 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Rajneesh Gupta presents all the numbers from the first Test in Rajkot.
The draw in the Rajkot Test ended India's winning streak at home.
Before the first Test against England, India had won 12 consecutive Tests (excluding the rain-marred Bangalore Test against South Africa).
The last Test to be drawn in India was the Nagpur Test in December 2012, also against England.
Rajkot's Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium became the 23rd Indian ground and 110th ground in the world to host a Test.
Indore's Holkar Cricket Stadium became the 22nd Indian Test ground when it hosted the Test against New Zealand.
When he came out for the toss with Virat Kohli, it was a special occasion for Alastair Cook.
It was the 55th time Cook was leading England -- a record. He went ahead of Michael Atherton's tally of 54 Tests as England's captain.
Most Tests as England's captain
| Matches | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alastair Cook | 55 | 24 | 18 | 13 | 43.64 |
| Michael Atherton | 54 | 13 | 21 | 20 | 24.07 |
| Michael Vaughan | 51 | 26 | 11 | 14 | 50.98 |
| Andrew Strauss | 50 | 24 | 11 | 15 | 48.00 |
| Nasser Hussain | 45 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 37.78 |
| Peter May | 41 | 20 | 10 | 11 | 48.78 |
| Graham Gooch | 34 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 29.41 |
| David Gower | 32 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 15.63 |
| Mike Brearley | 31 | 18 | 4 | 9 | 58.06 |
| Ray Illingworth | 31 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 38.71 |
| Ted Dexter | 30 | 9 | 7 | 14 | 30.00 |
When Cookie won the toss, it was after eight consecutive Tests that a visiting captain had won the toss in India.
The sequence extends back to the second Test versus the West Indies, all four Tests against South Africa and all three against New Zealand.
This was the first time Virat Kohli had lost a toss at home.
It was also a milestone Test for Stuart Broad. It was the English fast bowler's 100th Test, only the 14th Englishman to play 100 Tests.
For the first time in its Test history, England had four players of Asian origin in the playing eleven: Opener Haseeb Hameed, all-rounder Moeen Ali, leg-spinner Adil Rashid and leftarm spinner Zafar Ansari.
Haseeb, who made his Test debut in Rajkot (his parents hail from Gujarat), became the 674th player to represent England in Test cricket.
At 19 years, 297 days Hameed is the fifth youngest Englishman to make his Test debut. He is also the youngest ever to open the innings for England.
Youngest to play Test cricket for England
| Age | Player | Opponent | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 years, 149 days | Brian Close | New Zealand | Manchester | 1949 |
| 19 years, 32 days | Jack Crawford | South Africa | Johannesburg | 1905-1906 |
| 19 years, 83 days | Dennis Compton | New Zealand | The Oval | 1937 |
| 19 years, 269 days | Ben Hollioake | Australia | Nottingham | 1997 |
| 19 years, 297 days | Haseeb Hameed | India | Rajkot | 2016 |
| 19 years, 338 days | Ian Peebles | South Africa | Johannesburg | 1927-1928 |
England ended day one at 311/4, one of the best performances for a visiting side on the opening day of a first Test in India.
Best opening day of a series in India by visiting teams
(batting first)
| Total | For | Venue | Season | Series Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 316/5 | Australia | Bangalore | 2004-2005 | Australia won 2-1 |
| 316/7 | Australia | Chennai | 2012-2013 | India won 4-0 |
| 312 | Pakistan | Mohali | 2004-2005 | Drawn 1-1 |
| 311/8 | Sri Lanka | Madras | 1982-1983 | India won 1-0 |
| 311/4 | England | Rajkot | 2016-2017 | Drawn |
| 304/4 | South Africa | Chennai | 2007-2008 | Drawn 1-1 |
| 294/3 | West Indies | Delhi | 1948-1049 | West Indies won 1-0 |
| 291/2 | South Africa | Nagpur | 2009-2010 | Drawn 1-1 |
| 288/3 | England | Bombay, Brabourne Stadium | 1961-1962 | India won 2-0 |
| 280/4 | Sri Lanka | Mohali | 1997-1998 | Drawn 0-0 |
Joe Root's hundred on the opening day of the Test was the first for a visiting side in 13 Tests in India.
Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes also scored hundreds on the second day as England amassed 537 runs, its third highest total in India.
With Root, Moeen and Stokes scoring centuries in the England innings, this was the first instance since 2009 and only the 10th overall of three batsmen from the visiting side scoring centuries in the same innings.
Seven of the previous 9 instances ended in a draw and one in the historical tie.
Only once did the visiting side win the Test:
Most 100s in an innings versus India in India
| 100s | Total | For | Venue | Season | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 631 | West Indies | Delhi | 1948-1949 | Drawn |
| 4 | 630/6d | New Zealand | Mohali | 2003-2004 | Drawn |
| 3 | 614/5d | West Indies | Calcutta | 1958-1959 | West Indies on by an innings and 336 runs |
| 3 | 644/8d | West Indies | Delhi | 1958-1959 | Drawn |
| 3 | 497/5 | England | Kanpur | 1961-1962 | Drawn |
| 3 | 574/7d | Australia | Madras | 1986-1987 | Match tied |
| 3 | 530/5d | Wes Indies | Calcutta | 1987-1988 | Drawn |
| 3 | 497 | West Indies | Kolkata | 2002-2003 | Drawn |
| 3 | 760/7d | Sri Lanka | Ahmedabad | 2009-2010 | Drawn |
| 3 | 537 | England | Rajkot | 2016 | Drawn |
Ravichandran Ashwin conceded 167 runs in 46 overs while picking up two wickets in the first innings -- one of his worst performances at home.
Four of his worst five performances at home have come against England. Take a look:
Ashwin's worst performances at home
| Runs | Wickets | Versus | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 183 | 3 | England | Kolkata | 2012 |
| 167 | 2 | England | Rajkot | 2016 |
| 145 | 2 | England | Mumbai | 2012 |
| 137 | 2 | West Indies | Kolkata | 2012 |
| 111 | 1 | England | Ahmedabad | 2012 |
Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 9th Test hundred, his 7th in India and his 3rd against England.
Pujara now holds a unique distinction of scoring a hundred in the first-ever Test played on his home ground, Rajkot. Only two other Indians hold this record.
Indians with a hundred in the first-ever Test on their home ground
| Batsman | Score | Vs | Ground | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusi Modi | 112 | West Indies | Bombay, Brabourne Stadium | 1948-49 |
| Eknath Solkar | 102 | West Indies | Bombay, Wankhede Stadium | 1975 |
| Cheteshwar Pujara | 124 | England | Rajkot | 2016 |
Pujara added 209 runs with Murali Vijay for the second wicket -- India's second highest partnership for this wicket against England.
The highest remains the 314 run partnership between Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid at Mohali in 2008-2009.
Vijay and Pujara also completed 2,000 runs as a pair, becoming the 13th Indian pair to accomplish this feat.
Interestingly, they have the highest average among 13 Indian pairs.
Most prolific Indian pairs in Tests
(Minimum 2,000 runs added together)
| Pair | Innings | Runs | Best | Average | 100-Stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murli Vijay, Cheteshwar Pujara | 33 | 2,128 | 370 | 64.48 | 6 |
| Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly | 71 | 4,173 | 281 | 61.36 | 12 |
| Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid | 58 | 3,383 | 410 | 60.41 | 10 |
| Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin | 42 | 2,385 | 222 | 58.17 | 9 |
| Sunil Gavaskar, Mohinder Amarnath | 44 | 2,366 | 224 | 55.02 | 10 |
| Gauram Gambhir, Rahul Dravid | 47 | 2,530 | 314 | 55.00 | 7 |
| Chetan Chauhan, Sunil Gavaskar | 60 | 3,127 | 213 | 54.85 | 11 |
| Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly | 68 | 3,294 | 194* | 53.12 | 10 |
| Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag | 87 | 4,412 | 233 | 52.52 | 11 |
| Rahil Dravid, V V S Laxman | 86 | 4,065 | 376 | 51.45 | 12 |
| Sachin Tendulkar, V V S Laxman | 73 | 3,523 | 353 | 51.05 | 9 |
| Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar | 143 | 6,920 | 249 | 50.51 | 20 |
| Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar | 67 | 3,272 | 344* | 50.33 | 10 |
Virat Kohli, who looked set to play a long innings, got out in a bizarre way.
While trying to play an Adil Rashid delivery to mid-wicket, Kohli stepped on the leg-stump, thus becoming the 20th Indian to get out hit-wicket.
Mohinder Amarnath got out in this fashion three times.
Indian batsmen out hit-wicket in Tests versus England
| Player | Score | Venue | Season | Bowler |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilip Sardesai | 28 | Kanpur | 1961-1962 | Tony Lock |
| Madan Lal | 7 | Old Trafford | 1974 | Bob Willis |
| Ashok Mankad | 43 | Edgbaston | 1974 | Chris Old |
| Brijesh Patel | 21 | Calcutta | 1977 | Bob Willis |
| Virat Kohli | 40 | Rajkot | 2016 | Adil Rashid |
Virat has also been out hit wicket in a One-Day International -- at Cardiff in 2011 off Graeme Swann after scoring 107, also against England!
This makes him only the second Indian batsman (and 10th overall) to be out in this fashion in both Tests and ODIs, after Nayan Mongia.
Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed added 180 runs for the opening wicket in England's second innings.
This is the highest opening partnership by any visiting side in India in their second innings in a Test, obliterating New Zealand's Matt Horne and Gary Stead's 131 runs at Ahmedabad in 1999.
Cookie and Haseeb's partnership is also England's highest opening partnership in India -- in the first or second innings -- beating the 178 run partnership between Graeme Fowler and Tim Robinson at Madras) in 1984-1985.
Haseeb was unlucky to miss out on a well deserved hundred. He can take some solace that he now holds the record of being the youngest to score a Test 50 for England at the age of 19 years, 300 days.
Also his match tally of 113 runs (31 and 82) is the highest for an England teenager in his debut Test, surpassing Jack Crawford's 87 in 1905-1906.
Cook's 30th Test hundred puts him ahead of the Don in the centurions list.
It took Cookie 136 Tests for his 30th Test ton. The Don scored his 29 centuries in just 52 Tests.
Cook has now scored more hundreds than any other visiting batsman in India.
Most 100s versus India in India
| 100s | Player | For | Matches | Innings | Innings/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Alastair Cook | England | 9 | 18 | 3.60 |
| 4 | Everton Weekes | West Indies | 5 | 7 | 1.75 |
| 4 | Clive Lloyd | West Indies | 14 | 22 | 5.50 |
| 4 | Hashim Amla | South Africa | 10 | 17 | 4.25 |
Cook has also scored 9 hundreds in Asia, the most scored by a non-Asian batsman. He went ahead of South Africa's Jacques Kallis in Rajkot.
Most 100s by non-Asian batsmen in Asia
| 100s | Player | For | Mts | Innings | Innings/100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Alastair Cook | England | 24 | 47 | 5.22 |
| 8 | Jacques Kallis | South Africa | 25 | 44 | 5.50 |
| 7 | Hashim Amla | South Africa | 23 | 39 | 5.57 |
| 6 | Allan Border | Australia | 22 | 39 | 6.50 |
| 5 | Brian Lara | West Indies | 14 | 26 | 5.20 |
| 5 | Darren Bravo | West Indies | 17 | 31 | 6.20 |
| 5 | Andy Flower | Zimbabwe | 21 | 38 | 7.60 |
| 5 | Ricky Ponting | Australia | 28 | 48 | 9.60 |
England's match tally of 797 runs for the loss of 13 wickets is its highest in a Test in India, beating 741 for the loss of 15 wickets at Kanpur in 1961-1962.
This is also the 7th best performance by any visiting side in India.
Most runs by a visiting side in a Test in India
| Runs-Wickets | For | Venue | Season | Innings1 | Innings2 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 885/16 | Zimbabwe | Nagpur | 2000-2001 | 382 | 503/6d | Drawn |
| 871/15 | South Africa | Chennai | 2007-2008 | 540 | 331/5d | Drawn |
| 831/12 | Pakistan | Bangalore | 2004 | 570 | 261/2d | Won |
| 809/9 | West Indies | Mumbai | 1975 | 604/6d | 205/3d | Won |
| 808/19 | Pakistan | Mohali | 2004 | 312 | 496/9d | Drawn |
| 798/18 | New Zealand | Hyderabad | 2011 | 350 | 448/8d | Drawn |
| 797/13 | England | Rajkot | 2016 | 537 | 260/3d | Drawn |
| 795/13 | South Africa | Kolkata | 1996 | 428 | 367/3d | Won |
| 760/7 | Sri Lanka | Ahmedabad | 2009 | 760/7d | Drawn | |
| 744/12 | Australia | Chennai | 1986 | 574/d | 170/5d | Tied |
| 744/13 | West Indies | Mohali | 1994 | 443 | 301/3d | Won |
,font size=7>Ravichandran Ashwin had an entirely forgettable outing as he went for 230 runs in the Test while picking up only 3 wickets.
In comparison he conceded 225 runs against New Zealand at Kanpur in the last series, but took 10 wickets in the match.
Most runs conceded by Indian bowlers in a home Test
| Overs | Runs | Wickets | Opponent | Venue | Season | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbhajan Singh | 78.5 | 265 | 8 | South Africa | Chennai | 2007 |
| Sadu Shinde | 108.3 | 253 | 8 | England | Delhi | 1951 |
| Anil Kumble | 67 | 247 | 1 | Pakistan | Bangalore | 2004 |
| Subhash Gupte | 88 | 244 | 5 | West Indies | Chennai | 1958 |
| Anil Kumble | 76 | 236 | 6 | Pakistan | Mohali | 2004 |
| Bhagwat Chandrasekhar | 92.5 | 235 | 11 | West Indies | Bombay, Brabourne Stadium | 1966-67 |
| Anil Kumble | 89 | 233 | 10 | England | Ahmedabad | 2001 |
| Karsan Ghavri | 52 | 232 | 6 | West Indies | Mumbai | 1975 |
| Dilip Doshi | 68 | 232 | 8 | Sri Lanka | Madras | 1982 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 69.3 | 230 | 3 | England | Rajkot | 2016 |
| Ravichandran Ashwin | 66.2 | 225 | 10 | New Zealand | Kanpur | 2016 |
England set India a winning target of 310 runs in a minimum of 49 overs (The Englishmen bowled more overs than that) -- at a run-rate of over 6.
The highest run-rate ever achieved by any side to successfully chase down a target of 300 or more in the 4th innings is 5.25.
Perhaps England missed a trick there as Cook & Co could have given themselves a few more overs to bowl out India.
Highest run-rate in fourth innings successful chases of 300+
| Runs Per Over | For | Total | Opponent | Venue | Season |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5.25 | Pakistan | 302/5 | Sri Lanka | Sharjah | 2013-14 |
| 5.19 | West Indies | 344/1 | England | Lord's | 1984 |
| 4.29 | England | 315/4 | Australia | Leeds | 2001 |
| 4.21 | Australia | 334/6 | South Africa | Cape Town | 2001 |
| 3.92 | India | 387/4 | England | Chennai | 2008-2009 |
Captain Kohli steered India out of trouble. His dogged batting -- first with Ashwin and then with Ravindra Jadeja -- meant India ended the Test with a draw.
Virat's mastery in ODI and T20 chases is well-known, but his performance in Test cricket under extreme pressure has not been given much attention.
It may be difficult to believe, but Virat Kohli has the highest batting average in the fourth innings of Tests among all Indian batsmen who have aggregated 500 or more runs.
Highest batting average in 4th innings in Tests
(Minimum 500 runs for India)
| Inns | Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100 | 50 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virat Kohli | 15 | 718 | 141 | 65.27 | 2 | 4 |
| Sunil Gavaskar | 33 | 1,398 | 221 | 58.25 | 4 | 8 |
| Rahul Dravid | 56 | 1,552 | 103* | 40.84 | 1 | 9 |
| V V S Laxman | 38 | 1,095 | 103* | 40.55 | 1 | 7 |
| Sourav Ganguly | 32 | 864 | 101* | 37.56 | 1 | 3 |
| Sachin Tendulkar | 60 | 1625 | 136 | 36.93 | 3 | 7 |
| Gundappa Viswanath | 24 | 668 | 112 | 33.40 | 1 | 4 |
| Mohammad Azharuddin | 22 | 610 | 108* | 32.10 | 2 | 1 |
| Virender Sehwag | 33 | 894 | 83 | 31.92 | 0 | 8 |
| Dilip Vengsarkar | 25 | 613 | 146* | 29.19 | 1 | 3 |
Among all the teams to tour India in last five years, England have the best record.
Of the five Tests England have played, it has won two, lost one and drawn two.
The combined tally of Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the West Indies during this period reads: No win, 16 losses and two draws!
Visiting sides in India since 2011
| Tests | Won | Lost | Drawn | Win% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 40.00 |
| WI, NZ, Aus, SA | 18 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 0.00 |