LD Chandimal of Sri Lanka scored fifties in both innings of the just concluded Nagpur test against India. His effort was in vain, as Sri Lanka lost the test by an innings and 239 runs to provide the 47^th occasion of a captain’s twin fifties in a losing cause in the annals of test cricket. All such occasions are tabulated below.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	G Giffen	57	51	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	01 Mar 1895
2	MA Noble	61	64	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	01 Jan 1908
3	JWHT Douglas	50	60	Eng	Aus	Melbourne	11 Feb 1921
4	HW Taylor	59*	56	SAF	Eng	Leeds	12 Jul 1924
5	J Ryder	63	87	Aus	Eng	Adelaide	01 Feb 1929
6	GC Grant	53*	71*	Win	Aus	Adelaide	12 Dec 1930
7	AD Nourse	65	114	SAF	Aus	Cape Town	31 Dec 1949
8	VS Hazare	89	56	Ind	Eng	Leeds	05 Jun 1952
9	GO Rabone	107	68	NZl	SAF	Durban	11 Dec 1953
10	L Hutton	72	77	Eng	Win	Bridgetown	06 Feb 1954
11	PBH May	63	53	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	21 Jun 1956
12	ER Dexter	57	62	Eng	Ind	Kolkata	30 Dec 1961
13	JR Reid	60	142	NZl	SAF	Johannesburg	02 Feb 1962
14	JR Reid	74	100	NZl	Eng	Christchurch	15 Mar 1963
15	JR Reid	128	76	NZl	Pak	Karachi	09 Apr 1965
16	MAK Pataudi	64	148	Ind	Eng	Leeds	08 Jun 1967
17	MAK Pataudi	75	85	Ind	Aus	Melbourne	30 Dec 1967
18	IM Chappell	65	50	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	08 Feb 1975
19	AW Greig	116	76*	Eng	Win	Leeds	22 Jul 1976
20	DI Gower	57	106	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	22 Jun 1989
21	KC Wessels	59	74	SAF	Win	Bridgetown	18 Apr 1992
22	GA Gooch	65	133	Eng	Aus	Manchester	03 Jun 1993
23	WJ Cronje	126	67	SAF	Eng	Nottingham	23 Jul 1998
24	BC Lara	51	79	Win	SAF	Durban	26 Dec 1998
25	A Flower	74	129	Zim	Srl	Harare	26 Nov 1999
26	BC Lara	67	75	Win	NZl	Wellington	26 Dec 1999
27	SR Tendulkar	116	52	Ind	Aus	Melbourne	26 Dec 1999
28	SP Fleming	57	99	NZl	SAF	Bloemfontein	17 Nov 2000
29	CL Hooper	53	54*	Win	SAF	Port of Spain	17 Mar 2001
30	BC Lara	91	122	Win	Aus	Port of Spain	19 Apr 2003
31	T Taibu	71*	52	Zim	Ind	Bulawayo	13 Sep 2005
32	MS Atapattu	88	67	Srl	Ind	Delhi	10 Dec 2005
33	Habibul Bashar	69	73	Ban	Srl	Bogra	08 Mar 2006
34	A Flintoff	70	51	Eng	Ind	Mohali	09 Mar 2006
35	BC Lara	61	122	Win	Pak	Lahore	11 Nov 2006
36	RT Ponting	101	99	Aus	SAF	Melbourne	26 Dec 2008
37	Shakib Al Hasan	87	100	Ban	NZl	Hamilton	15 Feb 2010
38	RT Ponting	77	72	Aus	Ind	Bengaluru	09 Oct 2010
39	MS Dhoni	77	74*	Ind	Eng	Birmingham	10 Aug 2011
40	BRM Taylor	50	117	Zim	NZl	Bulawayo	01 Nov 2011
41	M Jayawardene	105	64	Srl	Eng	Col-PSS	03 Apr 2012
42	M Jayawardene	72	60	Srl	Aus	Sydney	03 Jan 2013
43	V Kohli	115	141	Ind	Aus	Adelaide	09 Dec 2014
44	AD Mathews	50	66	Srl	NZl	Christchurch	26 Dec 2014
45	AN Cook	75	56	Eng	NZl	Leeds	29 May 2015
46	JE Root	59	72	Eng	Win	Leeds	25 Aug 2017
47	LD Chandimal	57	61	Srl	Ind	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017

Of these 47 occasions, there are 18 occasions of a captain scoring a fifty and a hundred which have gone in vain. All such occasions are listed below.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	AD Nourse	65	114	SAF	Aus	Cape Town	31 Dec 1949
2	GO Rabone	107	68	NZl	SAF	Durban	11 Dec 1953
3	JR Reid	60	142	NZl	SAF	Johannesburg	2 Feb 1962
4	JR Reid	74	100	NZl	Eng	Christchurch	15 Mar 1963
5	JR Reid	128	76	NZl	Pak	Karachi	09 Apr 1965
6	MAK Pataudi	64	148	Ind	Eng	Leeds	08 Jun 1967
7	AW Greig	116	76*	Eng	Win	Leeds	22 Jul 1976
8	DI Gower	57	106	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	22 Jun 1989
9	GA Gooch	65	133	Eng	Aus	Manchester	03 Jun 1993
10	WJ Cronje	126	67	SAF	Eng	Nottingham	23 Jul 1998
11	A Flower	74	129	Zim	Srl	Harare	26 Nov 1999
12	SR Tendulkar	116	52	Ind	Aus	Melbourne	26 Dec 1999
13	BC Lara	91	122	Win	Aus	Port of Spain	19 Apr 2003
14	BC Lara	61	122	Win	Pak	Lahore	11 Nov 2006
15	RT Ponting	101	99	Aus	SAF	Melbourne	26 Dec 2008
16	Shakib Al Hasan	87	100	Ban	NZl	Hamilton	15 Feb 2010
17	BRM Taylor	50	117	Zim	NZl	Bulawayo	01 Nov 2011
18	M Jayawardene	105	64	Srl	Eng	Col-PSS	03 Apr 2012

The following are the 28 occasions of captain’s twin half centuries going in vain. All such occasions are listed below.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	G Giffen	57	51	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	01 Mar 1895
2	MA Noble	61	64	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	01 Jan 1908
3	JWHT Douglas	50	60	Eng	Aus	Melbourne	11 Feb 1921
4	HW Taylor	59*	56	SAF	Eng	Leeds	12 Jul 1924
5	J Ryder	63	87	Aus	Eng	Adelaide	01 Feb 1929
6	GC Grant	53*	71*	Win	Aus	Adelaide	12 Dec 1930
7	VS Hazare	89	56	Ind	Eng	Leeds	05 Jun 1952
8	L Hutton	72	77	Eng	Win	Bridgetown	06 Feb 1954
9	PBH May	63	53	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	21 Jun 1956
10	ER Dexter	57	62	Eng	Ind	Kolkata	30 Dec 1961
11	MAK Pataudi	75	85	Ind	Aus	Melbourne	30 Dec 1967
12	IM Chappell	65	50	Aus	Eng	Melbourne	08 Feb 1975
13	KC Wessels	59	74	SAF	Win	Bridgetown	18 Apr 1992
14	BC Lara	51	79	Win	SAF	Durban	26 Dec 1998
15	BC Lara	67	75	Win	NZl	Wellington	26 Dec 1999
16	SP Fleming	57	99	NZl	SAF	Bloemfontein	17 Nov 2000
17	CL Hooper	53	54*	Win	SAF	Port of Spain	17 Mar 2001
18	T Taibu	71*	52	Zim	Ind	Bulawayo	13 Sep 2005
19	MS Atapattu	88	67	Srl	Ind	Delhi	10 Dec 2005
20	Habibul Bashar	69	73	Ban	Srl	Bogra	08 Mar 2006
21	A Flintoff	70	51	Eng	Ind	Mohali	09 Mar 2006
22	RT Ponting	77	72	Aus	Ind	Bengaluru	09 Oct 2010
23	MS Dhoni	77	74*	Ind	Eng	Birmingham	10 Aug 2011
24	M Jayawardene	72	60	Srl	Aus	Sydney	03 Jan 2013
25	AD Mathews	50	66	Srl	NZl	Christchurch	26 Dec 2014
26	AN Cook	75	56	Eng	NZl	Leeds	29 May 2015
27	JE Root	59	72	Eng	Win	Leeds	25 Aug 2017
28	LD Chandimal	57	61	Srl	Ind	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017

The only occasion of a captain’s twin hundreds in a losing cause  is Indian skipper V Kohli’s 115 and 141 against Australia at Adelaide in Dec 2014

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	V Kohli	115	141	Ind	Aus	Adelaide	09 Dec 2014

LD Chandimal’s feat which went in vain provides the fifth occasion of a Sri Lankan captain’s twin fifties in a losing cause. All such occasions are listed below.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	MS Atapattu	88	67	Srl	Ind	Delhi	10 Dec 2005
2	M Jayawardene	105	64	Srl	Eng	Col-PSS	03 Apr 2012
3	M Jayawardene	72	60	Srl	Aus	Sydney	03 Jan 2013
4	AD Mathews	50	66	Srl	NZl	Christchurch	26 Dec 2014
5	LD Chandimal	57	61	Srl	Ind	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017

LD Chandimal’s feat which went in vain provides the sixth occasion of a captain’s twin fifties  in a losing cause aginst India. All such occasions are listed below.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	ER Dexter	57	62	Eng	Ind	Kolkata	30 Dec 1961
2	T Taibu	71*	52	Zim	Ind	Bulawayo	13 Sep 2005
3	MS Atapattu	88	67	Srl	Ind	Delhi	10 Dec 2005
4	A Flintoff	70	51	Eng	Ind	Mohali	09 Mar 2006
5	RT Ponting	77	72	Aus	Ind	Bengaluru	09 Oct 2010
6	LD Chandimal	57	61	Srl	Ind	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017

LD Chandimal and MS Attapattu are the two Sri Lankan captains to witness their twin fifties in a losing cause against India.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	MS Atapattu	88	67	Srl	Ind	Delhi	10 Dec 2005
2	LD Chandimal	57	61	Srl	Ind	Nagpur	24 Nov 2017

BC Lara {04}, JR Reid {03}, DPMD Jayawardene {03}, MAK Pataudi {02} and RT Ponting {02} are the five captains who have witnessed two or more efforts of twin fifties in a losing cause.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Oppn	Ground	Start Date
1	BC Lara	51	79	Win	SAF	Durban	26 Dec 1998
2	BC Lara	67	75	Win	NZl	Wellington	26 Dec 1999
3	BC Lara	91	122	Win	Aus	Port of Spain	19 Apr 2003
4	BC Lara	61	122	Win	Pak	Lahore	11 Nov 2006
1	JR Reid	60	142	NZl	SAF	Johannesburg	02 Feb 1962
2	JR Reid	74	100	NZl	Eng	Christchurch	15 Mar 1963
3	JR Reid	128	76	NZl	Pak	Karachi	09 Apr 1965
1	M Jayawardene	105	64	Srl	Eng	Col-PSS	03 Apr 2012
2	M Jayawardene	72	60	Srl	Aus	Sydney	03 Jan 2013
1	MAK Pataudi	64	148	Ind	Eng	Leeds	08 Jun 1967
2	MAK Pataudi	75	85	Ind	Aus	Melbourne	30 Dec 1967
1	RT Ponting	101	99	Aus	SAF	Melbourne	26 Dec 2008
2’	RT Ponting	77	72	Aus	Ind	Bengaluru	09 Oct 2010