Test captaincy updates-1

It is easy enough to get updated tables like this:

(All these tables are updated to Dec 3, 2019):

Most Tests (120 and above)

Current players with the most Tests are Anderson (149), Broad (134) and Amla (124).

Another table which is easy to create:

Most Tests as Captain (40 and above):

Kohli is the only current player here. He has captained in 53 Tests and has still to overtake Dhoni (60). He overtook Ganguly (49) and Gavaskar (47) not long ago.

But this one needs a little more work with Excel:

Most Tests NOT as Captain (105 and above):

Current players here are Anderson (149), Broad (134) besides recent retirees de Villiers (111) and Amla (110). Note that some, like Tendulkar and Kallis, have captained for a few Tests but others such as Anderson and Broad have never captained. More about these cases shortly.

 

 

India-West Indies T20I review-Dec 2019

The 3-match series in India was won by India with  2-1 margin. Earlier this year India had won 3-0 in a series spread over the USA and West Indies.

Here is a summary of the 17 T20I matches between these teams:

These can be summarized as:

India still has a healthy 10-6 lead.

Individual records: Batting

Most runs (100 and above):

The trio of RG Sharma, Kohli and Rahul have the most runs. While E Lewis is the only one with 2 centuries, Sharma and Kohli each have five 50+ scores.

Highest innings (75 and above):

Kohli and Rahul scored 90s in this series.

Most wickets (5 and above):

Jadeja leads now, with K Yadav and B Kumar from the current series.

Best innings bowling (3wi and above):

None of these performances are from the current series. But note DL Chahar’s 3-4 from earlier this year.

Fielding: Most dismissals (4 and more):

RG Sharma has the most catches followed by Pollard. Dhoni, Pant and Ramdin have the most dismissals as a keeper.

Most innings dismissals (3 and above):

KD Karthik has the most dismissals by a keeper.

Best all-round match performances (20 runs and 2 wickets):

Bravo’s performance in the 2009 World Championship is one of the best in all T20Is.

Review of India-South Africa Tests (2019)-1

While on the topic of clean sweeps in Test series, see this: https://abn397.wordpress.com/2017/08/14/clean-sweeps-in-test-series/

At the end of this series, 39 Tests had been played between these countries.

The World Test Championship results are now:

with India having more points than all other teams put together.

Result Summary:

In India: India won 11, SA 5 and 3 drawn (Total 19)

In SA: India won 3, SA 10 and 7 drawn (Total 20)

Total: India won 14, SA 15 and 10 drawn.

Strong home advantage on both sides.

We now look at individual performances:

Batting: Most runs (750 or more):

Also note: Most centuries 7 by Tendulkar and Kallis.

Most 50+ scores: 12 by the same pair and Amla.

The most runs by current players are 1075 (Kohli) and 758 (Pujara).

Highest innings (125 and more):

In this series we have Kohli’s 254* , MA Agarwal’s 215 and RG Sharma’s 212. For SA Elgar made 160 but hardly anyone from SA did anything after that.

Also remember that Sharma became the first to score two centuries on debut while opening-a feat which eluded the greats of the past such as Hobbs, Sutcliffe, Hutton and many others.

Batting averages (Minimum 20 innings, all instances):

Kallis leads, followed by Kohli at some distance. RG Sharma has not played enough yet.

Batting strike rates (Minimum 1000 balls faced, all instances):

The leader is not hard to guess, with current players Sharma and Kohli close behind. From SA the current players Elgar and du Plessis are considerably below..

Also note UT Yadav’s 10-ball blitz for 31 (310.00), which is the highest strike rate for any innings above 25.

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.

 

Flashback: When Virat met Kane in 2008

They first met as opposing captains in another semi-final long ago in Kuala Lumpur in February 2008, when India won by 3 wkts (by D/L):

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8368/scorecard/317005/india-under-19s-vs-new-zealand-under-19s-semi-final-icc-under-19-world-cup-2007-08

Future internationals in this match included Worker, Williamson, Southee, CJ Anderson and Boult from NZ and Kohli, SS Tiwary, MK Pandey and Sir Ravindra Jadeja (though he was a minor nobleman at that time) from India.

In the other semi-final SA won against Pak.

In the final, Ind won against SA by 12 runs (again by D/L):

https://www.espncricinfo.com/series/8368/scorecard/317016/india-under-19s-vs-south-africa-under-19s-final-icc-under-19-world-cup-2007-08

SA’s future internationals included Rossouw, Reza Hendricks and Parnell (captain).

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.