Too much cricket, really?

The suspense over MS Dhoni's participation in the Sri Lanka series will be over today, when five wise-men sit together to pick the squad for the series. However this has brought the issue of excessive cricket in the limelight again. During the Asia Cup also Dhoni had raised his concerns about too much cricket. Although Dhoni is the only Indian cricketer to speak openly, most of the Indian cricketers admit in private that the amount of cricket is taking its toll both on their body and performance.

Indian players are playing non-stop cricket this year, which started with the Test series against Australia (in fact Indians were already in Australia at the start of the year). The Test series was followed by a ODI trie-series. Soon after India were facing South Africa in India for a three-match Test series. No sooner this series was finished, the Indian Premium League started. Had the Kanpur Test gone onto scheduled fifth day, there would have been only two days time for the players to pack their kit-bags,join their respective IPL teams and start with a totally new format of cricket. The IPL was highly successful but for players it was highly draining as well as they were left to fly all across the country on every alternate day. There was no respite for the cricketers when the final of IPL was played on June 1st, since within a week India were playing a meaningless ODI tri-series in Bangladesh, then the Asia Cup.....and now series against Sri Lanka. This is a vicious circle and no one knows if there is any end to this.

Series played by Indian cricketers in the year 2008

India in Australia            20 December to 4 March
South Africa in India         26 March to 13 April
Indian Premium League         18 April to 1 June
Kitply Series in Bangladesh    8 June to 14 June
Asia Cup in Pakistan          24 June to 6 July

Note: In addition some players also appeared for their respective sides in domestic cricket.


It will be interesting to see the amount of cricket played by Indian players this year.A total of 26 players have played some kind of international cricket (Test / ODIs / T20Is) for India in the year 2008. The following table lists all such Indian players in order of total number of days spent by them on the field this year. For this purpose,we have included all 'important' matches played by them. The table below shows the number of days a player spent on the field during Tests, ODIs and T20Is and IPL. The 'other' column includes important domestic matches and matches on tour.

Indian players - No.of days on the field in the year 2008

Player           ODIs Tests T20Is IPL Other Total
MS Dhoni          19   25    1    16    3    64
Virender Sehwag   13   20    1    14    5    53
RP Singh           6   22    0    14    7    49
Yusuf Pathan       7    0    0    16   24    47
Irfan Pathan      16   12    1    14    3    46
Gautam Gambhir    19    0    1    14   12    46
Ishant Sharma     13   17    1    11    3    45
Rahul Dravid       0   25    0    14    5    44
Wasim Jaffer       0   20    0     6   18    44
Yuvraj Singh      17    8    0    15    3    43
Sourav Ganguly     0   25    0    13    3    41
Harbhajan Singh   10   21    1     3    3    38
Rohit Sharma      19    0    1    13    5    38
S Sreesanth        9   11    1    15    1    37
Sachin Tendulkar  10   19    0     7    0    36
Piyush Chawla      8    3    0    15   10    36
Suresh Raina       9    0    0    16   10    35
Praveen Kumar     11    0    1    13   10    35
Robin Uthappa     13    0    1    14    5    33
VVS Laxman         0   25    0     6    1    32
Anil Kumble        0   22    0    10    0    32
Pragyan Ojha       3    0    0    13   16    32
Munaf Patel        3    0    0    15    8    26
Manpreet Gony      2    0    0    16    8    26
Dinesh Karthik     0    0    1    13    9    23
Manoj Tiwary       1    0    0     9    6    16

MS Dhoni is there right on the top, which justifies his outburts against the BCCI. Both Pathan brothers are in top five (Yusuf's name is surprising but he has played a lot of domestic cricket when he was not performing national duty).

It is just not the number of days on the field that drains the players, add to this the frequent flights from one venue to the other, a few day's gap between two games when the players keep on sweating it out on the field and the picture becomes horrible.

Everyone will agree that this amount of cricket is simply too much, but do the players really need rest? How many cricketers actually use a welcome break to relax / spend some quality time with the family or sort out flaws in their game. Haven't we seen how most of the cricketers (Dhoni included) run to grab a chance for a commercial shoot or to cut ribbon to inaugurate a saloon whenever there is a break from the cricket? Doesn't it involve hectic travelling? But no, you won't hear any complaint from any of the players. Because it is free-money and only a fool will let go an opportunity to make free-money. 'We are tired of playing, but ads are always welcome', this is the kind of impression players are giving.

So,what is the remedy ? One may like it or not, but the Cricket will be played at this pace only, now that all the commercialism has settled in. The best thing for BCCI will be to create a pool of players and rotate the players on regular basis. This is the need of the hour.

An Ajantha Mendis Show

Ajantha Mendis turned the game on its head when it looked like that the Indians will achieve the modest victory targetof 274 quite comfortably. Introduced after nine overs, when India were cruising at 76 for one with Virender Sehwag hitting everything as per his wish, Mendis changed the projection of the game with his double strike in the first over and from there was no respite for the Indian batsmen, who looked totally dumbfounded while facing Mendis.

The fact that not even a single boundary could be hit against Mendis clearly shows how flabbergasted Indian batsmen were against a novice.

Mendis’ figures of 6 for 13 are now the third best by any bowler against India after fellow teammate Muttiah Muralitharan and former Pakistan seamer Aaqib Javed. The following table lists the best bowling performances against India:

Best bowling figures against India

Figures Bowler              Venue      Year
7-30  M Muralitharan (SL)   Sharjah    2000
7-37  Aaqib Javed (Pak)     Sharjah    1991
6-13  BAW Mendis (SL)       Karachi    2008
6-14  Imran Khan (Pak)      Sharjah    1985
6-19  SE Bond (NZ)          Bulawayo   2005
6-27  Naved-ul-Hasan (Pak)  Jamshedpur 2005
6-29  BP Patterson (WI)     Nagpur     2001

Mendis’ performance is now the best by any bowler rolling his arms over for the first time against India. West Indian pacer Patrick Patterson held the previous record. The details:

Best bowling figures on first appearance against India

Figures Bowler           Venue       Year
6-13   BAW Mendis (SL)   Karachi     2008
6-29   BP Patterson (WI) Nagpur      1987
6-39   KH MacLeay (Aus)  Nottingham  1983
5-22   AR Adams (NZ)     Queenstown  2003
5-29   AA Donald (SA)    Calcutta    1991
5-32   WJ Cronje (SA)    Cape Town   1992

Mendis’ figures are also the third best by any bowler in a tournament final as is detailed in the following list:

Best bowling figures in tournament finals

Figures Bowler           Opponent Venue        Year  Tournament
7-37   Aaqib Javed (Pak) v Ind   Sharjah       1991  Wills Trophy
6-12   Anil Kumble (Ind) v WI    Calcutta      1993  Hero Cup
6-13   BAW Mendis (SL)   v Ind   Karachi       2008  Asia Cup
6-59   A Nehra (Ind)     v SL    Colombo (RPS) 2005  Indian Oil Cup
5-14   WPUJC Vaas (SL)   v Ind   Sharjah       2000  Champions Trophy

Although it is too early to say, Mendis has shown that he has the potential to be one of the most successful bowlers on the international scene. Already he has taken two five-wicket hauls in his 8 matches. His tally of 20 wickets is second only to West Indian Ottis Gibson after exactly 8 ODIs.

Most wickets after 8 ODI matches

Wkts Bowler              Avg     SR   Econ  5W
21   OD Gibson (WI)     16.38  19.95  4.93  1
20   BAW Mendis (SL)    10.25  16.80  3.66  2
20   SE Bond (NZ)       15.65  22.30  4.21  0
19   AB Agarkar (Ind)   19.42  21.32  5.47  0
18   CG Rackemann (Aus) 16.83  23.89  4.23  0
18   SK Warne (Aus)     12.11  23.33  3.11  0

Successfully chasing a 300-target with most balls to spare

Chasing a victory target of 300 runs, India defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets in Asia Cup match with 47 balls still remaining to be bowled.
In the history of ODIs this is the second biggest victory in terms of balls remaining for a side chasing a target of 300 or more. Have a look:

 
Balls Countries  Venue     Year Target  Victory margin 
75    SL v Eng   Leeds     2006  325    8 wkts 
47    Ind v Pak  Karachi   2008  300    6 wkts 
16    Eng v Pak  Karachi   2000  305    5 wkts 
14    Ind v WI   Ahmedabad 2002  325    5 wkts 

Tendulkar breaks Bradman's world record

In the second final of CB Series, Sachin Tendulkar broke a world record that almost went unnoticed.When his score reached 9, Tendulkar became only the second batsman after Sir Don Bradman to make 5000 or more runs against a particular opponent in all forms of International Cricket (Tests, ODIs and T20-Is). On 38, he broke Sir Don's world record of 5028 runs against England. Now Sachin has 5082 runs against Australia in all international cricket.Kudos to Tendulkar on breaking Sir Don's Record.

Sir Don Bradman had made all the runs in Test matches. No one can come close to this record not even Tendulkar. But, in all international matches, Tendulkar is now the Don.

 
Most runs in international cricket against a particular country
 
Batsman            Opp  Mts Inns NO Runs  Hs   Avg  100  50  0 
SR Tendulkar (Ind) Aus  85  107  6  5082 241* 50.31  17  23  6 
DG Bradman (Aus)   Eng  37   63  7  5028 334  89.78  19  12  6 
AR Border (Aus)    Eng  90  124 25  4850 200* 48.98   8  30  4 
BC Lara (WI)       Aus  82  108  5  4714 277  45.76  12  26  9 
DL Haynes (WI)     Aus  97  123 14  4495 148  41.23  11  27  4 
IVA Richards (WI)  Eng  72   84 10  4488 291  60.64  11  26  4 
IVA Richards (WI)  Aus  88  104 10  4453 208  47.37   8  34  6 
DI Gower (Eng)     Aus  74  108  7  4063 215  40.22  11  15  4 
GA Gooch (Eng)     Aus  74  110  1  4027 196  36.94   8  25  5 

 
Tendulkar against Australia in international cricket
        Mts Inns NO Runs  Hs    Avg  100 50  0 
Tests   25   47  5  2352  241* 56.00  9   9  4 
ODIs    60   60  1  2730  143  46.27  8  14  2 
T20Is    0         
TOTAL   85  107  6  5082  241* 50.31 17  23  6 

(Acknowledgement - Ishaq Khan)

A new Indian record for Praveen Kumar

Praveen Kumar who played an important role in India's 9-run win over Australia in the second final of CB Series today, got an Indian record on his name which went unnoticed, well almost. At 21 years 154 days Praveen is now the YOUNGEST Indian to win Man of Match award in a tournament final. Praveen snatched this record from Sachin Tendulkar (who else!)

Youngest Indians to win MoM award in tournament finals
Age    Player           Tournament     Opp Venue    Season   Performance
(Yrs-Dys)
21-154 Praveen Kumar    CB Series      Aus Brisbane 2007-08  7 & 4-46
21-195 Sachin Tendulkar Wills Series   WI  Kolkata  1994-95 66,1-35 & 1 ct
21-224 Mohammad Kaif    NatWest Series Eng Lord's   2002    87*
23-41  Anil Kumble      Hero Cup       WI  Kolkata  1993-94  5* & 6-12
24-33  Rahul Dravid     Standard Bank  SA  Durban   1996-97 84

Note: All performances excepting Dravid's came in WON matches.

Sachin Tendulkar: Badshah of Finals
Sachin was at his scintillating best in the second final of CB Series after scoring a century in the first final. His 91 runs were in no way less important than Praveen Kumar's figures of 4-46. It was,however, Praveen who won Man of the Match award in the end. Tendulkar should have no reasons to complain though. He already has won more Man of the Match awards in tournament finals than any other player in ODI history. The award in the first final was Tendulkar's seventh such award in the finals. No other player has managed more than five!

Players winning most man of match awards in tournament finals
MoMs Player             For
7   Sachin Tendulkar   India
5   Aravinda de Silva  Sri Lanka
5   Wasim Akram        Pakistan
4   Sanath Jayasuriya  Sri Lanka
4   Adam Gilchrist     Australia
4   Ricky Ponting      Australia

Tendulkar on the backfoot

The 'Seniors versus youngsters' has been a hot topic of debate in Indian cricket in recent times.The youngsters may not have exactly set the stage on fire, but the fact that the seniors have not really pitched in when they needed to has not made matters simple.

The seniors, especially the batsmen, have proved to be India's biggest downfall in the ongoing CB tri-series. On the other hand, the youngsters, especially the bowlers have dished out strong performances.

The three senior most players in the squad -- Sachin Tendulkar,Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh -- have between them aggregated 327 runs in 18 innings at an average of 18.16 with just one score of 50. This is still less than Gautam Gambhir's aggregate of 359 runs (average 59.83) and just marginally higher than Mahendra Singh Dhoni's 296 (avg 74.00).

         Mts Runs  Avg     SR  100/50
Sehwag    5   81  16.20  78.64  0/0
Tendulkar 7  128  18.29  73.99  0/0
Yuvraj    6  118  19.66  81.38  0/1

Sehwag and Yuvraj have always been consistently inconsistent, but it is the form of little master Sachin Tendulkar which should be giving headache to skipper Dhoni. This is turning out to be worst series of Tendulkar's distinguished career.

Tendulkar's worst ODI series
(where he played a minimum of 5 innings)

Series/ Tournament                      Inns Runs  Avg   100/50
Commonwealth Bank Series,2007-08         7   128  18.29   0/0
v South Africa in South Africa,1992-93   7   144  20.57   0/0
v Pakistan in India,2004-05              6   145  24.17   1/0
Hero Cup in India,1993-94                6    98  24.50   0/0
C& U Series in Australia,1999-00     8   198  24.75   0/1

This is not that runs have suddenly dried up for Tendulkar. If one take a look at his performance in year 2007, he hardly contributed anything while chasing a target. But this did not become a talking point as he compensated by scoring heavily in the first innings of the match. Unfortunately, he has not been able to run freely even in the first innings in this tournament.

The following two tables reveal some shocking stats. Upto the end of the year 2006, Tendulkar's performance in the first and second innings of the match were almost identical. But since the start of 2007 his performance while chasing a target has gone down the hill. That Tendulkar has not been able to move into double figures in almost 48% innings is a telling statement in itself.

Tendulkar in ODIs (upto 2006)

                Inns Runs  Hs   Avg     SR   100  50 Single-digit scores
Batting first    180 7449 186* 44.08  82.31   25  32    47(26.11%)
Batting second   185 7088 143  44.02  88.83   15  42    55(29.72%)

Tendulkar in ODIs (since 2007)

                Inns Runs  Hs   Avg     SR   100  50 Single-digit scores
Batting first     18  940 100* 58.75  85.77    1   8     2(11.11%)
Batting second    21  613  97  29.19  82.61    0   5    10(47.61%)

Bucknored!

ICC might now look at the possibility of adding a new mode of dismissal in the rule books – Bucknored. This is the mode that genuinely describes Rahul Dravid’s dismissal today. Bucknor’s decision to rule Rahul Dravid out caught behind when the bat was nowhere near the ball was so shockingly poor that even a normally cool Dravid was forced to utter - "How many more.....?"

As Harsha Bhogle promptly put it, this was the question whole India was asking - "How many more, Mr.Bucknor?" The same Bucknor had earlier failed to hear a thick edge from Andrew Symonds, when he had made only 30. Symonds went on to make his highest Test score and changed the course of the match.Dravid's dismissal was the turning point of the game as it opened the floodgates wide opened. India's troubles were further compounded by another wrong decision meeted out to Sourav Ganguly, this time by umpire Mark Benson.

At least Benson does not give an impression of being biased against India. There is something definitely wrong with Bucknor when he officiates in matches involving India. This is not the first time Indians have been screwed by Steve Bucknor. The umpire has a history of confrontations with the Indian team. We take a look at some of past such instances:

Steve Bucknor v India

Steve Bucknor: Umpired in 21 India Tests, India has won five of them

1992-93: India vs South Africa, Johannesburg
With South Africa reeling at 73-5, Indians appeal for Jhonty Rhodes’ run-out. Bucknor refuses to take Third Umpire’s help. Replays show Rhodes, who went on to play a match-saving innings, was clearly short of the crease.
Result: Match drawn

1998-99: India vs Pakistan, Kolkata
Shoaib Akhtar obstructs Sachin Tendulkar as he fails to make it to the crease. Bucknor turns a blind eye and refers the matter to the TV umpire. As the red light flashes and Tendulkar walks to the dressing room, Eden erupts.
Result: Pakistan won

2003-04: India vs Australia, Brisbane
Tendulkar is given out lbw when the ball hit on a knee roll and the line was just outside the off-stump. The bowler was Jason Gillespie and India slips after a good start
Result: Match drawn

2003-04: India vs Australia, Sydney
India is on the verge of history of a series win on the final day. Bucknor refuses a number of close leg-before decisions against the Aussies. India falls short of time. Skipper Sourav Ganguly in his post-series report to ICC gives Bucknor very poor ratings with adverse comments.
Result: Match drawn

2003-04: India vs Pakistan, Lahore
India is already on the backfoot in the series for the first time after an awful batting display. Five opportunities missed while bowling, four of them adjudicated by Bucknor. This forces Indian coach John Wright to complain to match-referee Ranjan Madugalle during the day’s play.
Result: India lost

2004-05: India vs Pakistan, Kolkata
Sachin Tendulkar walked back to the dressing room with tears in his eyes as Bucknor (standing in his 100th Test) declared him out at 52 after his bat clearly missed the ball sent down by Abdul Razzaq and none of the Pakistanis, other than the bowler, appealed.
Result: India won

Australia heading for another world record

The win against India today was Australia's 15th in a row since the Melbourne Test against South Africa in December 2005 when it registered a 184-run win. Australia is now heading for world record of most consecutive wins in Test cricket. The current record is of 16 consecutive wins also held by Australia between 1999 and 2001.
Interestingly Australia's victory march was interrupted by India last time. So, it will be interesting to see if India can stop them once again from achieving a new high.

Most consecutive wins in Test cricket
Mts For          Period      Captain (at start)
16  Australia    1999-2001   Steve Waugh
15* Australia    2005-2007   Ricky Ponting
11  West Indies  1984        Clive Lloyd
 9  Sri Lanka    2001-2002   Sanath Jayasuriya
 9  South Africa 2002-2003   Mark Boucher

*- unbroken sequence

UPDATE - With the 122-run win at Sydney Australia has equalled the World Record of most consecutive wins

India's largest defeats in Test cricket

Australia today handed India its third biggest defeat in Test matches. It was the sixth time India was losing a Test by 300 runs margin. Interestingly three of India's six biggest defeats have come against Australia. Also, all of these defeats have come after 1990.

Opponent      Margin      Venue     Season        Captain
Australia     342 runs    Nagpur    2004-05       Rahul Dravid
Pakistan      341 runs    Karachi   2005-06       Rahul Dravid
Australia     337 runs    Melbourne 2007-08       Anil Kumble
South Africa  329 runs    Kolkata   1996-97       Sachin Tendulkar
South Africa  328 runs    Durban    1996-97       Sachin Tendulkar
Australia     300 runs    Perth     1991-92       M Azharuddin

Note: India lost to West Indies at Kolkata in 1958-59 by innings and 336 runs, which remains India's largest ever innings defeat.

The "real" difference between two teams in Melbourne Test

This is how the openers, middle order batsmen and lower-order batsmen of the two sides performed in the Melbourne Test. The middle-order of both sides had almost identical success or failure depending upon how you perceive it.It was the performance of the openers (and to some extent lower order) that made all the difference in the end.

 
               Openers 
           Balls Runs   Avg    SR 
Australia   448   288  72.00  50.89 
India       247    40  10.00  16.19 
     
             Middle Order (3-7) 
           Balls Runs   Avg    SR 
Australia   475   275  27.50  57.89 
India       478   244  24.40  51.04 
     
            Lower Order (8-11) 
           Balls  Runs  Avg    SR 
Australia   183    99  33.00  54.09 
India       163    52   8.66  31.90 

Slowest batting displays by Indian batsmen in a match

Rahul Dravid is continuing with his new found affection for the stonewalling. After getting support from Indian thinktank which did not find anything wrong with Dravid's first innings effort of scoring 5 runs off 66 balls, Dravid produced another gem in the second innings, scoring 16 in 114 balls. He might have tried to even 'better' his first innings performance, but an edge through gully -almost caught by diving Clarke- gave him a boundary and distorted his figures somewhat.

In all Dravid scored 21 runs in the match off 180 balls in more than four hours' stay at the wicket - a strike rate of 11.66. Dravid's performance is infact the third worst by any Indian in a match (batting in both the innings and facing at least 100 balls in the match). In fact three out of six worst performances for India have come from Dravid's bat only.

The following table lists the worst batting performances by Indian players in a match:

SR        Batsman           
10.41   RJ Shastri (15)       v South Africa,Port Elizabeth,1992-93
11.01   ML Jaisimha (13)   v Australia,Sydney,1967-68
11.66   R Dravid (21)          v Australia,Melbourne,2007-08
13.72   AD Gaekwad (14)   v England,Lord's,1979
15.75   R Dravid (23)          v Australia,Nagpur,2004-05
15.86   R Dravid (23)          v Australia,Melbourne,1999-00
16.04   RJ Shastri (30)       v South Africa,Johannesburg,1992-93
16.42   CPS Chauhan (23)  v England,Kanpur,1972-73
16.50   SM Patil (17)           v England,Kolkata,1981-82
17.39   KS More (20)          v Australia,Brisbane,1991-92

Stonewalling at its best!

Ghosts of the Oval Test returned back to haunt Rahul Dravid today, who made a tortured 5 off 66 balls at Melbourne while opening the Indian innings.

At Oval in 2007 Dravid batted on the fourth day in a manner as if he was trying to save the game for India, forgetting that it was actually England (and not India) who was 319 runs behind! Dravid batted for 140 minutes on that day scoring a painful 12, which virtually grabbed India a draw from the jaws of victory. Dravid's batting at Melbourne today was no different from his Oval's effort as he managed a meagre 5 after struggling for about 98 minutes on the crease. He was perhaps trying to fetch India a draw, forgetting that it is only the second day of the match!

It was only after spending 64 minutes on the crease today that Dravid finally managed to open his account (off the 41st delivery he faced). Where does Dravid's performance stand? There have been quite a few 'better' performances than Dravid's today's stonewalling. New Zealand's Geoff Allott once batted for 101 minutes and still failed to open his account. But most of such performances came from lower order batsmen who had no or very little batting abilities or were batting under tremendous pressure. So, they can't really be blamed for their slow scoring. Dravid's performance is the fourth worst performance in entire Test history if we take into consideration the performances of the specialist batsmen only.

Longest wait in opening the account

Mins Batsman
70... Bill Murdoch (Aus)..... v England,Sydney,1882-83
67... Chris Tavare (Eng)..... v Pakistan,Lord's,1982
66... John Wright (NZ)........ v Australia,Wellington,1981-82
64... Rahul Dravid (Ind)...... v Australia,Melbourne,2007-08
63... Chris Tavare (Eng)...... v Australia,Perth,1982-83
62... Mark Taylor (Aus)....... v England,Sydney,1994-95

100 Test Heroes

Sourav Ganguly today became only the seventh Indian to complete century of Test matches.Interestingly he is the oldest among Indians to accomplish this feat at 35 years 171 days, breaking Sunil Gavaskar’s Indian record. Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest Indian to do so, while Rahul Dravid took least time (from the date of debut) in playing his 100th Test.


Indian players with 100 Test appearances

Player          First Test                100th Test   Time Span    Age
Sunil Gavaskar  Mar 6,1971                Oct 17,1984  13Y 225D   35Y 99D
                v W.Indies,Port-of-Spain  v Pakistan,Lahore 
D.Vengsarkar    Jan 24,1976               Nov 24,1988  12Y 305D   32Y 232D
                v New Zealand,Auckland    v New Zealand,Mumbai 
Kapil Dev       Oct 16,1978               Nov 15,1989  11Y  30D   30Y 313D
                v Pakistan,Faisalabad     v Pakistan,Karachi 
S.Tendulkar     Nov 15,1989               Sep 5,2002   12Y 294D   29Y 134D
                v Pakistan,Karachi        v England,The Oval 
Anil Kumble     Aug 9,1990                Dec 18,2005  15Y 131D   35Y  62D
                v England, Manchester     v Sri Lanka,Ahmedabad 
Rahul Dravid    Jun 20,1996               Mar 18,2006   9Y 271D   33Y  66D
                v England, Lord's         v England,Mumbai 
Sourav Ganguly  Jun 20,1996               Dec 26,2007  11Y 189D   35Y 171D
                v England, Lord's         v Australia, Melbourne 

Note: Dravid's tally included World XI-Australia Super 'Test' played at Sydney in October 2005.His 100th game for India was against West Indies at St.John's in June 2006

The following table shows the career aggregate of Indians before the start of their 100th Tests:

                   Inns Runs   Hs   Avg  100s 50s 0s Wkts Avg
Sunil Gavaskar     174  8394  236* 52.46  30  36  10   1  177.00
Dilip Vengsarkar   159  6331  166  46.21  17  31  12   0    -
Kapil Dev          143  4087  163  31.20   6  21  12 347   29.02
Sachin Tendulkar   159  8351  217  57.99  30  33  10  27   43.74
Anil Kumble        126  1687   88  16.87   0   3  13 478   28.03
Rahul Dravid       167  8492  270  58.16  22  41   6   1   39.00
Sourav Ganguly     161  6346  239  43.17  15  30   9  32   49.47

Note: M Azharuddin ended his career with 99 Tests having scored 6215 runs (avg 45.04) with 22 centuries and 21 fifties

Kumble is the only player to see India WINNING in his 100th Test. Gavaskar, Kapil and Tendulkar’s 100th Tests were drawn games, whereas Vengsarkar and Dravid ended on the losing sides.

The following table lists Indian players performances in their 100th Tests along with the result of that Test:

                   Batting     Bowling   Fielding  Result for India
                 Inns1 Inns2 Inns1 Inns2   Ct
Sunil Gavaskar    48    37     -    -       3      Drawn
Dilip Vengsarkar  25     0     -    -       2      lost by 136 runs
Kapil Dev         55     -   4-69  3-82     0      Drawn
Sachin Tendulkar  54     -   0-4    -       0      Drawn
Anil Kumble       21    29*  2-87  5-89     0      won by 259 runs
Rahul Dravid      52     9    -     -       2      lost by 212 runs
Sourav Ganguly    To be seen

Ganguly's feat

Sourav Ganguly today became only the third Indian batsman to aggregate 500 runs in a three-match series. At the end of fourth day's play, Ganguly's series aggregate stands at 506 runs at an average of 101.20. He, in fact, can get the Indian record on his name tomorrow. Virender Sehwag holds the distinction of highest run-aggregate in a three-match series for India. The details:

 
Batsman       Series          Mts Runs  Avg   100 50
V Sehwag      v Pak, 2004-05   3   544  90.66  2  1
SC Ganguly    v Pak, 2007-08   3   506 101.20  2  1
VVS Laxman    v Aus,2000-01    3   503  83.83  1  3
SM Gavaskar   v Pak, 1978-79   3   447  89.40  2  2
SR Tendulkar  v Aus,2000-01    3   446 111.50  2  1

Ganguly's performance is also the third best by any batsman in a three-match series against Pakistan as is detailed below:

 
Batsman          Series   Mts Runs   Avg   100 50
V Sehwag (Ind)   2004-05   3   544   90.66  2  1
MA Taylor (Aus)  1998-99   3   513  128.25  1  2
SC Ganguly (Ind) 2007-08   3   506  101.20  2  1
DI Gower (Eng)   1983-84   3   449  112.25  2  2
BC Lara (WI)     2006-07   3   448   89.60  2  1

A dubious distinction for Team India

The 70 extras conceded by India in Pakistan's first innings are the second most conceded by any side in an innings in Test history. West Indies -with 71 extras against Pakistan about 20 years back- still top the chart, but it is highly unlikely that they will remain there tomorrow. India can become the first side to concede 100 extras in an innings.The following table lists the sides conceding most extras in an innings:

Ex  Concd. by  Against       Venue       Season
71    WI       Pak (435)     Georgetown  1987-88
70    Ind      Pak (369-5)   Bangalore   2007-08
68    WI       Pak (291)     Bridgetown  1976-77
65    SL       Zim (319-8)   Harare      1994-95


Most extras conceded by India
Ex  Against        Venue        Season
70  Pak (369-5)    Bangalore    2007-08
60  Eng (633)      Birmingham   1979
58  SL (952-6)     Colombo RPS  1997
55  Eng (477-4)    The Oval     1990

Dinesh Karthik, already under-pressure for a pretty ordinary series with the bat so far, gave more ammunition to his critics with his performance behind the stumps today. The 31 byes allowed by Karthik are the maximum by any Indian keeper in a Test innings. He will struggle hard not to go beyond 37 tomorrow which are the maximum byes conceded by ANY keeper in an innings in Test history.

Most byes allowed by Indian keepers

Byes Opposition   Venue       Season   Keeper
31   Pak (369-5)  Bangalore   2007-08  Dinesh Karthik
29   Eng (559-8)  Kanpur      1963-64  Budhi Kunderan
28   SL (952-6)   Colombo RPS 1997     Nayan Mongia
24   SA (479)     Bangalore   1999-00  Nayan Mongia
24   NZ (251-7)   Mohali      1999-00  MSK Prasad

Younis - Yousuf pair sets a new record against India

Younis - Yousuf pair today made entry into the record books as the most prolific pair to bat against India. By the time Younis Khan was bowled trying to employ a reverse sweep against Harbhajan Singh, the duo had aggregated 1,372 runs in just nine innings -in which they have batted together against India- at a mind blowing average of 171.50, moving ahead of West Indian pair of Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes who had aggregated 1,325 runs in 30 innings against India. Interestingly two Ys took only nine innings to obliterate West Indian pair’s record!

Out of nine occasions on which these two batted together against India, they were involved in six century partnerships and two fifty partnerships - indeed a mind-blowing performance.

 
Most prolific pairs against India:
Batsmen                              Inns Runs   Hs    Avg  100 50
Mohammad Yousuf & Younis Khan (Pak)    9  1372  319  171.50  6  2
CG Greenidge & DL Haynes (WI)         30  1325  296   45.68  2  6
Javed Miandad & Zaheer Abbas (Pak)    13  1137  287  103.36  4  3
Javed Miandad & Mudassar Nazar (Pak)   9   993  451  110.33  4  1
S Chanderpaul & CL Hooper (WI)        14   962  293   68.71  3  1
ML Hayden & JL Langer (Aus)           20   949  147   47.45  2  8
G Boycott & GA Gooch (Eng)            14   774  145   64.50  2  5
WM Lawry & RB Simpson (Aus)            9   753  191   83.66  2  5
ST Jayasuriya & RS Mahanama (SL)       3   671  576  223.66  1  1
MA Atherton & GA Gooch (Eng)           7   661  225   94.42  3  0

Although the pair’s average dipped from 185.71 (before today) to 171.50 after today’s “failure”, it still is the highest for any pair aggregating at least 1,000 runs against a specific country. The pair is well ahead of some of the great names in the game’s history as is shown below:

 
Most successful pairs against a particular country:
Batsmen                               Opp Inns Runs  Hs   Avg  100 50
Mohammad Yousuf & Younis Khan (Pak)   Ind   9  1372  319 171.50  6  2
DG Bradman & WH Ponsford (Aus)        Eng   6  1012  451 168.66  2  1
DPMD Jayawardene & KC Sangakkara (SL) SA    8  1304  624 163.00  4  2
Javed Miandad & Zaheer Abbas (Pak)    Ind  13  1137  287 103.36  4  3
ML Hayden & RT Ponting (Aus)          SA   13  1135  201  94.58  4  6
B Mitchell & AD Nourse (SA)           Eng  17  1300  190  86.66  4  6
JB Hobbs & H Sutcliffe (Eng)          Aus  30  2452  283  84.55 11  9

Reaching hundred with a six

Iran Pathan reached his maiden Test hundred in style - hitting Danish Kaneria for a six to move from 96 to 102. He, in the course, became only the seventh Indian to perform this feat. Tendulkar has done so as many as four times!

The following table lists Indian batsmen reaching the three figure mark with a six. Pathan follows into the foot-steps of Kapil Dev, who also performed this feat while scoring his maiden Test hundred. Sehwag also reached his triple hundred with a six.

 
Batsman                 Bowler              Opponent    Venue          Season
Polly Umrigar (130)     Sonny Ramadhin      West Indies Port-of-Spain  1952-53
Kapil Dev (126*)        Norbert Phillip     West Indies Delhi          1978-79
Sachin Tendulkar (179)  Courtney Walsh      West Indies Nagpur         1994-95
Sachin Tendulkar (122)  Min Patel           England     Birmingham     1996
M Azharuddin (163*)     Gavin Robertson     Australia   Calcutta       1997-98
Sachin Tendulkar (113)  Daniel Vettori      New Zealand Wellington     1998-99
Sachin Tendulkar (126)  Colin Miller        Australia   Chennai        2000-01
Rahul Dravid (233)      Jason Gillespie     Australia   Adelaide       2003-04
Virender Sehwag (309)   Shoaib Akhtar       Pakistan    Multan         2003-04
Irfan Pathan (102)      Danish Kaneria      Pakistan    Bangalore      2007-08

Highest innings by Indian batsmen

Sourav Ganguly completed his maiden double century in Bangalore Test. His innings is now the seventh highest by an Indian batsman. Incidentally Ganguly's 239 is the highest score by an Indian left-hander. The following table has the details:

Highest innings by Indian batsmen

 
Score Batsman      Opponent     Venue      Season
309  V Sehwag     v Pakistan    Multan     2003-04
281  VVS Laxman   v Australia   Kolkata    2000-01
270  R Dravid     v Pakistan    Rawalpindi 2003-04
254  V Sehwag     v Pakistan    Lahore     2005-06
248* SR Tendulkar v Bangladesh  Dhaka      2004-05
241* SR Tendulkar v Australia   Sydney     2003-04
239  SC Ganguly   v Pakistan    Bangalore  2007-08
236* SM Gavaskar  v West Indies Chennai    1983-84
233  R Dravid     v Australia   Adelaide   2003-04
231  MH Mankad    v New Zealand Chennai    1955-56

Highest innings by Indian left-handers

Runs Batsman      Opponent      Venue      Season
239  SC Ganguly   v Pakistan    Bangalore  2007-08
227  VG Kambli    v Zimbabwe    Delhi      1992-93
224  VG Kambli    v England     Mumbai     1992-93
173  SC Ganguly   v Sri Lanka   Mumbai     1997-98
169  Yuvraj Singh v Pakistan    Bangalore  2007-08

Highest innings by Indian left-handers against Pakistan

 
Runs Batsman       Venue        Season
239  SC Ganguly    Bangalore   2007-08
169  Yuvraj Singh  Bangalore   2007-08
122  Yuvraj Singh  Karachi     2005-06
112  Yuvraj Singh  Lahore      2003-04
110  DH Shodhan    Calcutta    1952-53
102  SC Ganguly    Calcutta    2007-08
102  Irfan Pathan  Bangalore   2007-08

A rare feat for Yuvraj

Yuvraj's 169 in Bangalore Test was not just the highest of his Test career, it was a treat for the spectators as well. Scoring 169 runs in just two sessions is no mean achievement by any yardstick. Yuvraj, in fact, performed the rare feat of scoring a century in a session. Only three Indians have done so before Yuvraj (not two as mentioned at various places in Indian media) - none on the first day of the match.

Yuvraj's innings - session wise

        
               Balls Runs    SR    4s/6s
Upto Lunch       4     0    0.00     -
Lunch to Tea     96   67   69.79    12
Tea to close    103  102   99.02    16/1

Indian batsmen scoring a hundred in a session

Runs Batsman           Opp      Venue    Season   Day Session
103 M Azharuddin (179) v Eng  Manchester 1990     3rd Lunch-Tea
121 VVS Laxman (167)   v Aus  Sydney     1999-00  3rd Tea-Close
109 V Sehwag (254)     v Pak  Lahore     2005-06  4th Lunch-Tea
102 Yuvraj Singh (169) v Pak  Bangalore  2007-08  1st Tea-Close

Sami in a new role

Mohammad Sami is turning out to be more successful with the bat than with the ball for Pakistan in this series.

In three innings in the series so far Sami has batted for more than seven hours and has been involved in two useful partnerships with Misbah-ul-Haq. In the first innings of Delhi Test, Misbah and Sami added 87 runs for the ninth wicket – the highest partnership for this wicket for Pakistan against India and remained unbeaten on 28 till the end. In the second innings of Delhi Test, he could contribute only 5 but more importantly defied the Indian bowlers for about an hour.

At Kolkata today he batted for nearly three hours for his 38 runs stitching a partnership of 91 runs with Misbah for the seventh wicket.

How important has been Sami for Pakistan can be gauged from the fact that once he was dismissed, the innings folded in no time. In first innings of Delhi Test, he remained unbeaten till the end. In the second innings, he was the ninth wicket to fall and innings folded just two minutes and one ball later. At Kolkata today,he was the seventh wicket to fall and last three wickets fell within 28 minutes and 32 balls.

 
Sami with the bat in the series so far  
                         Runs Mins Balls 4s 6s
Delhi Test - 1st inns    28*  194   101   3  1
Delhi Test - 2nd inns     5    53    25   1  0
Kolkata Test - 1st inns  38   177   123   2  1