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.

Centuries in both innings, for and against India.

“YJ” Bairstow became the latest to score a century in each innings against India. Bradman was the first to do this:

This the only “double” by Bradman.

Also note the 300 +100 by Gooch. Strauss is the only other one to score centuries in both innings for England against India.

Gooch also holds the record for the most runs in a Test.

Bradman and Gooch were both captaining their sides.

Those who scored a century in both innings for India:

Gavaskar did it thrice (twice against WI) and Dravid twice. Kohli, Rahane and RG Sharma are the most recent ones. Gavaskar (Dec 1978) and Kohli were captaining their sides.

When Hazare made his double against Bradman’s team, it was the first time he had crossed 50.

Gavaskar’s 344 remains the most runs in a match by an Indian batsman. VVS Laxman’s 340 (59 + 281) is next.

Most sixes in a Test match and innings

First we look at the most sixes in an innings:

The present record of 12 sixes is by the unlikely batsman Wasim Akram in 1996-97. He surpassed the long-standing record of 10 by WR Hammond in 1932-33. That was in the course of the then Test record of 336*. It is often forgotten, as it is sandwiched between Bradman’s 334 in 1930 and Hutton’s 364 in 1938.

And Hayden’s 380 was the record between Lara’s 375 in 1993-94 and 400* in 2003-04.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/16145/scorecard/63722/pakistan-vs-zimbabwe-1st-test-zimbabwe-tour-of-pakistan-1996-97

After 2000 there have been several near-misses (twice by Brendan McCullum) but no one has got past 12.

India’s record is 8 shared by Navjot Sidhu (1993-94) and Mayank Agarwal in 2019-20.

As you will see now, the 12 sixes hit by Akram were also a record for a Test match up to 2019.

Most sixes in a Test match:

As you can see, the record is now held by Rohit Sharma with 13 sixes in 2019-20. He made 6 sixes in 176 and 7 in 127.

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/19430/scorecard/1187007/india-vs-south-africa-1st-test-icc-world-test-championship-2019-2021

Next is Akram with 12 followed by several others from recent years.

As above, the next highest from India are Sidhu and MA Agarwal.

Another quaint record RG Sharma made was being the first to score centuries in each innings in his first Test as an opener.

Astle’s 11 sixes in 222 was not enough to save his team from defeat.

Most sixes, fours and boundary runs in Test innings and matches

We have looked at the highest Test scores without sixes and fours. Now we look at the counterpart-scores with the most sixes, fours and boundary runs in Tests.

A basic reference would be the highest Test innings scores:

which most fans are generally aware of, including Sehwag’s 319 in 2008 which is the highest for India

We also look at the lesser-known

Highest Test match scores (adding scores of both innings):

While everyone knows about Lara’s record of 400* and earlier record-holders such as Hayden, Sobers and Hutton the record scores in a match are not so well known. The record is held by Gooch (456) followed by Mark Taylor (426) and Sangakkara (424). Gooch and Sangakkara are the only ones to score a triple century and century in the same Test. The highest for India is the relatively old 344 (124 and 220) by Gavaskar in 1971.

We now look more closely at fours and sixes:

For Test innings:

Most sixes:

Akram’s 12 6s has been the record since 1996. He took the record from Hammond (10) made back in 1933.

Sidhu and Agarwal also appear from India.

Holder, Stokes and Agarwal all scored 8 6s in an innings in 2019.

It is interesting to compare the record for most sixes in a Test match:

The record recently passed to Rohit Sharma with 13 6s in his two centuries against South Africa. Before that, Akram’s 12 (in one innings!) was the match record standing since 1996.

Now we look at the most fours in a Test innings:

This record was made over a half-century ago with Edrich’s 52 (plus 5 sixes) against New Zealand in 1965. Next are Sehwag (47 in a score of 293) and Bradman (46 in 334)

The most fours in a Test match:

Edrich is in third place with 52, after Gooch and VVS Laxman (56 in two innings).

The next question one may ask is regarding the most runs in boundaries in an innings and match. This requires putting the Statsguru results into a spreadsheet for further work. This is what we get:

Most runs in an innings in boundaries:

Here we see that the most is 238 (out of 310) by Edrich, being (52*4)+(5*6) = 238. Next come Hayden (218/380) and Inzamam (206/329) before two by Sehwag (202/293 and 198/319). Sehwag indeed has 4 of the top 10 entries here!

And finally, the most runs in a match in boundaries:

Edrich’s 238 in one innings is surpassed only by Gooch’s 266 (56*4 + 7*6) in his two centuries . Sangakkara is third with 232 (from 319+105) and VVS Laxman fourth with 224 (from 59+281).

To sum up:

Highest innings: 400* by Lara in 2004

Highest total runs in a match: 456 by Gooch in 1990

Most sixes in an innings (12 in 257*) by Wasim Akram vs Zimbabwe in 1996

Most fours in an innings (52 in 310*) by JH Edrich vs New Zealand in 1965

Most sixes in a match (13 in 176+127) by RG Sharma vs South Africa in 2019

Most fours in a match (56 in 333+123, 56 in 59+281) by GA Gooch (1990) and VVS Laxman (2001) respectively

Most runs in boundaries in an innings (238 = 52*4 +5*6) by JH Edrich in 1965.

Most runs in boundaries in a match (266 = 56*4+7*6) by GA Gooch in 1990

Remember that Gooch’s 456 runs in this match is the most in any Test or indeed any first-class match.

Review of India-Australia ODI series-1

As you know, India won the series of January 2020 by a 2-1 margin.

Here are the results of ODIs between these teams since January 2019:

India won 2-1 in Australia in Jan 2019

Aus won 3-2 in Ind in Mar 2019

Ind won 1-0 in the World Cup in Jun 2019

Ind won 2-1 in Ind in Jan 2020

On the whole India has done better in the past year.

We also look at the results of all ODIs between these teams:

Australia still leads 78-51 overall but only 30-29 in India.

We now look at the individual performances in batting:

Most runs (750 and above):

RG Sharma and Kohli continue to move up though they have some distance to go to reach Tendulkar’s record. Finch and Dhawan are among the other current players here.

Tendulkar has the most centuries (9) followed by Kohli and Sharma with 8.

Tendulkar also has the most scores of 50-plus (24) and is predictably followed by Kohli and Sharma with 16.

Highest innings (125 or more):

Note that RG Sharma has the highest overall score in this series (209) as well as India’s highest in Australia (171*).

However, Smith (131) and Warner (128*) made the highest scores in this series.

Highest batting average (Min 20 innings, 35.00):

Sharma and Kohli are the top two. Dhawan and Finch are among the other current players here. Smith and Warner have not played enough to qualify.

Highest strike rate (Minimum 500 balls faced, 80.00):

Now you can see why Australian fans want Maxwell back in the team.

Dhawan and SPD Smith have the best strike rates among those who played in 2020.

To be continued:

 

 

Test matches of 2019-Batting

We now look at individual batting performances.

Most runs (500 or more):

The top scorer here is M Labuschagne who had made his debut in 2018 with little impact, but he soon showed his class. The returning SPD Smith came second, while his former deputy Warner did not fare so well.

Others in this list who had made their Test debuts in 2018 or 2019 are RJ Burns, MA Agarwal, TM Head and JL Denly.

Several players made 3 centuries. Labuschagne had the most 50+ scores (10) and the next highest was 7.

Labuschagne scored the most 4s (129) while RG Sharma scored the most 6s (20).

SCJ Broad had the most ducks (5) followed by three others with 4.

Highest innings (125 or more):

One triple by Warner and 6 doubles, including 2 by newcomer Agarwal and one by the rejuvenated RG Sharma. Labuschagne’s highest was 185, but he made a double at the beginning of 2020. The longest innings was 473 balls in Watling’s 205.

Sharma and Smith made centuries in each innings:

Sharma’s 13 6s in the match is a new Test record. The previous record was 12 by Wasim Akram in a single innings:

Highest batting averages (Min 15 innings, all instances):

Labuschagne yet again, with Head and Warner following at a distance.

There are even a couple of single-digit averages by tailenders. This seems to show that Broad’s batting is now negligible.

Highest batting strike rates (Minimum 750 balls faced, all instances):

de Kock leads by a distance over Babar Azam, who also has a large lead over R Taylor. And Watling showed that a low overall strike rate does not prevent one from scoring a double century.

 

 

The ODIs of 2019-1

Here is the summary of all the ODIs of 2019:

Win-Loss ratios for all teams:

This isn’t very useful as the Netherlands and Namibia come out on top.

The ICC rankings on Dec 31 are more meaningful:

Here we have the four semi-finalists of the World Cup at the top.

Next we move to the individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (600 or more):

RG Sharma, V Kohli and SD Hope lead by a big margin.

Sharma has the most centuries (7) followed by Kohli (5).

The most scores of 50+ were by Sharma (13) followed by Kohli and Hope with 12 apiece.

Highest innings scores (120 or more):

Led by the relatively lesser-known JD Campbell. There are several other scores above 150.

Highest batting averages (Min 20 innings, all instances):

Hope, Babar Azam and Kohli are close together at the top.

Highest strike rates (Min 500 balls faced, 90.00):

Here we have some other names at the top such as JJ Roy, who is considerably ahead of EJG Morgan. While Kohli is here, others who scored the most (RG Sharma and SD Hope) did not score fast enough. There is one player (N Zadran) from Afghanistan.

To be continued:

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.

 

 

 

200+ scores for and against India

RG Sharma made the 54th score of 200 and above in a Test for India. These include 3 of 300+ and 51 from 200-299. Kohli has the most such scores (7), although Sehwag has the highest scores both inside and outside India. Outside Asia, we go quite far down until we reach Tendulkar’s 241* at Sydney.

The first such score was Umrigar’s 223 in 1955, equalled in the next month by Mankad and then surpassed by him with 231 which remained the record until Gavaskar’s 236* in 1983.This was surpassed by VVS Laxman’s 281 in 2001, Sehwag’s 309 in 2004 and again by him in 2008.

The highest in a win is 309 by Sehwag, in a loss 201* by Sehwag and in a draw 319 by (who else) Sehwag. An unique triple.

Now we see who did the same against India:

4 triple centuries and 47 from 200-299.

McCullum and Ponting have each done this 3 times against India.

The highest score here is Jayasuriya’s 340, the highest outside Asia is Gooch’s 333 and the highest in India is M Jayawardene’s 275.

The best in a victory is 333 by Gooch, in a defeat 242 by Ponting and in a draw 340 by Jayasuriya. In fact, Ponting’s 242 is the highest in any Test defeat.

Test scores of 200+ by Indians and others

Information correct as on Oct 11, 2019.

First we look at those who have made 5 or more scores of 200 or more:

We can see that Kohli is now equal with Hammond and M Jayawardene in making 7 scores of 200+. The previous record of 6 for India was shared by him, Sehwag and Tendulkar. Kohli is also the only current player above.

The only other player with more than one triple century is CH Gayle, whose 4 scores of 200+ include 2 triples.

A total of 374 scores of 200+ have been made in Tests. This includes one quadruple century, 29 triples and 344 doubles.

All those who have made 200+ for India are tabulated below:

We also look at scores of 200+ in ODIs:

There are only 8 such scores.

RG Sharma has made 3, with a top score of 264 which is the ODI record.

Others who have made 200+ scores in ODIs are Fakhar Zaman, CH Gayle, MJ Guptill, V Sehwag and SR Tendulkar.

And for T20Is:

The highest score is 172 by AJ Finch. There are 2 other scores above 150, by AJ Finch again and H Zazai.

 

Rohit Sharma’s twin centuries

Rohit Sharma’s 176 and 127 marks the 86th occasion of two centuries in an innings in all Tests. He is the 70th batsman to achieve this, as several have done so on 2 or 3 occasions.

Among Indian players we have him as the 6th player on the 9th occasion:

Among those who opened in both innings, he is the 24th to do so on the 30th occasion.

He became the first to  score a century in both innings while opening for the first time.

We know that the only two to score centuries in both innings on debut are Lawrence Rowe and Yasir Hameed. They both batted at No 3.

CG Greenidge had a near miss with 93 and 107 on debut vs Ind at Bengaluru on 22/11/1974 where he opened. Similarly for AJ Strauss with 112 and 83 on debut vs NZ at Lord’s on 20/05/2004. Then there was Wajahatullah Wasti who scored 133 and 121* while opening in his second Test, though he had opened in the second innings of his debut Test.

Rohit Sharma had scored 177 on debut vs WI at Kolkata on 06/11/2013 and 111* in his next innings in his 2nd Test. He batted at No 6 in those innings.

He scored 13 sixes in this match (6 +7). This is a record in all Tests, surpassing the record set by Wasim Akram.

The previous record for India was 8 by NS Sidhu in his 124 vs SL at Lucknow on 18/01/1994.

Finally, this was the 58th instance of  scoring over 300 in a Test match. The 8 Indians who have achieved this on 9 occasions are:

 

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.