for the 13th time in his career. The last such occasion was against Australia at Melbourne in December 2003. Kumble has now equalled Bishan Singh Bedi’s record of sending down 50 overs in an innings on 13 occasions. Only Vinoo Mankad (14) is ahead of him for India. Incidentally Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan holds the world record of most ‘50-overs in an innings’ instances – a whopping 27!
  
• Kumble has now conceded 100 or more runs in an innings on 34 occasions in Test cricket. Only Muralitharan (42) has done so more often. However Kumble has now equalled Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s record of doing so on most occasions at Indian soil.
  
• The 53 extras in South African innings equal the MAXIMUM conceded by India in a home Test. Overall it is the joint fourth highest number of extras conceded by India in an innings.
• 
  The previous record of most extras conceded by India in an innings against South Africa was of 39 extras in first innings of Kolkata Test in 1996-97.
  
  3rd Day:
  
• The wicket of Tsolekile was the 100th LBW dismissal for Kumble. He became second Indian and only the fifth bowler in Test cricket history to complete century of wickets by this mode. The list is headed by Pakistan’s Wasim Akram with 119 LBW dismissals.
• Anil Kumble (6-131) claimed six wickets in an innings for the 16th time in his career. He now shares the world record of most 6-wicket innings hauls with New Zealand’s Richard Hadlee.
  
• Interestingly it was the 12th time that Kumble was taking six wickets in an innings in a home Test – most for any bowler. Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan comes second with 10 such instances.
  
• Kumble also became first Indian bowler to take three six-wicket innings hauls against South Africa moving head of Javagal Srinath who has done so twice.
  
• Kumble has now taken 60 wickets in the calendar year 2004. He becomes only the third Indian after Kapil Dev and Harbhajan Singh to take 60 wickets in a calendar year. Both Kapil and Harbhajan have performed this feat twice.
  
• Kumble has now taken his career tally of wickets to 430. He is now only five short of surpassing Kapil Dev’s wicket-aggregate of 434 wickets to become the highest wicket-taker for India.
  
• South Africa's total of 510 for 9 decl. is their highest total against India in India surpassing the 479 at Bangalore in 1999-00.
  
• The above total is also the second highest for a visiting side at Green Park, Kanpur after England's 559 for 8 decl.in 1963-64.
  
• The unbroken 185 run-partnership between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir is the third highest for the opening wicket for India since Sunil Gavaskar’s retirement from Test cricket. Overall this partnership is now the tenth highest for India for the opening wicket against all countries.
  
• The Sehwag-Gambhir partnership is the HIGHEST opening partnership for India and 12th highest in all Tests against South Africa.The previous highest opening stand for India was a paltry 90 between Vikram Rathore and Nayan Mongia at Johnnesburg in 1996-97
  
• The above partnership is also the best ever opening partnership at Kanpur, surpassing the 162 between Devang Gandhi and Sadagoppan Ramesh for India against New Zealand in 1999-00.
  
  4th Day:
  
• The first wicket partnership of 218 between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir is the second highest opening partnership against all countries after only the world record 413-run partnership between Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy against New Zealand at Madras (now Chennai) in 1955-56.
  
• This is now the second highest opening partnership in Test cricket for any side responding to opposition’s total of 500-plus. The 283-run partnership between Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe for England against Australia at Melbourne in 1924-25 still remains the highest. England were then responding to Australia’s total of 600.
  
• This is now the fifth highest opening wicket partnership on Indian soil and eighth highest against South Africa in all Tests.
  
• The above partnership is India's highest for any wicket against South Africa in India, surpassing the 165 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Rahul Dravid for the sixth wicket at Kanpur in 1996-97.
  
• The above partnership is the second highest for any wicket at Kanpur after 272-run partnership between Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev for India for the sixth wicket against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in 1986-87.
  
• This was the second double century partnership for opening wicket involving Sehwag. He had also participated in 201-run partnership with Sanjay Bangar against West Indies at Mumbai (WS) in 2001-02. Sehwag thus became only the second Indian to feature in TWO double century opening wicket partnerships after Sunil Gavaskar (who else!)
  
• The wicket of Gambhir was the 350th for Shaun Pollock in his 86th Test. He became first South African and 15th bowler in the world to reach this landmark.
  
• Sehwag scored eighth hundred of his career in only his 28th Test. Among the Indians only one batsman – Sunil Gavaskar – had scored more hundreds (9) after exactly 28 Tests. However Gavaskar – like Sehwag- had also scored eight hundreds after exactly 46 innings.
  
• Sehwag, during his scintillating innings of 164, completed 1,000 runs in Test matches in the calendar year 2004. He became the first Indian and the seventh batsman after West Indies’ Brian Lara (1,178), Chris Gayle (1,135) Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya (1,130), Kumar Sangakkara (1,114), Australia’s Damien Martyn (1,097) and West Indies’ Ramnaresh Sarwan (1,005) to aggregate 1,000 runs this year.
  
• Sehwag also became the seventh Indian (on 13th occasion) to perform the feat of aggregating 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar have both done so four times apiece. Gavaskar also holds the record of highest run-aggregate in a calendar year.
  
• Sehwag reached his 150 in style with a six (from 149 to 155) off Robin Peterson. He became third Indian to do so after Nayan Mongia (v Australia at Delhi in 1996-97) and Sachin Tendulkar (also v Australia at Bangalore in 1997-98). It may be recalled here that during his record innings of 309 against Pakistan at Multan, Sehwag reached 100 and 300-run marks with sixes.
  
• Sehwag has now crossed 150 on four occasions. Only Sachin Tendulkar (14), Sunil Gavaskar (12), Rahul Dravid (8), Mohammad Azharuddin (7) and Dilip Vengsarkar (6) have more scores of 150-plus than Sehwag for India, VVS Laxman has also four such scores to his credit.
  
• Sehwag’s innings is the second highest by an Indian against South Africa behind only Sachin Tendulkar’s 169 at Johannesburg in 1996-97.
  
• The two sixes in this innings have taken Sehwag’s career tally of sixes to 28 – more than what Gavaskar could aggregate in whole of his career of 125 Tests! Among the Indians now only Kapil Dev (61), Sourav Ganguly (41), Sachin Tendulkar (39) and Navjot Sidhu (38) have hit more sixes than Sehwag.
  
• Sehwag has now aggregated 2,080 runs in his career as an opener. Among the Indians only Sunil Gavaskar (9,607), Navjot Sidhu (2,911) and Pankaj Roy (2,220). However Sehwag’s average of 54.73 is the highest among all the Indian openers who have aggregated more than 1,000 runs in their career. Gavaskar (50.30) comes second.
  
• Sehwag and Gambhir provided only the third instance in Indian Test cricket of one opener scoring a century and other becoming a victim of nervous ninety in the same innings. The first such instance was seen in Madras (now Chennai) Test against Pakistan where Krish Srikkanth scored 123 and Sunil Gavaskar made 91. At Colombo against Sri Lanka in 1993-94,Navjot Sidhu scored 104 and Manoj Prabhakar made 95.
  
• Incidentally Sehwag-Gambhir pair narrowly missed becoming only the fourth Indian opening pair to have recorded a century each in the same innings. The three Indian openers to have done so are Vijay Merchant (114) & Mushtaq Ali (112) against England at Manchester in 1936; Vinoo Mankad (231) & Pankaj Roy (173) against New Zealand at Madras (now Chennai) in 1955-56 and Sunil Gavaskar (172) & Krish Srikkanth (116) against Australia at Sydney in 1985-86.
  
• The 96-run fourth-wicket stand between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly is India's best against South Africa in India, surpassing the 49 by the same pair at Mumbai (WS) in 1999-00.
  
  5th Day:
  
• India’s total of 466 is their highest against South Africa in all Tests bettering 410 at Johannesburg in 1996-97. Incidentally India's previous highest against South Africa in a home Test was 400-7 decl at this same venue in 1996-97.
  
• The ninth wicket partnership of 36 between Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan is India's best against South Africa in India obliterating the 25-run partnership between Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad at Ahmedabad in 1996-97.
  
• Zaheer Khan (30) recorded his highest score in India, bettering the 25 against Australia at Nagpur in 2004-05. Interestingly In his previous Test on Indian soil (v Australia at Mumbai early this month), he had recorded a Pair.
  
• Zaheer’s 30 is the highest score by a number 10 Indian batsman against South Africa beating Anil Kumble’s 28 at Port Elizabeth in 2001-02.
  
• The 101 extras in the match provided the 82d instance of 100 or more extras being conceded in a Test match. The world record is of 173 extras made in Bridgetown Test between Pakistan and Bridgetown in 1976-77. The record in a match involving India is of 122 extras at The Oval against England in 1990. The highest number of extras recorded in a Test on Indian soil is 117 between India and West Indies at Mumbai (WS) in 1994-95.
  
• The 75 extras (53 + 22) in the match are the second most conceded by India in a Test after the 85 extras (30 + 55) against England at The Oval in 1990. India had conceded 68 extras (24 + 44) against New Zealand at Mohali in 1999-00, which was the previous record in a home Test.
• Out of a total of 19 Tests played on this ground, 12 have been drawn affairs.
  
• Out of the last eight Tests played on Indian soil, five have been drawn. The three result oriented Tests were all played in same series against Australia that the visitors won by 2-1 margin.
  
• Andrew Hall won his maiden Man of the Match award in his 11th Test.
  
  
  

Clarke’s unique feat

Michael Clarke by scoring a brilliant 141 in the Brisbane Test against New Zealand has joined a very exclusive club of batsmen who have scored a hundred in their first ever Test appearance, both at home and abroad. Clarke had started his Test career with a match winning 151 against India at Bangalore last month. Only five batsmen have performed this feat before Clarke. The details:

H Graham (Aus)	107	v Eng	Lord's	    1893

	        105	v Eng	Sydney 	    1894-95

KS Ranji (Eng)	154*	v Aus	Manchester  1896

	        175	v Aus	Sydney 	    1897-98

LG Rowe (WI)	214 	v NZ	Kingston    1971-72

                & 100*

	        107	v Aus	Brisbane    1975-76

KC Wessels(Aus)	162	v Eng	Brisbane    1982-83

	        141	v SL	Kandy	    1982-83

A.Mahmood (Pak)	128*	v SA	Rawalpindi  1997-98

          	136	v SA	Jo'burg	    1997-98

MJ Clarke (Aus)	151	v Ind	Bangalore   2004-05

        	141	v NZ	Brisbane    2004-05

Dravid's World Record

Rahul Dravid today equalled a world record of which no body seems to be aware of. Dravid had made his Test debut against England at Lord’s in June 1996. Since then he has appeared in 84 Tests at a trot without missing a single one. Dravid's 84 Tests in a row equals the record for maximum Tests played by any player in Test history since debut without missing a match. Incidentally the player whose world record Dravid equalled is none other than fellow teammate Sachin Tendulkar who made this record from his debut against Pakistan at Karachi in November 1989 to Harare Test against Zimbabwe in June 2001. Interestingly enough, before Tendulkar it was another Indian, Kapil Dev, who held the record of playing most Tests (66) in a row since his debut Test in October 1978.

The only current player capable to challenge Dravid’s record is Australia’s Adam Gilchrist, who has played 61 Tests at a trot since his debut in November 1999.

New Zealand's John Reid and England's Tony Greig are the only ones to have appeared in fifty-plus Tests without missing a single Test during their entire Test career. England's all-rounder Frank Woolley was the first player to appear in 50 or more matches in a row since debut between 1909 to 1926. The following table lists players who have played 50 or more Test matches in a row since debut.

Player          Country Tests     Period

Sachin Tendulkar  Ind    84   1989-90 to 2001-02

Rahul Dravid      Ind    84   1996 to 2004-05

Kapil Dev         Ind    66   1978-79 to 1984-85

Ian Healy         Aus    64   1988-89 to 1994-95

Rohan Kanhai      WI     61   1957 to 1968-69

Adam Gilchrist    Aus    61   1999-00 to 2004-05

John Reid         NZ     58+  1949 to 1965

Tony Greig        Eng    58+  1972 to 1977

Alistair Campbell Zim    56   1992-93 to 2001-02

Gary Kirsten      SA     53   1993-94 to 1998-99

Frank Woolley     Eng    52   1909 to 1926

Rodney Marsh      Aus    52   1970-71 to 1977

Andy Flower       Zim    52   1992-93 to 2001-02

Greg Chappell     Aus    51   1970-71 to 1977

+ consecutive appearances from debut to retirement

Taking Guard

Hi Folks ! I have been thinking about starting my own blog for years but could not do so. Blame it on my laziness, lack of technical know-how, anything.... However I am glad that at last I have taken the monkey off my back and I do have a place now where I am my own master.

This site will be different from the others in the way that it will carry articles on cricket records and statistics only, nothing else. I'll certainly like to make it more interactive. Please put forward your feedback,suggestions and queries. All my articles that I compile for print and electronic media (and some for my own sake) will be posted here. I may also think of posting my old interesting articles at a later stage.

So, happy surfing !