Review of India-Sri Lanka ODIs-Jan 2023

India won the series 3-0, being the latest in a series of numerous clean sweeps against Sri Lanka. The highlight was a 317-run victory in the 3rd match, which is the biggest victory margin in any ODI. More on this topic here: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2023/01/15/record-victories-in-odis/

A total of 165 ODIs have been played between these teams.

India has won 96, Sri Lanka 57, 1 tied and 11 no-results.

In India: 39-12-0-3

In Sri Lanka: 30-28-0-6

On neutral grounds: 27-17-1-2

Interestingly, the first ODI between these teams was during the 1979 World Cup in England. Sri Lanka won. India did not win any match in that tournament.

Looking at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

Headed by Tendulkar and Jayasuriya. Kohli is in 5th place.

Kohli has the most centuries (10) followed by Tendulkar with 8. For 50+ scores, Tendulkar has 25 and Sangakkara 24.

Highest innings scores (125 or more):

Headed by 2 double centuries by RG Sharma. His 264 is the record individual score in ODIs. Kohli’s 166* is in 7th place.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 35.00):

Headed by Dhoni with Kohli just behind.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 500 balls faced, 75.00):

Note that Sehwag is well ahead of the next (Dhawan and Jayasuriya). Kohli is 5th here.

Now for Bowling:

Most wickets (Minimum 30):

Headed by Murali (74) and Vaas (70). No recent players here.

No one has taken more than one 5wi, or more than 3 4wis.

Best innings bowling (Includes all 5wis):

Headed by Murali’s 7-30. India’s best is 6-59 by A Nehra.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls bowled and maximum 45.00):

Headed by the unheralded AB Agarkar and BAW Mendis. Kapil and Harbhajan have the best economy rates, and Agarkar and I. Sharma the best strike rates.

Now to Fielding:

Most dismissals (Minimum 20):

Led by Dhoni, with Sangakkara some distance behind. Dhoni also has the most stumpings (25). M Jayawardene has the most catches as a fielder (38).

Most dismissals in an innings (4 or more):

Headed by Dhoni with 5 dismissals. Kaif has the most catches as a fielder (4). This was in the 2003 World Cup and was the WC record until 2015.

Highest dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings and 0.450):

Dhoni again, with Sangakkara some distance behind.The best figures by a pure fielder are 0.454 by Mahanama and Raina.

All-round performances :

Overall (see table for criteria):

Mathews heads this list, with the next (Pathan) far behind.

Match performances:

These two performances are clearly the best.

Review of Pakistan-Sri Lanka Tests (Jul 2022)-Part 1

The 2-Test series was drawn 1-1. This is the overall summary:

Pakistan leads 21-17 overall. They also lead 9-8 for matches in Sri Lanka as well as 9-6 in Pakistan. However they are tied at 3-3 for matches in neutral countries.

We look at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

The most centuries are 10 by Sangakkara, followed by 8 by Aravinda and Younis Khan.

The most 50+ scores are 22 by Sangakkara, followed by 14 by Younis Khan.

Sangakkara has the most runs, followed by Younis Khan by some distance.

Mathews and Azhar Ali have the most runs among current players.

Highest innings (150 or more):

Matches between these teams have generally been high-scoring, with a triple century by Younis Khan and 250+ by Jayasuriya follwed by several other double centuries. The highest score in this series was 160* by A Shafique (that too in a 4th-innings chase).

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, 30.00):

Sangakkara’s average of 74+ is considerably more than the next (Inzamam with 59+). Mathews and Karunaratne have the highest averages among current players.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 45.00):

Unexpectedly, the highest strike rate was 70+ by Sarfaraz Ahmed followed by Dilshan at 63+. Babar Azam and Karunaratne have the best figures among current players.

To be continued: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/08/01/review-of-pakistan-sri-lanka-tests-jul-2022-part-2/

Review of Australia-Sri Lanka Tests (July 2022)-Pt 2

Hope you have seen Part 1.

Continuing with individual performances in

Fielding:

Most dismissals (12 or more):

Headed by Gilchrist and Healy, with Sangakkara some distance behind. Kusal Mendis (14) has the most among current players.

The most stumpings, however, are 6 by Kaluwitharana. The most by a fielder are 20 by M Jayawardene.

Most dismissals in an innings (4 or more):

Only Carey among current players.

Most dismissals in a match (6 or more):

Gilchrist and Healy lead again. Hayden is one of several fielders to have taken 7 catches in a match, which was a world record until Rahane took 8, also against Sri Lanka.

The most stumpings in a match is 3.

Highest dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500)

Led by Sangakkara with a combination of dismissals as keeper and fielder. M Jayawardene has the best dismissal rate among fielders.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria in table):

Only C Vaas appears here, and his difference is not enough for a genuine all-rounder.

Match performance (minimum one 50+ and one 5+wi):

Only 2 instances here. MDK (Dilruwan) Perera made the double of 50 and 10wm.

Review of Australia-Sri Lanka Tests (July 2022)-Pt 1

The series was drawn 1-1, with sudden collapses on the final day of play in both Tests.

Summary of all Tests between these teams:

While Australia leads 20-5 overall, it leads only by 7-5 in Sri Lanka. And Sri Lanka trails 13-0 in Australia.

Coming to individual performances;

Batting:

Most runs (500 or more):

Headed by M Hussey with 994 with Ponting and M Jayawardene close behind. Mathews (692) and Chandimal (579) have the most runs among current players.

The most centuries are 5 by Hussey, and the most 50+ scores are 8 by Clarke, Ponting and Sangakkara.

Highest innings (125 or more):

Chandimal’s 206* in the second Test is the highest for SL v Aus, surpassing Sangakkara’s 192 in Aus in 2007 and Kusal Mendis’s 176 in SL in 2016. This was a reatively low-scoring series, with the only other score of note being 145* by SPD Smith.

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

Headed by Ponting and Sangakkara. The current players have not played enough.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced and 40.00):

Headed by ST Jayasuriya and Hayden. Chandimal and Mathews are the only current players here.

Bowling:

Most wickets (12 or more):

Headed by R Herath with 66, followed by the better-known Warne and Muralidaran. Starc and Lyon have the most among current players. Newcomer P Jayasuriya makes this list after only one Test. The most 5-fors are 6 by Herath and Starc, and 10wms 2 by Starc and Warne.

Best innings bowling (6wi or more):

Headed by Kasprowicz and R Herath. P Jayasuriya’s 6-59 and 6-118 came on his debut.

Best match bowling (9wm or more):

Headed by R Herath’s 13-wicket haul in 2016 and P Jayasuriya’s 12 on debut in the second Test here.

That was the best match figures for any Sri Lankan player on debut. This is covered in more detail here:

10 wickets on Test debut (July 2022)

Best bowling averages (Minimum 2000 balls bowled, all instances):

Headed by Herath and Warne, with Muralidaran just making the cut.

Herath has the best average and strike rate, while Vaas has the best economy rate. Muralidaran was relatively less successful against Australia.

To be continued.

Summary of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Tests-2 (after May 2022 series):

Hope you have seen Part 1.

We now proceed to

Bowling:

Most wickets (12 and above):

Muralidaran has 89 wickets, far ahead of the others. Next are Herath and Shakib. Also note AM Fernando’s 13 wickets in 2 Tests in this series.

Best innings bowling (including all 6wi and above):

Led by Herath, with the next three by Muralidaran.

Nayeem Hasan’s 6-105 was the best by BD against SL, surpassing Shakib’s 5-70 in 2008. Also note AM Fernando’s 6-51 in this series.

Best match bowling (Including all 9wm and above):

Headed by Muralidaran and Herath. None from Bangladesh here. AM Fernando took 10-144 during this series.

Best bowling average (Minimum 2000 balls bowled):

Includes Shakib and Taijul from this series.

Muralidaran has the best bowling average, economy rate and strike rate.

Now for

Fielding:

Most dismissals (10 and above):

Led by P Jayawardene with Dickwella and Sangakkara close behind.

Mushfiqur Rahim has the most dismissals from BD

P Jayawardene has the most stumpings (8) and M Jayawardene the most catches by a fielder (17).

Dickwella has the most catches by a keeper (24).

Most dismissals in an innings (4 and above):

Mushfiqur and Dickwella have made 5 dismissals in an innings, but not in this series. However Dickwella took 4 catches twice in this series.

Sangakkara and S Sarkar have taken 4 as a fielder.

Most dismissals in a match (5 and above):

Again headed by P Jayawardene with 7.

M Jayawardene and S Sarkar have taken 5 catches as fielders.

Dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.600)

Headed by Sangakkara, with M Jayawardene heading the fielders.

Finally,

All-round performance

Overall (see criteria below):

Shakib (611 runs and 38 wickets) is the only one who qualifies.

Match (50 and 5wi):

All the instances are by Shakib.

Summary of Bangladesh-Sri Lanka Tests-1 (after May 2022 series):

Sri Lanka won 1-0 with one draw.

Overall summary:

We see that Bangladesh is yet to win against Sri Lanka at home, although they have won one Test in Sri Lanka.

Batting:

Most runs (750 and above):

Sangakkara has the most centuries (7) and most 50+ scores (14). Mushfiqur has 10 50+ scores.

Several current players starting with Mushfiqur Rahim are here.

Highest innings (150 and more):

Mathews made the highest score in this series (199). He became the first to score 199 and a duck in the same Test. Several have made 99 and a duck.

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

Sangakkara has by far the highest average, with current player Mushfiqur having the second highest.

Highest batting strike rate (Minimum 1000 balls faced):

Dilshan has by far the highest strike rate, while current player Tamim Iqbal has the highest among Bangladesh players.

To be continued.

See Part 2

Review of SL-WI Tests-1

The Test series between Sri-Lanka and the West Indies was won by the hosts 2-0. This meant that the West Indies was yet to win a Test (let alone a series) in Sri Lanka. This is summarized here:

This also means that Sri Lanka leads 11-4 in all Tests between these teams.

We look at individual figures in Batting:

Most runs (Minimum 400):

The most centuries are 5 by Lara and 3 by Sangakkara

The most 50+ scores are 8 each by Sangakkara and Sarwan.

Among current players, the most are by Karunaratne (568) closely followed by Brathwaite (563).

Highest innings (Minimum 125):

The highest scores in the current series were 155* by DM de Silva and 147 by FD Karunaratne.

Batting averages are not here since no one has 20 or more innings.

But we do have Batting strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced):

Headed by Lara and M Jayawardene. FD Karunaratne has the highest SR among current players.

To be continued.

Centuries in the third innings of Tests

Hope you have seen the previous post: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2021/11/24/centuries-in-the-second-innings-of-tests/

We now look at the third innings:

The most centuries in the third innings is 13 by AN Cook. He reached this record in his last Test in 2018.

Next are Sangakkara (12), followed by Tendulkar, Kallis and Hayden with 10.

Current players : the highest is 7 by Warner, followed by Root and Azhar Ali with 5.

Indian players: the highest is 10 by Tendulkar, followed by Gavaskar (7) and M Amarnath (6).

Those who loved the third innings:

R Subba Row (Eng) made all 3 of his centuries in the 3rd innings.

ADR Campbell (Zim), GC White (SA) and JDB Robertson (Eng) each made their only 2 centuries in the 3rd innings.

Those who hated the third innings:

SC Ganguly (Ind) made 16 centuries, but none in the 3rd innings.

Next are M Vijay (Ind) (12), AG Prince (SA) and TW Graveney (Eng) with 11

Part-time wicket keepers in Tests

Here we take up the cases where someone was not the nominated keeper in a Test, took over when the nominated keeper was unfit or unavailable and took one or more catch or stumping while doing so.

Catches as keeper while not nominated keeper:

These are all the 38 players who took at least 1 catch in their careers.

The number of Tests here are those when they were not nominated keepers. Some, notably de Villiers and Bairstow in recent years, have been nominated keepers in some Tests. These are not included in the above table.

Stumpings while not nominated keeper:

Similarly, these are the 15 players who have taken at least 1 stumping in their career as a non-keeper.

These lists overlap. It is better to consolidate them into a single list.

Consolidated list of players who have taken at least one catch as keeper and/or one stumping in Tests where they were not nominated keepers:

Among these 43 players, AB de Villiers has the most catches and most dismissals (12 each) followed by KC Sangakarra and TWM Latham (7 each).

The most stumpings are 2 by Tillakaratne, M Wasim and Christiani.

This also lists the total number of dismissals (as a fielder) in these Tests. The highest is 133 by de Villiers followed by 96 by Collingwood with a few others in the 90s.

Although it is not mentioned here, de Villiers played another 24 Tests as nominated keeper and took a further 89 catches and 5 stumpings there. Similarly, Collingwood never played any Test as a nominated keeper, so his career total of catches is 96 as shown above. Sangakkara played a further 48 Tests as nominated keeper and took 124 catches and 20 stumpings, to give him a total of 202 dismissals.

From the first two tables above, we can see that the most dismissals in a match by these keepers is 5 by Imrul Kayes, followed by 4 for several others. The case of Majid Khan’s 4 catches is particularly interesting, and deserves a separate post.

But this is not the end of the story. There are also players who were not in the playing eleven and substituted for the wicketkeeper. Details of their performance are hard to find. However, stumpings by a substitute are rare and are covered here:

Stumped by a substitute-a rare occurrence.

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 in any first-class match.

Review of Sri Lanka-Zimbabwe Tests-1

Sri Lanka won the series 1-0 with 1 draw. Zimbabwe put on a somewhat stronger challenge than expected, almost drawing  the first Test and putting Sri Lanka under some pressure in the second.

Summary of matches between these teams:

Zimbabwe is yet to win a Test in this series. They have lost all 8 Tests which they played in Sri Lanka.

This series was not part of the World Test Championship. Zimbabwe is not part of the championship in this cycle. Perhaps they will be in the top 9 and qualify for the next cycle.

We now look at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (250 and above):

Atapattu leads by a large margin. He has the most centuries (5). A Flower has the most 50+ scores (7), including 2 centuries.

Karunaratne and CR Ervine have the most runs among current players.

Highest innings (125 and above):

Note Atapattu’s 3 double centuries. The highest score in this series was 200* by AD Mathews. No one else crossed 125.

Highest strike rate (Min 1000 balls faced, all cases):

Jayasuriya predictably leads here, while Atapattu also has a strike rate considerably higher than that of the others.

Now for

Bowling:

Most wickets (10 and above):

Muralitharan and Vaas have done much better than others. Murali and Herath both have 2 ten-fors, while Murali also has the most five-fors (6).

Lakmal and Kumara have the most wickets among current players.

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

While Muralitharan and Herath are at the top of this list, Sikandar Raza’s 7-113 was the best for Zimbabwe against Sri Lanka. The previous best was 5-106 by PA Strang back in 1996. The previous best for Zimbabwe at home was 4-50 by CT Mumba in 2016.

Embuldeniya is the only other bowler with a five-for in the current series.

Best match bowling (includes all instances of 8wm and above):

Muralitharan and Herath again. However, Sikandar Raza’s 8-176 is the best for Zimbabwe at home. AG Cremer’s 9-275 at Colombo (RPS) in 2017 remains the best for Zimbabwe in Sri Lanka.

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

Muralitharan expectedly heads this list as well. Herath did not bowl enough.

To be continued:

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.