Review of Ind vs Aus Tests (2023)-Part 1

India won the series 2-1. This was their 4th consecutive series win against Australia.

A total of 106 Tests have been played between these teams.

Australia leads 44-32 with 1 tie and 29 draws.

Both sides do much better at home:

In Australia, Aus lead 30-9 with 13 draws.

In India, Aus trail 14-23 with 1 tie and 16 draws.

We now look at individual records, staring with Batting:

Most runs (1000 and more):

Tendulkar leads by a lrge margin, followed by Ponting. Pujara, Kohli and Smith lead among current players.

Highest innings (175 and above):

While there are many large scores here (including VVSL’s legendary 281), the highest scores from this series are 186 by Kohli and 180 by Khawaja.

The most centuries are 11 by Tendulkar.

The most 50+ scores are 27 by Tendulkar and 20 by Ponting.

Highest batting average (Minimum 20 innings, 40 and above):

The unexpected leader is David Boon, ahead of Steve Smith. Bradman is not here because he did not play enough. Smith, Kohli and Pujara represent current players.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, 50 and above):

Headed by Gilchrist and Sehwag. Warner, Hayden and Bradman are next. Warner, S Smith and Kohli have the highest strike rates among current players.

To be continued.

Review of India-New Zealand ODI series-Jan 2023

India won the series 3-0.

A total of 116 ODIs have been played between these teams,

India have won 58, New Zealand 50, ties 1, no result 7

In India: 29-8-0-1

In NZ: 14-26-1-4

Neutral 15-16-0-2

Note the strong home advantage for both teams.

Looking at individual performances, starting with Batting:

Most runs (750 or more):

The most centuries were 6 by Sehwag, followed by three players with 5 (Tendulkar, Kohli and Astle). The most 50+ scores were 13 by Kohli and Tendulkar, followed by 11 by R Taylor.

Highest innings scores (115 or more):

In this series, S Gill’s 208 became the highest for India against NZ, surpassing Tendulkar’s 186* in 1999. That was at Hyderabad, though on another ground.MG Bracewell’s 140 was the highest for NZ in India, surpassing NJ Astle’s 120 in 1999. Conway’s 138 also surpassed the old record.

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

Headed by Kohli with Latham close behind.

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

Headed by Sehwag with Kapil Dev close behind.

Now for Bowling:

Most wickets (20 or more):

Srinath is far ahead of the second-placed Kumble. Southee has the most among current players.

Best innings bowling (including all 5wi):

SE Bond is the only one with a 6-for. Next is A Mishra. K Srikkanth is the only one with 2 five-fors.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls bowled, all instances):

The best averages are by Srinath and Hadlee.

The best economy rates are by Hadlee and Kapil

The best strike rates are by Srinath and Southee.

Next is Fielding:

Most dismissals (12 or more):

Headed by the lesser-known NR Mongia, who also has the most stumpings. Latham has the most from current players, and R Taylor has the most catches by a fielder

Best innings fielding (4 or more dismissals):

Several have made 5 dismissals in an innings. Similarly for 4 catches as a fielder.

Best dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

Again headed by NR Mongia.

All-round performances:

Overall performances (see criteria in table below):

Only one player qualifies here,

Match performances:

Only one player qualifies, and he was an occasional bowler.

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 India-Bangladesh Tests

After India’s 2-0 victory, this is the summary of Tests between these teams:

Overall: India leads 11-0 with 2 draws

In India, India leads 3-0 with no draws.

In Bangladesh, India lead 8-0 with 2 draws.

This series was only significant as the second Test was probably the first time that Bangladesh had a significant chance of winning against India.

We now look at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (250 or more):

Headed by Tendulkar with Mushfiqur Rahim in second place. Other current players near the top are Pujara and Kohli.

Highest innings (100 or more):

The current series was low-scoring, with only 3 scores above 100 with a top score of 110 by Gill. Zakir Hasan scored 100 on debut, as did Aminul Islam in the first Test between these teams.

The most centuries are 5 by Tendulkar and 3 by Dravid. The most scores of 50+ are 6 by Pujara and 5 by Tendulkar.

There is not enough data for meaningful calculation of averages. For Strike Rates, we have this for a minimum of 1000 balls faced.

We can see that Tendulkar has a big lead over the second-placed Mushfiqur.

Now for’

Bowling:

Most wickets (8 or more):

Zaheer Khan has a big lead over the second-placed I Sharma. Shakib (21 wkts) has the most for Bangladesh.

The most instances of 5wi are 3 by Pathan and 2 by Zaheer Khan. These two are also the only ones to take 10wms.

Best innings bowling (5wi or better):

Note Naimur Rehman’s performance in the first Test between these countries, which remains the best innings bowling for Bangladesh.

Best match bowling (including all cases of 8wm or better):

Note that no Bangladeshi bowler has taken more than 7 wickets in a match.

There is not enough data to get meaningful data for bowling averages etc.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (8 or more):

Led by Dhoni with Karthik and others close behind. Dravid has the most catches by a fielder. Mushfiqur and Pant.

represent the current players.

Most innings dismissals (4 or more):

Led by Dhoni and Mushfiqur.

Most match dismissals (5 or more):

Dhoni has the top position to himself here. SS Das and SC Ganguly have the most catches as fielders.

All-round match performance (50+ and 5wi):

Only one instance, which marked the highlight of SB Joshi’s Test career. This was in the first Test between these teams.

Finer points about Test captaincy-Part 1

Here we look at

1. Players who have played the most Tests
2. Players who have captained in the most Tests
3. Players who have been non-captains in the most Tests

Those who have played the most Tests (12 and more):

It is well known that Tendulkar has played the most Tests-200. The next few may not be that well remembered. Note that the number of Tests played as captain widely vary, starting from zero (see the entries for JM Anderson and his old comrade SCJ Broad) to 93 for Border-though even this is not a record, as we will see in the next section. JE Root has captained the most among current players, although he is not captain at the date of writing in late 2022.

Most Tests played as captain (50 or more):

Here we have the record by GC Smith of captaining the most times-108. The only 8 Tests he did not captain in were at the beginning of his career. Next are AR Border (93) and SP Fleming (80). Kohli is in 6th postion with 68 Tests (besides 34 not as captain).

Most Tests played not as captain (110 or more):

Tendulkar has played in 175 Tests not as captain, besides 25 as captain. Next is Kallis with 163 not as captain, and only 2 Tests as a captain. As you may guess, these were as a stand-in when the regular captain was unavailable. In third place is JM Anderson. who has played all his 160 Tests without ever being captain.

This leads us to other questions, such as:

Who have played the most Tests without ever being captain?

Is there anyone who has played all his Tests as captain?

The answers to these questions will be given in Part 2.

Actually, the #1 and #2 and the next few for the first question have already been identified, but there is no clue about the second question so far.

So please read Part 2 which will be put up within a day.

Review of Bangladesh-India ODIs.

Bangladesh won the series 2-1. However the first two matches were won by the narrow margins of 1 wicket and 5 runs, while India won the 3rd match by a massive margin of 227 runs.

Bangladesh had also won 2-1 against India in 2015.

Here we review the main statistical highlights of ODIs between these teams.

Overall results:

While Bangladesh has done relatively well on its home soil, it has not yet won an ODI against India in India. They have won only one match on neutral grounds, but that was enough to prevent India proceeding further in the 2007 World Cup.

We now look at individual records, starting with Batting:

Most runs (250 or more):

Ishan Kishan is not here as his 210 was scored in his only ODI against Bangladesh.

Kohli and RG Sharma head this list, with Shakib in third place.

Highest innings (100 or more):

Ishan Kishan has the highest score here. Among other things, this is the highest maiden century in any ODI.

It is far ahead of the earlier mark of 175 by V Sehwag during the 2011 World Cup. The best by Bangladesh is

121 by Litton Das in 2018.

The records set by Ishan Kishan are summarised here:

https://www.espncricinfo.com/story/stats-ishan-kishan-double-century-ban-vs-ind-2022-23-3rd-odi-1348968

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings):

Only two batsmen have played sufficient innings.

Highest strike rates (Minimum 500 balls faced):

Kohli is followed closely by RG Sharma.

Now for Bowling:

Most wickets (10 or more):

This list is led by 4 Bangladeshi bowlers, starting with Shakib with 28. Agarkar has the most for India with 16.

Best innings bowling (including all 5wi):

Headed by the startling 6 for 4 by STR Binny. The next best is 6-43 by Mustafizur. Also note Sehwag’s 4 for 6.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls bowled):

Shakib heads this list which has only one other member in Mortaza.

Now for Fielding:

Most dismissals (6 and above):

Dhoni (32) is followed by Mushfiqur with 29.Dhoni has the most stumpings with 10, while Mushfiqur has the most catches as a keeper (25). The most catches by a fielder are 8 by S Dhawan.

Most dismissals in an innings (4 and more):

Led by MS Dhoni and Mushfiqur Rahim with 5. Dhoni has 2 stumpings, while the most by a fielder is 4 by S Dhawan.

Highest dismissal rates (Minimum 20 innings):

Led by Dhoni and Mushfiqur again. Mortaza and Shakib have the best figures for fielders.

All-round performances:

Overall (see criteria from table):

Only Shakib has batted and bowled enough.

Match figures (Minimum of a 30 and a 3wi):

Only 3 instances here. Tendulkar’s 47 and 4-54 would appear to be the best.

Review of India-South Africa ODIs-Oct 2022: Part 1

India won the home ODI series against South Africa 2-1, after losing the away series 3-0 earlier in 2022. They also lost the first match of the series by a small margin before winning the next two by convincing margins.

Here we summarise all the ODIs between the two teams. India was the first team to play international matches against South Africa after their return in 1991-92. India had also won that series 2-1.

Summary of all ODIs between these teams:

South Africa leads overall and at home, while India leads at home and is almost at par at neutral venues.

Individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (750 and above):

Tendulkar has many more runs than the second-placed Kallis. Kohli has the most among current players.

The most centuries are 6 by de Kock and de Villiers, followed by 5 by Tendulkar.

Dravid has the most 50+ scores (14 with no century), followed by Kallis, Kirsten and Tendulkar with 13.

Highest innings (115 and above):

Headed by Tendulkar again.

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 25.00):

Here Kirsten is just above Kallis and Kohli.

Kohli and Dhawan have the best among current players.

Batting strike rate (Minimum 500 balls faced, 70.00):

Here de Villiers is far ahead of the the next two Sehwag and Miller. Miller and Dhawan have the highest strike rates among current players.

To be continued: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/10/16/review-of-india-south-africa-odis-oct-2022-part-2/

Notes on the 2nd Test between England and South Africa, 2022

The two-Test series is now poised 1-1, with both matches finishing within 3 days with innings defeats.

Manchester continued to be an unlucky venue for SA as England leads 5-1 with 4 draws. SA won only in 1955.

The third Test is scheduled for Sep 8-12 at the Oval. Here England leads 7-1 with 7 draws. SA won only in 2012.

AK Markram played his 33rd Test, none of which were drawn. He has seen 20 wins and 13 losses.

Anderson became the first to play 100 Tests at home. Next is Tendulkar with 94.

Tendulkar has played the most Tests (200), followed by Anderson with 174. That is, naturally, a record for England.

Also see: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2022/08/25/most-tests-home-away-and-neutral/

Anderson also became the first to take 100 wickets in Tests between England and SA, Here are the top few:

SM Pollock, Donald and Barnes are next. Broad has 82, but is unlikely to cross his partner’s total.

Most Tests: home, away and neutral

At the start of the 2nd Test between England and South Africa at Manchester, it was mentioned that JM Anderson was the first to play 100 Tests at home.

This is true. Let us also look who has played the most Tests overall, away and neutral.

These figures include all those playing in the Manchester Test of 2022, and do not include the ICC XI v Aus Test of 2005.

Most Tests (125 or more):

Tendulkar (200) is followed by Anderson (174) and SR Waugh (168). The next from India is Dravid (163).

Also: Anderson (174), Broad (158), Warne (144) and VVS Laxman (134) have played the most Tests without ever captaining their sides.

Most Tests at home (60 or more):

Anderson leads with 100, followed closely by Tendulkar (94), Broad and Ponting (91 each). The next from India is again Dravid (70).

Most Tests away (other than neutral venues), 60 or more.

Tendulkar leads with 106, followed by Dravid with 93. Next is Chanderpaul with 81. Ponting, Anderson and Broad are further down.

And finally,

Most Tests at neutral venues (7 or more):

As you may guess, Pakistani players dominate this list starting with Asad Shafiq (30), Azhar Ali (29) and Younis Khan (28).

The highest by a non-Pakistani player is 8 by R Herath, followed by several others with 7. These include some NZ players who played in the WTC final against India in England in 2021.

Review of Zimbabwe-India ODIs (Aug 2022)

This series was the first time India had played Zimbabwe in ODIs since 2016. India won 3-0, following their earlier clean sweeps in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

Summary of all ODIs between these teams:

India leads 54-10 overall and 22-4 in Zimbabwe.

We now look at individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (500 or more):

Tendulkar and Ganguly have almost the same totals. No current players here. The most are by Sikandar Raza (388) and S Dhawan (367).

The most centuries are 5 by Tendulkar and 3 by Ganguly.

The most 50+ scores are 12 by A Flower and 11 by A Campbell

Highest innings (100 or more):

Here there are some new records:

Shubham Gill’s 130 is the highest for India in Zimbabwe (surpassing Tendulkar’s 127* in 1998)

Sikandar Raza’s 115 is the highest for Zimbabwe at home vs India (surpassing E Chigumbura’s 104* in 2015).

Highest batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, 30.00):

Tendulkar leads by a large margin, while recent players have not played enough.

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

Yuvraj leads here, while recent players are again absent.

Bowling:

Most wickets (15 or more):

Unexpectedly, Agarkar has the most wickets here. None from recent years.

No one has taken more than one 5wi. The most 4+wi are 4 by Zaheer Khan and 3 by Agarkar.

The most by current players is 14 by AR Patel.

Best innings bowling (includes all 5wi and better):

Newcomer Brad Evans is the only current player here. India’s best bowling is a 6-for by the nearly forgotten A Mishra.

Bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls bowled, all instances):

Agarkar has the best bowling average and strike rate. Kumble has the best economy rate.

Fielding:

Most dismissals (12 or more):

A Flower leads by a large margin, and A Campbell has the most catches by a fielder.

Dravid, who played in some matches as a keeper, has the most dismissals for India.

Most dismissals in an innings (4 or more):

The most dismissals are 5 by Kirmani and N Mongia, while VVSL has the most (4) by a fielder.

Highest dismissal rate (Minimum 20 innings, 0.500):

A Flower leads, while Azharuddin has the best rate by a fielder.

All-round performance (overall):

Minimum 20 innings and 1000 balls bowled:

Only Streak has batted and bowled enough. He does not really qualify to be an all-rounder in these matches.

All-round performance (match):

Minimum 30 runs and 3 wickets:

The best performances here are by Ganguly (2000) and Crocker (1992).

Review of England vs India ODIs-Jul 2022 (Part 1)

India won this series 2-1, after winning the T20I series 3-0.

This summarises all ODIs played between these teams:

India lead England 57-44 in ODIs, although England lead 23-18 for ODIs played in England.

We now look at individual performances.

Batting:

Most runs (600 or more):

The most runs are 1546 by Dhoni and 1523 by Yuvraj, and the highest is 1163 by Bell.

Kohli (1340) has the most by current players.

The most centuries are 4 by Yuvraj, followed by 3 by Kohli and Root.

The most 50+ scores are 12 by Kohli, Raina and Tendulkar. The most for England is 9 by Pietersen.

Highest innings scores (115 and more):

The highest by a current player is 137* by RG Sharma, while the highest in this series is 125* by RR Pant. The highest for England is 158 by Strauss in the 2011 World Cup.

Batting averages (Minimum 20 innings and 30.00):

Led by Azharuddin by a large margin. Pietersen has the highest average for England, and Jadeja (!) the highest among current players.

Strike rates (Minimum 500 balls faced and 75.00):

The current pair of Bairstow and Stokes have the highest strike rates, followed by Sehwag and Yuvraj for India.

Now for

Bowling:

Most wickets (20 or more):

The highest are by Anderson and Jadeja. The latter has the highest for India and current players.

The most 5wis are 2 by Harbhajan, and the most 4wis are 2 by several players.

Best innings performances (including all 5wi):

The best performance here is Bumrah’s 6-19 which is the best for Ind vs Eng, surpassing Nehra’s 6-23 (in SA) and K Yadav’s 6-25 in England.

Similarly R Topley’s 6-24 is the best for Eng v Ind, surpassing RS Irani’s 5-26 in 2002

It is also the best for England in all ODIs, surpassing Collingwood’s 6-31 against BD in 2005.

Best bowling averages (Minimum 1000 balls bowled, all cases):

Srinath and current player Jadeja have the best averages. Flintoff has the best for England

The best economy rates are by Kapil and Harbhajan.

The best strike rates are by Jadeja and Srinath.

To be continued.

Review of England-India Tests, 2021-2022 (Pt 1)

The series was drawn 2-2 with 1 draw. India however retained the Pataudi trophy by virtue of their win in India in early 2021.

This is only the second drawn series for India in England, the first being 1-1 in 2002. They had won only in 1971, 1986 and 2007.

The jinx at Birmingham continued, as India have lost 7 and drawn 1 at this venue.

The overall summary:

Note England’s strong home advantage, although India is coming up.

Proceeding to individual performances, starting with

Batting:

Most runs (800 and more):

JE Root has come within a whisker of overtaking Tendulkar’s total of 2535, and has overtaken Gavaskar. Kohli and Pujara are next among current players.

Root has the most centuries (9) followed by Cook, Dravid and Tendulkar with 7.

Gavaskar and Tendulkar have the most 50+ scores (20), followed by Root with 19.

Highest innings scores (180 and more):

The highest score in recent years was 218 by Root in early 2021.

Spare a thought for KK Nair who made India’s highest against England but played only 6 Tests overall. This was his only Test score more than 50.

Highest batting averages (Min 20 innings, 35.00):

Root is in second place, after Barrington. Kohli and Pujara are next among current players.

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

Pant has the best strike rate among current players, after Kapil and Sehwag. Buttler and Ashwin are a little below, followed by Bairstow. Many of the higher strike rates are from recent years.

Next we take up

Bowling:

Most wickets (40 and more):

Anderson leads by a large margin over Chandrashekhar. Ashwin and Broad are next among current players.

Chandra has the most 5-fors (8) followed by 6 by Anderson, Ashwin and Botham.

Bedser is the only one with 2 10-fors, which came in his first 2 Tests.

Best innings bowling (includes all 7wi and above):

Nothing much from recent years. The 3 best performances were 50 or more years ago.

Best match bowling (includes all 10wm and above):

While there a few from recent years, such as Ashwin’s 12-for in 2016, we can also note AR (Axar) Patel’s 11-for in 2021 which is the best in any pink-ball Test. Note Bedser’s twin 11-wicket hauls at the start of his career. And JK Lever’s 50 and 10-for on debut.

Best bowling average (Minimum 2000 balls bowled, maximum 35.00):

The bowling averages are headed by Illingworth and JK Lever,

The best economy rates are by Illingworth and Nadkarni

The best strike rates are by JK Lever and Willis.

To be continued.