Review of India-New Zealand T20Is-January 2023

India continued its run of successes in white-ball cricket at home, winning the series 2-1 after losing the first match.

A total of 25 T20Is have been played between these teams.

India leads 12-10 with 3 ties.

In India, India leads 7-4

In NZ, India leads 5-4 with 3 ties

On neutral grounds, India trail 0-2. Both these losses came in World Cup matches.

Looking at individual performances, starting with Batting:

Most runs (250 or more):

Headed by RG Sharma with C Munro some distance behind Munro. S Gill and SA Yadav are the only other ones with centuries. RG Sharma has the most fifties (six).

Highest innings (75 or more):

S Gill now has the highest score in this series, overtaking Yadav’s 111* a short time ago. Munro’s 109* is the best for NZ.

Highest strike rates (minimum 250 balls faced):

This time Munro is ahead of RG Sharma.

Now for Bowling:

Most wickets (8 or more):

New Zealand bowlers dominate this list, starting with Sodhi (25) and Southee (20). The most for India is Bumrah’s 12.

Best innings bowling (including all 4wi or more):

DJ Hooda, not a frontline bowler, has the best innings figures followed by Santner and Pandya.

Most dismissals (8 or more):

Southee has the most dismissals (13). The most by a keeper is 9 by Dhoni.

Most innings dismissals: Several players have made 3 dismissals in an innings.

All-round match performance (20 runs and 2 wickets):

HH Pandya appears to have the best match performance, which came in India’s win in the final T20I.

Test captains compared-fielding

We now look at the fielding figures for Test captains. This includes both keepers and non-keepers.

Most dismissals (35 and above):

Led by Dhoni (211) followed by non-keepers GC Smith (152) and Fleming (132) and current keeper Paine (101)

Fine-tuning:

A Flower and AJ Stewart had captained both as keepers and as non-keepers. Sangakkara and AB de Villiers never captained as a keeper.

Most catches by WK: 187 by Dhoni, almost double the next (97 by Paine).

Most stumpings: 24 by Dhoni, followed by Sherwell (16 from long ago)

Most catches by non-keeper: 152 by GC Smith, 132 by Fleming. The highest for India is 59 by Kohli

Most dismissals in an innings (5 and above):

Rashid Latif and Dhoni have the most dismissals (6).

Among non-keepers, the highest is 5 by VY Richardson, Fleming, GC Smith, Sammy and SPD Smith.

5 is still the world record for catches by a fielder in an innings. It is shared by several others. VY Richardson was the first to achieve this. He is better known as the (maternal) grandfather of the Chappells.

Most dismissals in a match (7 and above):

Here the record is 10 by Sarfaraz Ahmed, who had a relatively short spell as captain.

For non-keepers, it is 7 by Fleming. This was a share in the world record until AM Rahane took 8 catches.

And the most stumpings appear to be 3 by Dhoni in 2010.

Highest dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, and 0.65):

Here the results are a little surprising: Paine (2.244) followed by Sarfaraz (2.200) and Alexander. Dhoni is next.

Among fielders, the leader is SPD Smith(1.187) followed by DJG Sammy (1.075). Dravid (0.702) has the most for India.

You may also like to see this, which has the same dateline in May 2021.

Wicket-keepers who captained in Tests (Revised in May 2021)

Comparing Indian wicketkeepers

There is a lot of debate about who is better suited to be India’s wicketkeeper. Let us compare the keeping and batting averages for all those who have kept for India.

Test keepers – dismissal rate (min 20 innings fielded):

See the 1st position (Pant) and 6th (Saha).

Now see the batting figures:

Test keepers – batting average (min 20 innings):

Here, coincidentally, Pant is still first and Saha 6th.

Now for ODIs:

ODI keepers – dismissal rate (min 20 innings fielded):

Neither Pant nor Saha have played enough to appear on this table, although Karthik and Dhoni are near the top.

ODI keepers – batting average (min 20 innings):

They don’t appear here either, although the table is headed by Dhoni, Dravid and Karthik.

For T20Is, Dhoni is the only one to have batted and fielded enough.

Coming back to Test fielding figures, the best match figures for all Test players are:

Note that Pant has a share in the world record, while Saha has a share in the runners-up record.

Review of India-Australia ODI series-2

Continuing with our study of individual performances. Now for bowling.

Most wickets (20 or more):

Jadeja and Shami have the most wickets among current players. Cummins has the most among current Australian players.

Best innings bowling (includes all instances of 5wi):

The first two places are occupied by now-forgotten players. There is nothing from this series, although YS Chahal took 6-42 early in 2019. Cummins also had a fiver in 2019.

Best bowling averages (Min 1000 balls, all instances):

Brett Lee has a much better average than the second-placed Johnson. However Jadeja at 17th place has the best average among current players.

Kapil and McDermott have the best economy rates, and Lee and Agarkar (!) the best strike rates.

Now for fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Gilchrist and Dhoni are far ahead of the others, including Tendulkar who has the most catches by a non-keeper. Dhoni has the most stumpings. Kohli and Maxwell are the only current players here.

Most innings dismissals (4 or more):

Gilchrist and Dhoni again. Clarke is the only non-keeper with 4 catches.

Best dismissal rate (Min 20 innings, 0.500):

Gilchrist and Dhoni lead, with Maxwell having the best average for a non-keeper.

All-round performance (overall)-see criteria in table):

The first two (or three) would not generally be considered leading all-rounders, although they have done well in these contests.

All-round match performances (30 runs and 3 wickets):

The best performance here would be by Tendulkar, followed by Kapil and Watson (5 Nov 2009).

Review of India- Bangladesh T20Is

This was the first bilateral T20I series between the teams, and was won 2-1 by India. The first match is the only T20I  which Bangladesh has won since matches between these teams started in 2009.

Here is the summary of all 11 matches between these teams, where India lead 10-1:

Most runs (100 and above):

RG Sharma is far ahead of the others wth 452 runs and 5 fifties. He, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah have played for all 11 matches between these teams. Dhawan played in 10.

Highest individual scores (50 and above):

The 3 highest scores are all by RG Sharma, followed by the only other 80+ which was by Mohammad Naim in the last match.

Bowling – most wickets (5 and more):

YS Chahal leads, followed by Al-Amin and DL Chahar.

Best innings bowling (3wi and above):

DL Chahar has by far the best figures here. This was in the final T20I, and included a hat-trick spread over two overs.

This is the best innings bowling in all T20Is:

This includes all 6wis and most 5wis. Chahar overtook the old record of 6-8 by BAW Mendis set during the 2012 T20I World Championship (not World Cup). The previous record for India was 6-25 by YS Chahal against England in 2017.

Fielding: Most dismissals (3 and above):

Dhoni leads as expected, while Sarkar has the best by a non-keeper.

Fielding: Most innings dismissals (2 and above):

Several keepers and non-keepers have taken 2 innings, including Dhoni with 2 stumpings.

All-round performance (20 runs and 2 wickets in a match):

Only one instance, which came in the first T20I between these teams.

 

 

 

The Indian tail also wags

Data as of 14 Oct 2019:

Having seen how batsmen of no 8 and below have fared against India, we see how India’s tailend batsmen have done in Tests:

Innings of 90 and above by Indian batsmen at No 8 and below:

Dhoni and Ashwin are among the main contributors here. It is often forgotten that Saha has scored centuries (also two more while batting at 7 or higher).

There are relatively few newcomers here. RH Shodhan is the only debutant here, while Ratra, Ashwin and Pandya made their centuries at the start of their career. J Yadav soon dropped out of the Test reckoning. Kumble and Harbhajan made their centuries at a late stage of their careers.

It should be noted that Kapil usually batted at 7 or higher.

We now look at averages of those batting at 8 and below, subject to a minimum of 10 innings:

Dhoni expectedly has the highest average, while Saha is surprisingly second and Prabhakar third. Prabhakar also played many of his matches higher in the order.

Sandhu seems to have been better as a batsman than a bowler during his brief career. He still holds the record of the highest score by a debutant (71) at no 9.

Dhoni, Kapil, Ashwin and Harbhajan all have two centuries here. The most 50+ scores are by Kapil (15), Harbhajan (11) and Jadeja (10). Harbhajan did make rapid progress as a batsman since his debut.

Kumble has over 2000 runs here, while Kapil and several others have over a thousand. Saha, Ashwin and Jadeja are among the current players here.

Finally we look at century partnerships for the 8th to 10th wicket:

There are some large partnerships here, some of which were in a losing cause (such as the one between Azhar and Kumble). One which was significant was the 122 by Prasanna and Sardesai, which helped India to impose the follow-on on the West Indies and gain a psychological advantage which lasted till the end of the series.

The partnership between Tendulkar (248*) and Zaheer Khan (75) was then the record for the 10th wicket, until Root and Anderson overtook it against India. Both Tendulkar and Zaheer made their highest scores here. Another useful 10th-wicket partnership was the one between B Kumar and Shami, in which both scored fifties.

Review of India-West Indies Tests (2019)-2

Bowling:

Most wickets (25 or more):

Kapil has the highest tally here, while Ashwin and I Sharma have the highest among current players.

Best innings bowling (All instances of 6wi or more):

While Kapil has the best performance here, spare a thought for JM Noreiga who played only in 4 tests but still had the best innings performance for the West Indies in all Tests.

Ashwin (2016) and Bumrah in this series have the best figures among current players.

Best match bowling (All instances of 9wm or more):

Hirwani’s match figures are the best for India in all Test. UT Yadav (2018) and I Sharma (2019) have the best figures among current players.

Best bowling average (Minimum 2000 balls, all instances):

Hall and Walsh have the best bowling averages, while Ashwin and I Sharma have the best among current players. It can also be seen that GE Gomez and Gibbs have the best economy rates, and that Hall and Roberts have the best strike rate.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (15 or more):

Dujon has the most dismissals and catches, Dhoni the most stumpings and Richards the most catches by a non-keeper.

Most dismissals in an innings (4 and more):

WP Saha is the only one with 6 dismissals in an innings.  SD Hope made 5 dismissals in this series. DJG Sammy has the most catches by a non-keeper with 5 in 2013, which is a share in the world record. Also note KS More’s 5 stumpings which is a world record.

Most dismissals in a match (6 and more):

Dhoni has the most dismissals here (8) while More’s 6 stumpings is a world record. Both his records came in Hirwani’s record bowling performance. The most catches by a non-keeper are 6 by ED Solkar, in India’s first victory against WI in 1971.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

Dhoni has the best rate here followed by Dujon. While CL Walcott played some of his Tests as a keeper, the best rate by a non-keeper is 0.800 by Azharuddin.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Sobers has by far the best record here, followed by Ashwin who is again far ahead of Kapil. JO Holder and Chase have the best record among current players, while Mankad had a relatively poor record against WI.

Match performance (50 and 5wi):

This includes the century/5wi double by OG Smith, Umrigar, Sobers, Ashwin (twice) and Chase.

 

Performances in CWC 2019

Batting:

Most runs (400 runs and above):

Note 5 centuries by RG Sharma, while Shakib Al Hasan has 7 scores of 50+.

Only 1 run separates the leader RG Sharma (648) and runner up DA Warner (647).

Highest innings (95 and above):

Not as high-scoring as the 2015 WC, which had scores of 215 and 237.

Bowling:

Most wickets (12 and above):

Note that MA Starc has 4 hauls of 4wi and above, followed by M Shami with 3.

Best innings bowling (includes all cases of 4wi and better):

Fielding:

Most dismissals (8 and above):

JE Root has the most catches (13) by a non-keeper.

Most innings dismissals (4 and above):

CR Woakes and JM Bairstow have the most catches by non-keepers (4) which equals the existing World Cup record held by several others.

All-round performance:

Overall:

Shakib Al Hasan with 606 runs and 11 wickets is clearly leading here, followed by the less expected all-rounder JDS Neesham.

Match performances (30 runs and 3 wickets):

Only these two. Shakib and Yuvraj Singh (vs Ireland in 2011) are the only two with 50/5wi in a World Cup match.

Man of the Series:  KS Williamson, presumably for his captaincy as well as being the 4th top scorer with 578 runs.

 

India at the World Cup over the years-1

1975: Group stage.

1979: Group stage (no wins).

1983: Won, vs WI in finals.

1987: Lost in SF to Eng.

1992: Group stage.

1996: Lost in SF to SL.

1999: Super Six.

2003: Lost in final to Aus. Tendulkar is Man of the Series.

2007: Group stage.

2011: Won, vs SL in finals. Yuvraj is Man of the Series.

2015: Lost in SF to Aus.

2019: Lost in SF to NZ.

After the 1st semi-final of CWC 2019

Continuing the pretense of the IPL:

Orange Cap: RG Sharma* (648 runs), followed by  DA Warner (638) and Shakib Al Hasan* (606)

Purple Cap: MA Starc (26 wickets), followed by Mustafizur Rahman* (20), JJ Bumrah*  and LH Ferguson (18 each).

Most sixes: EJG Morgan (22), followed by AJ Finch (18) and RG Sharma* (14).

* No further part in the World Cup.

Minor records:

RA Jadeja made 77 at No 8. This is the second highest score by a No 8 batsman in the World Cup, surpassed only by NM Coulter-Nile’s 92 for Aus vs WI earlier in the 2019 WC. The previous record was 72* by HH Streak for Zim vs NZ in 2003. For India, the previous record was a mere 28 by NR Mongia  vs Zim in 1999.

MS Dhoni and RA Jadeja put on 116 for the 7th wicket, a record for the World Cup. The previous record for this wicket was 107 by A Javed and S Anwar for UAE vs Ire in 2015. For India, the record was a mere 58 by Kapil Dev and S Madan Lal vs Aus in 1983.

 

ODIs between India and Pakistan-1

It seems unlikely that there will be any bilateral series between India and Pakistan for quite some time. It has already been decided that India will not play Pakistan in the group stages of the World Test Championship.

So this seems to be a good time to look back at the records of ODIs between India and Pakistan (not just in the World Cup).

Of a total of 132 ODIs between the sides, India has won 55, Pakistan 73, no ties and No Result 4.

In India: 30 matches; Ind 11, Pak 19.

In Pakistan: 27 matches; Ind 11, Pak 14, NR 2.

In Neutral venues: 75 matches; Ind 33, Pak 40, NR 2.

Looking at individual figures:

Batting:

500 or more runs:

Headed by the older players who had more opportunities to play these matches. Among current players there is Shoaib Malik (1782) and MS Dhoni (1231).

The most centuries are 5 by Tendulkar, followed by 4 by several others.

The most 50+ scores are also led by Tendulkar with 21. Next is 16 by Inzamam and Dravid.

Highest innings: 110 and more:

Saeed Anwar’s 194 was a record in all ODIs for several years. The highest score in recent years is RG Sharma’s 140 in the current World Cup.

Highest Averages (Minimum 20 innings, 30.00 and above):

A number of current players such as Kohli are not here as they have not played 20 innings. Dhoni and Shoaib Malik have the highest averages among current players.

Highest Strike Rates (Minimum 500 balls faced, 80.00 and above):

Shahid Afridi and Sehwag lead as one would expect. Kohli, Dhoni  and RG Sharma have the highest strike rates among current players.

To be continued:

 

 

Review of India – Aus T20Is-2019

A total of 20 T20Is have been played between India and Australia. Here is the summary of all results:

And the summary of the matches in India:

Considering bilateral matches in a series of at least 2 matches, we see that the 2017 series was drawn 1-1 and this series was won 2-0 by Australia.

Coming to individual performances:

Batting:

100 or more runs:

Kohli is far ahead of the others. Watson and Maxwell are the only ones to score centuries. The most 50+ scores are by Kohli (6 with no centuries) and 3 each by RG Sharma, Watson and Yuvraj.

Highest individual scores (50 and above):

Maxwell’s 113* was the highest for Australia in India, surpassing AJ Finch’s 89 in 2013.

Bowling:

Most wickets (5 and above):

Bumrah has moved into the lead.

Best innings bowling (includes all 3wi and above):

Bumrah’s 3-16 is the best for India at home, surpassing the earlier 3-26 by Vinay Kumar in 2013. The overall best performance was by Ashwin in the 2014 World Championship.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (4 or more dismissals):

Dhoni has the most stumpings and catches by a keeper. Kohli has the most catches by a non-keeper.

Best innings dismissals (2 and above):

All-round performance:

100 runs and 5 wickets:

Clearly they are the best all-rounders in these teams.

Match performance (20 runs and 2 wickets):

Watson’s effort is the best here.

The same teams continue with a 5-match ODI series.