The first Test in Fatullah has been a shocking experience for Australia so far.
Expected to register an easy victory, they saw minnows Bangladesh scoring in excess of 350 on the opening day, to end up with a respectable first innings score of 427 on the second day. In contrast, the Australian batsmen struggled as they were bowled out for a paltry 269.
Amid the ruins if there was one Australian who had his reputation intact, it was none other than Adam Gilchrist.
Gilchrist's 144 made 53.53 percent of Australia's total. In doing so, he got two world records on his name. When he clobbered Mohammad Rafique for a mighty six, the first of his six sixes, Gilchrist broke the record for the most sixes in Test cricket.
This was Gilchrist's 88th six in Test cricket and he moved ahead of New Zealand's Chris Cairns, who had clouted 87 sixes in 62 Tests before retiring. Gilchrist ended his innings with a career tally of 93 sixes.
West Indian greats Vivian Richards and Brian Lara come next with 84 and 78 sixes, followed by Australian Matthew Hayden, 75, England's Andrew Flintoff 72 and West Indian Clive Lloyd, 70. Cairns holds the record for most sixes per Test (1.40), followed by Flintoff (1.22) and Gilchrist (1.10).
Most sixes in a Test career:
Player | Country | Sixes | Tests |
AC Gilchrist | Aus | 93 | 84 |
CL Cairns | NZ | 87 | 62 |
IVA Richards | WI | 84 | 121 |
BC Lara | WI | 78 | 124 |
ML Hayden | Aus | 75 | 83 |
A Flintoff | Eng | 72 | 59 |
CH Lloyd | WI | 70 | 110 |
IT Botham | Eng | 67 | 102 |
CG Greenidge | WI | 67 | 108 |
CL Hooper | WI | 63 | 102 |
Kapil Dev | Ind | 61 | 131 |
During his innings Gilchrist also became the first wicketkeeper to aggregate 5,000 runs in Tests. His 16 centuries are also the maximum by a wicketkeeper, with Zimbabwean Andy Flower a distant second with 12.
Leading run-scoring keepers in Test cricket:
Wicketkeeper | For | Tests | Inns | NO | Runs | Hs | Ave | 100s | 50s | 0s |
AC Gilchrist | Aus | 84 | 122 | 18 | 5112 | 204* | 49.15 | 16 | 22 | 12 |
AJ Stewart | Eng | 82 | 145 | 15 | 4540 | 173 | 34.92 | 6 | 23 | 11 |
A Flower | Zim | 55 | 100 | 18 | 4404 | 232* | 53.71 | 12 | 23 | 4 |
APE Knott | Eng | 95 | 149 | 15 | 4389 | 135 | 32.75 | 5 | 30 | 8 |
IA Healy | Aus | 119 | 182 | 23 | 4356 | 161* | 27.4 | 4 | 22 | 18 |
RW Marsh | Aus | 96 | 150 | 13 | 3633 | 132 | 26.52 | 3 | 16 | 12 |
MV Boucher | SA | 91 | 127 | 17 | 3318 | 125 | 30.16 | 4 | 21 | 14 |
PJL Dujon | WI | 79 | 111 | 11 | 3146 | 139 | 31.46 | 5 | 16 | 8 |
K Sangakkara | SL | 44 | 73 | 4 | 2862 | 230 | 41.48 | 7 | 9 | 4 |
SMH Kirmani | Ind | 88 | 124 | 22 | 2759 | 102 | 27.05 | 2 | 12 | 7 |
FM Engineer | Ind | 46 | 87 | 3 | 2611 | 121 | 31.08 | 2 | 16 | 7 |
Moin Khan | Pak | 66 | 98 | 8 | 2581 | 137 | 28.68 | 4 | 14 | 5 |
RD Jacobs | WI | 65 | 112 | 21 | 2577 | 118 | 28.32 | 3 | 14 | 12 |