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Statistical highlights day 5, second Test
- Shaun Pollock completed the all-round double of 3,000 runs and 300 wickets during his innings of 6. He became the fifth all-rounder in Test cricket history to complete the coveted 'double' after England's Ian Botham, Pakistan's Imran Khan, New Zealand's Richard Hadlee and India's Kapil Dev.
- Pollock, however, is the slowest in terms of Tests taken to accomplish the feat, having done so in his 87th Test. Botham remains the fastest with 72, followed by Imran (75), Hadlee (83) and Kapil (83).
- Harbhajan Singh's figures of 7 for 87 in the second innings are the best for India against South Africa, obliterating Javagal Srinath's 6 for 21 at Ahmedabad in 1996-97.
- This was the fifth occasion Harbhajan took seven (or more) wickets in an innings. He thus equalled Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble's record of most seven-wicket innings hauls for India.
- Harbhajan's match figures of 9 for 141 are the best for India against South Africa in a home Test. Srinath had returned the figures of 8 for 68 at Ahmedabad in 1996-97, which was the previous best. However, the record of best bowling for India in a match against South Africa -- home or away -- is still held by Venkatesh Prasad, who had the figures of 10 for 153 at Durban in 1996-97.
- Harbhajan has now taken his wicket tally to 29 (from just four games) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, to equal Bishen Singh Bedi's record of most wickets on the ground. Bedi, however, played six Tests for his 29 wickets.
- Kumble equalled Kapil Dev's record of most wickets in a Test career for India when he had last man Makhaya Ntini caught at first slip by Rahul Dravid. Kumble needed only 90 Tests as against Kapil Dev's 131 to claim 434 wickets.
- Kumble has now taken 66 wickets in 16 Tests against South Africa -- most for India. He surpassed former teammate Javagal Srinath's tally of 64 wickets in 13 Tests.
- Sachin Tendulkar (32*) completed 1,000 runs against South Africa with the shot that also sealed India's victory. He was playing his 16th Test and 29th innings against South Africa. Tendulkar is the first batsman in India-South Africa Tests to perform the feat.
- Tendulkar now aggregates 1,000 runs against six countries -- 1859 in 21 Tests v Australia, 1683 in 16 Tests v England, 1328 in 16 Tests v West Indies, 1124 in 13 Tests v Sri Lanka, 1062 in 16 Tests v New Zealand -- and now 1,003 in 16 Tests v South Africa. Tendulkar's feat of aggregating 1,000 runs against six countries is unparalleled in Test cricket.
- The eight-wicket victory is India's only third against South Africa in 16 Tests. India's only two other wins against South Africa came in the same series -- by 64 runs at Ahmedabad in November 1996 and by 280 runs at Kanpur -- in December 1996.
- India have now registered Test wins against eight countries under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy. The only country against which Ganguly is yet to win a Test is New Zealand.
- India's 1-0 win is their second series win over South Africa. They had beaten South Africa 2-1 in a three match series in 1996-97.
- It is also India's first series win in the last two years at home. India had last beaten the West Indies by 2-0 in 2002-03.
- Harbhajan Singh won the man of the match award for the fourth time in his career. His other man of the match awards are: v Australia at Chennai in 2000-01, v Zimbabwe at Delhi in 2001-02 and v West Indies at Chennai in 2002-03.
- Virender Sehwag was adjudged man of the series for the second time in his career. His first and only other such award was against Pakistan in Pakistan in 2003-04.
At the end of the series:
o India's overall Test record: played 380, won 79, lost 126, drawn 174 and tied one.
o South Africa's overall Test record: played 292, won 94, lost 104 and drawn 94.
o Sourav Ganguly's captaincy record: played 42, won 16, lost 12 and drawn 14.
o Graeme Smith's captaincy record: played 20, won 8, lost 6 and drawn 6.