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Here are some more stats highlights on the second day’s play between India and Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai. Read on …………

R Dravid’s 62 not out at the end of the second day’s play represent his 12^th fifty against Sri Lanka {03 centuries plus 09 half centuries} which is a record for most fifties by an Indian batsman against Sri Lanka. Dravid wrested the record from SR Tendulkar who has 11 fifties to his credit {08 centuries and 03 half centuries}

R Dravid and DPMD Jayawardene share the record for most fifties in the series with 12 fifties each to their credit

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represent the highest individual score by an Indian batsman against Sri Lanka. The previous best was 201 not out by V Sehwag himself at Galle in Jul 2008

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represent the sixth double hundred in India-Sri Lanka test series which are listed below

No	Batsmen	Runs	Team	Ground	Month	Year
1	STJayasuriya	340	Srl	Col-RPS	Aug	97
2	VSehwag	284*	Ind	Mum-BS	Dec	09
3	MJayawardene	275	Srl	Ahmedabad	Nov	09
4	MJayawardene	242	Srl	Col-SSC	Feb	99
5	RSMahanama	225	Srl	Col-RPS	Aug	97
6	VSehwag	201*	Ind	Galle	Jul	08

V Sehwag’s 284 not out contained 40 boundary fours which is a record of most boundary fours by a batsman in an innings in India-Sri Lanka test series. V Sehwag wrested the record from ST Jayasuriya who had 36 boundary fours in his knock of 340 at Col-RPS in Aug 97

V Sehwag’s 284 not out contained 40 boundary fours providing the 15^th occasion of a batsman scoring 40 plus boundary in an innings in the annals of test cricket.

No	Batsmen	Runs	4s	Team	Opp	Ground	Mon	Yr
1	DG Bradman	334	46	Aus	Eng	Leeds	Jul	30
2	DG Bradman	304	43	Aus	Eng	Leeds	Jul	34
3	RB Kanhai	256	42	Win	Ind	Kolkata	Dec	58
4	JH Edrich	310*	52	Eng	NZl	Leeds	Jul	65
5	RG Pollock	274	43	SAF	Aus	Durban	Feb	70
6	DL Amiss	262*	40	Eng	Win	Kingston	Feb	74
7	GA Gooch	333	43	Eng	Ind	Lord’s	Jul	90
8	PA de Silva	267	40	Srl	NZl	Wellington	Jan	91
9	BC Lara	375	45	Win	Eng	St John’s	Apr	94
10	VVS Laxman	281	44	Ind	Aus	Kolkata	Mar	01
11	BC Lara	400*	43	Win	Eng	St John’s	Apr	04
12	V Sehwag	254	47	Ind	Pak	Lahore	Jan	06
13	MJayawardene	374	43	Srl	SAF	Col-SSC	Jul	06
14	V Sehwag	319	42	Ind	SAF	Chennai	Mar	08
15	V Sehwag	284*	40	Ind	Srl	Mum-BS	Dec	09

V Sehwag remains the only batsman in the annals of test cricket to score 40 plus boundary four on three occasions. DG Bradman of Australia and BC Lara of West Indies are the other two batsmen who have hit 40 plus boundary fours on two occasions

No	Batsmen	Runs	4s	Team	Opp	Ground	Mon	Yr
1	BC Lara	375	45	Win	Eng	StJohn’s	Apr	94
2	BC Lara	400*	43	Win	Eng	StJohn’s	Apr	04
1	DGBradman	334	46	Aus	Eng	Leeds	Jul	30
2	DGBradman	304	43	Aus	Eng	Leeds	Jul	34
1	V Sehwag	254	47	Ind	Pak	Lahore	Jan	06
2	V Sehwag	319	42	Ind	SAF	Chennai	Mar	08
3	V Sehwag	284*	40	Ind	Srl	Mum-BS	Dec	09

V Sehwag’s 284 not out at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai represent the 33^rd hundred by a batsman at this venue. His knock represents the third occasion of a batsman scoring a double hundred on this ground. The other two batsmen are – MH Mankad {223 vs New Zealand in Dec 55} and DN Sardesai {200* vs New Zealand in Mar 65}

V Sehwag’s 284 not out at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai represent the highest score on this ground bettering MH Mankad’s 223 vs New Zealand in Dec 55

As on date there are six 200 plus runs partnership posted at Brabourne stadium which includes the two double hundreds stands in this game. All the six partnerships are listed below

No	Batting Partners	Wkt	Runs	Team	Opp	Mon	Yr
1	KWRFletcher/AWGreig	5	254	Eng	Ind	Feb	73
2	HanifMohd/SaeedAhmed	2	246	Pak	Ind	Dec	60
3	RDravid/VSehwag	2	222*	Ind	Srl	Dec	09
4	VSehwag/MVijay	1	221	Ind	Srl	Dec	09
5	RNHarvey/NCO’Neill	3	207	Aus	Ind	Jan	60
6	JWBurke/RNHarvey	2	204	Aus	Ind	Oct	56

221 runs partnership for the first wicket between V Sehwag and M Vijay represent the first double hundred partnership for the first wicket at Brabourne Stadium. The previous best was 159 runs partnership by England openers – G Pullar and PE Richardson against India in Nov 1961

Second day’s play at Brabourne Stadium was a Statistician’s delight as many records were made and tumbled. HRG details out all these stats highlights. Read on…………………

AD Mathews was dismissed run out when he was on 99 providing the 14^th occasion of a batsman run out one short of a three figure innings.

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	WA Brown	99	Aus	Ind	Melbourne	Feb	48
2	AR Morris	99	Aus	SAF	Melbourne	Feb	53
3	JEF Beck	99	NZl	SAF	Cape Town	Jan	54
4	RB Kanhai	99	Win	Ind	Chennai	Jan	59
5	ML Jaisimha	99	Ind	Pak	Kanpur	Dec	60
6	MJK Smith	99	Eng	Pak	Lahore	Oct	61
7	Mushtaq Mohd	99	Pak	Eng	Karachi	Mar	73
8	GA Gooch	99	Eng	Aus	Melbourne	Feb	80
9	DN Patel	99	NZl	Eng	Christchurch	Jan	92
10	MA Atherton	99	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	Jun	93
11	M Jayawardene	99	Srl	Win	Galle	Nov	01
12	JH Kallis	99	SAF	Aus	Melbourne	Dec	01
13	ND McKenzie	99	SAF	Aus	Cape Town	Mar	02
14	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews became the second Sri Lankan batsman to be dismissed run out for 99 after Mahela Jayawardene who was dismissed run out for 99 against West Indies at Galle in Nov 01.

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	M Jayawardene	99	Srl	Win	Galle	Nov	01
2	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews became the third batsman to be dismissed run out for 99 against India after WA Brown of Australia and RB Kanhai of West Indies

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	WA Brown	99	Aus	Ind	Melbourne	Feb	48
2	RB Kanhai	99	Win	Ind	Chennai	Jan	59
3	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews’s 99 provides the 35^th occasion of a Sri Lankan batsman scoring individual ninety in a test innings. His 99 in this game provides the sixth occasion of a Sri Lankan batsman scoring an individual ninety against India. The other five occasions are – 98 by MS Atapatty at Mumbai-WS in Dec 97, 97 by RL Dias at Chennai in Sep 82, 95 by RL Dias at Col-PSS in Sep 85, 93 by JR Ratnayeke at Kanpur in Dec 86 and 93 by PA de Silva at Col-SSC in Jul 93

AD Mathews becomes the first Sri Lankan batsman to be dismissed for 99 against India. He is the eleventh batsman to be dismissed for 99 against India.

No	Batsmen	Team	99	Ground	Month	Year
1	WA Brown	Aus	99	Melbourne	Feb	48
2	Maqsood Ahmed	Pak	99	Lahore	Jan	55
3	RB Kanhai	Win	99	Chennai	Jan	59
4	IM Chappell	Aus	99	Kolkata	Dec	89
5	MLC Foster	Win	99	Port of Spain	Apr	71
6	Javed Miandad	Pak	99	Bangalore	Sep	83
7	RB Richardson	Win	99	Port of Spain	Apr	89
8	ME Trescothick	Eng	99	Ahmedabad	Dec	01
9	ML Hayden	Aus	99	Brisbane	Dec	03
10	SM Katich	Aus	99	Nagpur	Oct	04
11	AD Mathews	Srl	99	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews’s 99 in this test provides the 79^th occasion of a batsman scoring 99 or 99 not out in the annals of test cricket.

AD Mathews became the third Sri Lankan batsman to be dismissed on 99. The other two are RP Arnold against Pakistan at Peshawar in Mar 00 and DPMD Jayawardene against West Indies at Galle in Nov 01.

PP Ojha conceded 100 plus runs {3 for 101} in Sri Lanka’s first innings providing the 32^nd occasion of an Indian bowler conceding 100 plus runs in a test innings against Sri Lanka.

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket providing the 42^nd occasion of a three figure partnership posted by Indian batsmen against Sri Lanka. This stand represents the seventh three figure partnership for the first wicket by Indian batsmen against Sri Lanka

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket providing the seventh occasion of 200 plus runs posted by Indian batsmen against Sri Lanka for various wickets.

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket providing the 74^th occasion of 200 plus runs posted for the first wicket in the annals of test cricket.

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket providing the sixth occasion of V Sehwag being one of the partners in a first wicket partnership of 200 plus runs which is an Indian record

No	Partner	Wkt	Runs	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	SBBangar	1	201	Win	Mumbai	Oct	02
2	GGambhir	1	218	SAF	Kanpur	Nov	04
3	RDravid	1	410	Pak	Lahore	Jan	06
4	WJaffer	1	213	SAF	Chennai	Mar	08
5	GGambhir	1	233	Srl	Kanpur	Nov	09
6	MVijay	1	221	Srl	Mumba/BS	Dec	09

V Sehwag became the fourth opening batsman to be involved in a 200 plus partnership for the first wicket on six or more occasions. Others are ML Hayden {07}, GC Smith {07} and JL Langer {06}

V Sehwag and R Dravid added 222 runs in an unfinished stand for the second wicket at the end of the second day providing the 91^st occasion of 200 runs partnership for the second wicket in the annals of test cricket.

In India’s innings against South Africa at Chennai in Mar 2008, for the first wicket there was a 213 runs partnership between Wasim Jaffer and V Sehwag. For the second wicket there was another 200 plus run partnership – 268 runs stand between V Sehwag and R Dravid.

For the first time in the annals of test cricket 200 plus runs for the first two wickets were registered in the same test innings

This feat was repeated again by Indian batsmen at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai against Sri Lanka in the third test of 2009-10 test series.

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket which was followed by 222 runs unfinished stand for the second wicket between V Sehwag and R Dravid for the second wicket at the end of second day’s play

V Sehwag and R Dravid added 222 runs in an unfinished stand for the second wicket at the end of the second day providing the eight occasion of 200 runs partnership by Indian batsmen against Sri Lanka

No	BattingPartners	Wkt	Runs	Ground	Month	Year
1	MAzharuddin/NKapil Dev	6	272	Kanpur	Dec	1986
2	MAzharuddin/SRTendulkar	4	221	Col-RPS	Aug	1997
3	SCGanguly, SRTendulkar	4	256	Mumbai	Dec	1997
4	RDravid,/SRamesh	2	232	Col-SSC	Feb	1999
5	MSDhoni,/RDravid	6	224	Ahmedabad	Nov	2009
6	GGambhir/VSehwag	1	233	Kanpur	Nov	2009
7	VSehwag/MVijay	1	221	Mum-BS	Dec	2009
8	RDravid/VSehwag	2	222*	Mum-BS	Dec	2009

R Dravid with his 222 runs unfinished stand in this test has become one of the partner in a three figure partnership on 80 occasions – most for any batsman in the annals of test cricket.

No	Partners	Inns	NO	Runs	High	100+
1	SR Tendulkar	113	4	5605	249	16
2	VVS Laxman	70	6	3456	376	11
3	SC Ganguly	68	6	3294	194*	10
4	V Sehwag	44	3	2579	410	9
5	G Gambhir	29	1	1805	314	7
6	W Jaffer	31	1	1555	203	6
7	NS Sidhu	14	0	958	171	3
8	SS Das	15	1	649	155	3
9	KD Karthik	12	0	508	165	3
10	D Dasgupta	4	0	320	171	2
11	Yuvraj Singh	13	1	606	125	1
12	S Ramesh	15	1	774	232	1
13	M Azharuddin	19	0	702	165	1
14	SB Bangar	12	0	387	170	1
15	PA Patel	7	1	245	129	1
16	J Srinath	9	0	305	144	1
17	Sarandeep Singh	1	1	120	120*	1
18	MS Dhoni	9	0	449	224	1
19	M Kaif	10	0	362	179	1
20	A Jadeja	6	0	147	101	1
	Total					80

R Dravid with his 222 runs unfinished stand in this test has become one of the partner in a 200 runs partnership for various wickets on 13 occasions which are listed below

No	Partners	Wkt	Runs	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	V Sehwag	1	410	Pak	Lahore	13/01/06
2	VVS Laxman	5	376	Aus	Kolkata	11/03/01
3	G Gambhir	2	314	Aus	Mohali	19/12/08
4	VVS Laxman	5	303	Aus	Adelaide	12/12/03
5	V Sehwag	2	268	SAF	Chennai	26/03/08
6	G Gambhir	2	259	Ban	Chittagong/M	17/12/04
7	SR Tendulkar	3	249	Zim	Nagpur	25/11/00
8	S Ramesh	2	232	Srl	Col/SSC	24/02/99
9	SR Tendulkar	3	229	NZl	Mohali	10/10/99
10	MS Dhoni	6	224	Srl	Ahmedabad	16/11/09
11	V Sehwag	2	222*	Srl	Mum-BS	02/12/09
12	SR Tendulkar	3	213	Zim	Delhi	18/11/00
13	W Jaffer	3	203	Win	St John’s	02/06/06

V Sehwag’s 284 not out provides the 98^th occasion of an opening batsman scoring 200 plus runs in the annals of test cricket. His knock also provides the 18^th occasion of an Indian opening batsman scoring 200 plus runs.

V Sehwag registered his sixth double hundred as an opening batsman which puts him on par with MS Atapattu who also has scored six double hundreds as an opening batsman

R Dravid with his 62 not out in this test now has most fifties by an Indian batsman on home soil. His 62 not out represents his 24^th fifty on home soil and he wrested the record from SR Tendulkar and SM Gavaskar who have 23 home fifties to their credit.

At the end of the second day’s play R Dravid has an aggregate of 8843 runs while batting at number three. Only RT Ponting with 8895 runs to his credit has more runs than R Dravid while batting at number three. R Dravid is 42 runs shy of RT Ponting.

V Sehwag with his 284 not out in this test has now most scores of 150 plus runs by an opening batsman in the annals of test cricket. He wrested the record from SM Gavaskar who had eleven scores of 150 plus runs as an opening batsman

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represents his sixth double hundred in tests and he joins the select band of other seven batsmen whose names are listed below who have scored six or more double hundreds in the annals of test cricket.

No	Batsmen	Team	200+
1	DGBradman	Aus	12
2	BCLara	Win	9
3	WRHammond	Eng	7
4	MSAtapattu	Srl	6
5	JavedMiandad	Pal	6
6	DPMDJayawardene	Srl	6
7	KCSangakkara	Srl	6
8	VSehwag	Ind	6

V Sehewag became the first Indian batsman to register six double hundreds. He wrested the record from R Dravid who has five double hundreds to his credit

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represent the 290^th double hundred in the annals of test cricket. It also represents the 38^th double hundred by an Indian batsman in a test innings.

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represent the 15^th double hundred by a batsman against Sri Lanka in a test innings.

V Sehwag’s 284 not out represent his second double hundred against Sri Lanka, the first being his 201 not out at Galle in Jul 08.

V Sehwag emulated BC Lara of West Indies who also has scored two double hundreds against Sri Lanka.

No	Batsman	Team	Runs	Ground	Month	Year
1	BC Lara	Win	221	Col-SSC	Nov	01
2	BC Lara	Win	209	Gros Islet	Jun	03
1	V Sehwag	Ind	201*	Galle	Jul	08
2	V Sehwag	Ind	284*	Mum-BS	Dec	09

V Sehwag has scored two or more double hundreds against two specific oppositions. He has score three double hundreds against Pakistan and two double hundreds against Sri Lanka.

No	Batsman	Opp	Runs	Ground	Month	Year
1	V Sehwag	Pak	309	Multan	Mar	04
2	V Sehwag	Pak	201	B’lore	Mar	05
3	V Sehwag	Pak	254	Lahore	Jan	05
1	V Sehwag	Srl	201*	Galle	Jul	08
2	V Sehwag	Srl	284*	Mum-BS	Dec	09

V Sehwag became the seventh batsman in the annals of test cricket to register two or more double hundred against two or more specific oppositions.

No	Batsmen	Team	Opp	200+
1	BC Lara	Win	Aus	3
2	BC Lara	Win	Eng	2
3	BC Lara	Win	Srl	2
1	DG Bradman	Aus	Eng	8
2	DG Bradman	Aus	SAF	2
1	DPMDJayawardene	Srl	Ind	2
2	DPM Jayawardene	Srl	SAF	2
1	GC Smith	SAF	Ban	2
2	GC Smith	SAF	Eng	2
1	V Sehwag	Ind	Pak	3
2	V Sehwag	Ind	Srl	2
1	WR Hammond	Eng	Aus	4
2	WR Hammond	Eng	NZl	2
1	Zaheer Abbas	Pak	Eng	2
2	Zaheer Abbas	Pak	Ind	2

Virender Sehwag with his 284 not at the end of the second day’s play in the third test against Sri Lanka at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai registered his 12^th score of 150 plus runs as an opening batsman and with it the record of most 150 plus runs scored by an opening batsman in the annals of test cricket. He wrested the record from Sunil Gavaskar who had eleven scores of 150 plus runs in tests. The following table shows the performance of these two batsmen.

V Sehwag
No	Runs	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	195	Aus	Melbourne	Dec	03
2	309	Pak	Multan	Mar	04
3	155	Aus	Chennai	Oct	04
4	164	SAF	Kanpur	Nov	04
5	173	Pak	Mohali	Mar	05
6	201	Pak	Bangalore	Mar	05
7	254	Pak	Lahore	Jan	06
8	180	Win	Gros Islet	Jun	06
9	151	Aus	Adelaide	Jan	08
10	319	SAF	Chennai	Mar	08
11	201*	Srl	Galle	Jul	08
12	284*	Srl	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09
SM Gavaskar
No	Runs	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	220	Win	Port of Spain	Apr	71
2	156	Win	Port of Spain	Mar	76
3	205	Win	Mumbai	Dec	78
4	182*	Win	Kolkata	Dec	78
5	221	Eng	The Oval	Aug	79
6	166	Pak	Chennai	Jan	80
7	172	Eng	Bangalore	Dec	81
8	155	Srl	Chennai	Sep	82
9	166*	Aus	Adelaide	Dec	85
10	172	Aus	Sydney	Jan	86
11	176	Srl	Kanpur	Dec	86

V Sehwag with his 284 not out at the end of the second day against Sri Lanka in the third test at BrabournecStadium Mumbai registered his sixth double hundred as an opening batsman which put him on par with MS Atapattu who also has scored six double hundreds as an opening batsman. The following table shows the performace of MS Atapattu and V Sehwag

MS Atapattu of Sri Lanka
No	Runs	Opp	Month	Year
1	223	Zim	Jan	98
2	216*	Zim	Nov	99
3	207*	Pak	Jun	00
4	201*	Eng	Feb	01
5	201	Ban	Sep	01
6	249	Zim	May	04
V Sehwag of India
No	Runs	Opp	Month	Year
1	309	Pak	Mar	04
2	201	Pak	Mar	06
3	254	Pak	Jan	06
4	319	SAF	Mar	08
5	201*	Srl	Jul	09
6	284*	Srk	Dec	09

In India’s innings against South Africa at Chennai in Mar 2008, for the first wicket there was a 213 runs partnership between Wasim Jaffer and V Sehwag. For the second wicket there was another 200 plus run partnership – 268 runs stand between V Sehwag and R Dravid.

For the first time in the annals of test cricket 200 plus runs for the first two wickets were registered in the same test innings

This feat was repeated again by Indian batsmen at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai against Sri Lanka in the third test of 2009-10 test series.

M Vijay and V Sehwag added 221 runs for the first wicket which was followed by 222 runs unfinished stand for the second wicket between V Sehwag and R Dravid for the second wicket at the end of second day’s play

Indian cricket is proud of this unique record as it has been achieved on two occasions by its batsmen

AD Matthews’s dismissal run out for 99 in the third test against India at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai provides the 14^th occasion of a batsman in the annals of test cricket to be dismissed for run out for 99.

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	WA Brown	99	Aus	Ind	Melbourne	Feb	48
2	AR Morris	99	Aus	SAF	Melbourne	Feb	53
3	JEF Beck	99	NZl	SAF	Cape Town	Jan	54
4	RB Kanhai	99	Win	Ind	Chennai	Jan	59
5	ML Jaisimha	99	Ind	Pak	Kanpur	Dec	60
6	MJK Smith	99	Eng	Pak	Lahore	Oct	61
7	Mushtaq Mohd	99	Pak	Eng	Karachi	Mar	73
8	GA Gooch	99	Eng	Aus	Melbourne	Feb	80
9	DN Patel	99	NZl	Eng	Christchurch	Jan	92
10	MA Atherton	99	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	Jun	93
11	M Jayawardene	99	Srl	Win	Galle	Nov	01
12	JH Kallis	99	SAF	Aus	Melbourne	Dec	01
13	ND McKenzie	99	SAF	Aus	Cape Town	Mar	02
14	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews became the second Sri Lankan batsman to be dismissed run out for 99 after Mahela Jayawardene who was dismissed run out for 99 against West Indies at Galle in Nov 01.

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	M Jayawardene	99	Srl	Win	Galle	Nov	01
2	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

AD Mathews became the third batsman to be dismissed run out for 99 against India after WA Brown of Australia and RB Kanhai of West Indies

No	Batsmen	99	Team	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	WA Brown	99	Aus	Ind	Melbourne	Feb	48
2	RB Kanhai	99	Win	Ind	Chennai	Jan	59
3	AD Mathews	99	Srl	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

First day highlights

Test Cricket returned to Brabourne Stadium after a long gap of 36 years 9 months and 21 days. The previous test match played at this venue was against England in Feb 1973. This test has a global number of 711. The India-Sri Lanka test match which started today has a global number of 1937. After 1226 tests have been played all over the world. Brabourne stadium hosted a test match again.

Sri Lanka’s winning the toss in this test provides the eleventh occasion of Sri Lanka winning the toss against India. Its decision to bat first in this test provides the eighth occasion of Sri Lanka opting to bat first against India after it had won the toss.

TM Dilshan completed 1000 runs in the calendar year when he was on 28 during the course of his knock of 109 in this test. At the end of his innings, his aggregate stood at 1081. He became the fourth batsman to aggregate 1000 plus runs in the calendar year 2009, after TT Samaraweera {1234}, DPMD Jayawardene {1182} and AJ Strauss {1071}.

It is interesting to note that out of the four batsmen who have aggregated 1000 runs in the calendar year 2009, three of them are Sri Lankan batsmen – TT Samaraweera, DPMD Jayawardene and TM Dilshan.

TM Dilshan’s feat of 1000 runs in the calendar year 2009 provides the ninth occasion of a Sri Lankan batsman achieving the feat. Other batsmen who have achieved the feat are – PA de Silva, DPMD Jayawardene {twice}, ST Jayasuriya {twice}, TT Samarawera and KC Sangakkara {twice}.

TM Dilshan’s feat of 1000 runs in 2009 represents the 112^th occasion of a batsman aggregating 1000 plus runs in a calendar year in the annals of test cricket.

TM Dilshan registered his sixth hundred in the calendar year when he scored in the first innings of this test. He became the 13^th batsman in the annals of test cricket to score six or more hundreds in a calendar year. TM Dilshan’s six hundreds in the year 2009 read as under

No	Runs	Opp	Ground	Month	Year
1	162	Ban	Chittagong/ZACS	Jan	09
2	143	Ban	Chittagong/ZACS	Jan	09
3	145	Pak	Lahore	Mar	09
4	123*	NZl	Galle	Aug	09
5	112	Ind	Ahmedabad	Nov	09
6	109	Ind	Mumbai (BS)	Dec	09

TM Dilshan’s six hundreds represent the most hundreds by a batsman in the calendar year 2009

TM Dilshan is the second Sri Lankan batsman after PA de Silva to score six or more hundreds in a calendar year. PA de Silva had scored seven hundreds in the year 1997.

TM Dilshan’s 109 represent his third hundred against India. The other two hundreds are – 125* at Col-PSS in Jul 08 and 112 at Ahmedabad in Nov 09. He became the fifth Sri Lankan batsman to register three or more hundreds against India after DPMD Jayawardene {05}, PA de Silva {05}, ST Jayasuriya {03} and LRD Mendis {03}.

TM Dilshan’s 109 represent the 34^th hundred by a Sri Lankan batsman against India. His knock also represents the tenth occasion of a Sri Lankan opening batsman registering a hundred against India.

TM Dilshan became the third Sri Lankan opening batsman to score two or more hundreds against India. The other two are – ST Jayasuriya {03} and MS Atapattu {02}. TM Dilshan’s 112 at Ahmedabad in Nov 09 and 109 in this test have come when he was opening the innings for Sri Lanka.

TM Dilshan’s 109 in this test represent the 12^th occasion of a batsman scoring a hundred in a test innings at Brabourne Stadium. All the twelve hundreds are listed below

No	Batsmen	Runs	Team	Opp	Month	Year
1	AF Rae	104	Win	Ind	Dec	48
2	P Roy	140	Ind	Eng	Dec	51
3	MH Mankad	223	Ind	NZl	Dec	55
4	JW Burke	161	Aus	Ind	Oct	56
5	NJ Contractor	108	Ind	Aus	Jan	60
6	Hanif Mohd	160	Pak	Ind	Dec	60
7	GT Dowling	129	NZl	Ind	Mar	65
8	DN Sardesai	200*	Ind	NZl	Mar	65
9	CC Hunte	101	Win	Ind	Dec	66
10	KR Stackpole	103	Aus	Ind	Nov	69
11	FM Engineer	121	Ind	Eng	Feb	73
12	TM Dilshan	109	Srl	Ind	Dec	09

TM Dilshan with his 109 in this test became the seventh overseas batsman to register a hundred at Brabourne Stadium.

No	Batsmen	Runs	Team	Opp	Month	Year
1	AF Rae	104	Win	Ind	Dec	48
2	JW Burke	161	Aus	Ind	Oct	56
3	Hanif Mohd	160	Pak	Ind	Dec	60
4	GT Dowling	129	NZl	Ind	Mar	65
5	CC Hunte	101	Win	Ind	Dec	66
6	KR Stackpole	103	Aus	Ind	Nov	69
7	TM Dilshan	109	Srl	Ind	Dec	09

NT Paranavitana {53} and TM Dilshan {109} scored fifties in this test providing the third occasion of both the Sri Lankan openers registering fifties in an innings against India. The other two occasions are – S Wettimuny {79} and JR Ratnayake {93} at Kanpur in Dec 86 and ST Jayasuriya {50} and MS Atapattu {98} at Mumbai-WS in Dec 97.

NT Paranavitana {53} and TM Dilshan {109} scored half century and century respectively in this test providing the first occasion of the Sri Lankan openers registering a half century and a century in an innings against India.

R Dravid pouched his 187^th catch when he caught NT Paranwithana of Harbhajan Singh for 53.

MS Dhoni two catches at the end of the first day gave him an aggregate of 98 test catches. He dismissed KC Sangakkara of PP Ojha for 18 and KMDN Kulasekhara of Zahir Khan for 12 in this innings

NT Paranavithana provided the 46^th occasion for a caught dismissal for Dravid- Harbhhajan Singh {fielder-bowler} combination.

R Dravid becomes the only fielder in the world to pouch 46 plus catches of two bowlers – 55 of A Kumble’s bowling and 46 of Harbhajan Singh’s bowling. The following table lists out the bowler-fielder combination which has accounted for more than 46 dismissals in the annals of test cricket.

No	Bowler	Fielder	Team	Mat	Ct
1	M Muralitharan	M Jayawardene	Srl	94	73
2	A Kumble	R Dravid	Ind	107	55
3	SK Warne	MA Taylor	Aus	66	51
4	Harbhajan Singh	R Dravid	Ind	78	46

Harbhajan Singh conceded 107 runs in at the end of the first day’s play providing the 31^st occasion of an Indian bowler conceding 100 plus runs in a test innings against Sri Lanka.

Harbhajan Singh at the end of the first day’s play in this test has conceded 107 runs providing the seventh occasion of him conceding 100 plus runs against Sri Lanka thus owning the record for most occasion of an Indian bowler conceding 100 plus runs. He wrested the record from A Kumble who had leaked 100 plus runs on six occasions against Sri Lanka.

Harbhajan Singh at the end of the first day’s play in this test has conceded 107 runs providing the 34th occasion of his conceding 100 plus runs in a test innings against various oppositions. M Muralitharan {59}, A Kumble {57}, SK Warne {40}, Danish Kaneria {35} are the other four bowlers who have conceded 100 plus runs in a test innings more than Harbhajan Singh.

AD Mathews registered his second test half century when he made 86 not out at the end of the first day’s play of this test. It was also his highest individual score which was an improvement upon his previous best of 64 not out against Pakistan at Col-SSC in Jul 2009.

When India won the test against Sri Lanka at Kanpur by an innings and 144 runs, Zaheer Khan, the spear head of the Indian pace bowling attach, reached a milestone which went unnoticed. He captured his 100^th wicket in India’s winning tests.

He became the 51^st bowler in the world to capture 100 plus wickets in a team’s winning test. He is the third Indian bowler after A Kumble {288} and Harbhajan Singh {176} to achieve the feat.

Zaheer Khan is the 36^th pace bowler to capture 100 plus wickets in a team’s winning tests. He is the first Indian bowler to achieve the feat.

Zaheer Khan became the third left arm pace bowler in the world to capture 100 plus wickets in a team’s winning tests after Wasim Akram of Pakistan{211} and Chaminda Vaas of Sri Lanka {166}

Zaheer Khan’s match wise performance in India’s winnings tests at the end of Kanpu test is tabulated below

No	Opp	O	M	R	W	Ground	Month	Year
1	Ban	26.0	6	69	3	Dhaka	Nov	00
2	Aus	36.4	10	119	2	Kolkata	Mar	01
3	Aus	19.0	5	70	1	Chennai	Mar	01
4	Zim	33.0	7	98	4	Bulawayo	Jun	01
5	Srl	45.0	10	138	7	Kandy	Aug	01
6	Zim	22.0	4	78	4	Nagpur	Feb	02
7	Zim	25.0	4	88	2	Delhi	Feb	02
8	Win	35.1	7	102	4	Trinidad	Apr	02
9	Eng	41.0	10	122	3	Leeds	Aug	02
10	Zim	20.0	4	67	4	Mumbai	Oct	02
11	Zim	22.4	8	44	4	Chennai	Oct	02
12	Pak	23.0	6	76	1	Multan	Mar	04
13	Aus	8.0	0	24	2	Mumbai	Nov	04
14	SAF	32.0	7	86	3	Kolkata	Nov	04
15	Ban	28.2	4	111	3	Dhaka	Dec	04
16	Ban	24.0	4	104	2	Chittagong/M	Dec	04
17	Zim	30.0	6	102	4	Bulawayo	Sep	05
18	Zim	26.0	5	82	5	Harare	Sep	05
19	SAF	32.5	8	111	5	Jo’burg	Dec	06
20	Ban	18.0	2	88	7	Mirpur	May	07
21	Eng	48.0	15	134	9	Nottingham	Jul	07
22	Pak	38.0	9	90	4	Delhi	Nov	07
23	Srl	17.0	2	69	2	Galle	Jul	08
24	Aus	40.0	10	127	4	Mohali	Oct	08
25	Aus	36.0	8	125	1	Nagpur	Nov	08
26	Eng	48.0	16	81	5	Chennai	Dec	08
27	NZl	44.0	10	149	3	Hamilton	Mar	09
28	Srl	28.0	5	114	2	Kanpur	Nov	09
	Total	846.4	192	2668	100

Sri C Keshavamurthy, domestic champion statistician brings out the statistical highlights of Karnataka-Maharashtra Ranji Trophy. Read on ……………….

This was Karnataka’s 352nd match and Maharashtra’s 312th; Result record at the end of the match for Karnataka : Won-159, Lost-55, Drawn-138 (incl NR)and Maharashtra: Won- 74, Lost-50, Drawn-188 (incl NR) : Head to Head results between the two teams are as under Played-9, Won by Knk-4, Won by Mah-2, Drawn-3

Karnataka’s victory by an innings and 128 runs against Maharashtra is its fourth successive win and the third innings victory.

With this innings victory, Karnataka has registered 61 innings victories in 352 matches. Most innings have come against Kerala {22 occasions}. Karnataka’s largest innings victory was against Jammu & Kashmir by an – innings and 321 runs – at Bangalore in 2002/03.

Maharashtra’s defeat in this game was its 50th defeat in Ranji Trophy.

Karnataka registered 553 for four wickets before declaring its innings closed providing the 30th occasion of Karnataka registering 500 plus runs against various oppositions.

Maharashtra’s 105 in this match reprsents its lowest completed innings total agaisnt Karnataka. The previous lowest completed innings total was 108 at Bangalore in 2005/06.

KB Pawan’s 151 reprsents his fourth hundred in Ranji Trophy in 18 outings. This knock represetns his highest individual innings improving upon his previous best of 134 against Bengal in the previous game at Mysore in Nov 09. This knock also reprsents his second successive hundred this season after his 134 against Bengal at Mysore in November 2009. This was Pawan’s second century against Maharashtra the first one being his 102 at Ratnagiri in 2007/08. Amit Verma, the second centurion in Karnataka’s innings also scored his second successive hundred when he made 150 not out. In the previous match against Bengal at Mysore he had scored 157. Ganesh Satish, the third centurion, registered his maiden Ranji hundred by scoring 141 which represents his highest individual score. His previous best was 44 against Tamilnadu at Bangalore in 2008/09.

Amit Verma and Ganesh Satish becamethe 10th and 11th players to score against Maharashtra, while the latter became s the 66th Karnataka batsman to acore a hundred in Ranji Trophy.

For Maharashtra, AR Bawne scored 136 in his sixth Ranji match which was his maiden century. His previous best was 52 against Railways at Ratnagiri in 2008/09. He became the sixth Maharashtra batsman to register a hundred against Karnataka. The complete list of centurions is tabulated below

No	Batsman	Score	Venue	Season
1	CPSChauhan	147	Pune	1970/71
2	YajurvindraSingh	143	Bangalore	1975/76
3	HSKanitkar	109	Bangalore	1975/76
4	SVJedhe	111	Pune	1990/91
5	SSBhave	113*	Pune	1990/91
6	ARBawne	136	Poona	2009/10

78 by RH Motwani is his second fifty in his 9th Ranji Trophy match. This was also his highest individual score – his previous highest being 67 against Bengal at Poona this season.

Centuries by KB Pawan, AA Verma and G Satish, provides the eleventh occasion of three Karnataka batsmen reigsering a hundred in an innings against various oppositions in Ranji Trophy. This is the second such occasion during this season – KB Pawan (134), AA Verma (157) and CM Gautam (108*) had scored hundreds against Bengal at Mysore.

This is only the second instance in the Karnataka Ranji Trophy history that three or more centuries have been scored in an innings on two occasions in the same0 season. This also happens to be the first occasion in which this feat has been accomplished in successive matches by Karnataka batsmen

RV Uthappa scored his sixth duck of his Ranji career when he was dismissed for zero of the first ball he faced from SM Fallah. RV Uthappa was playing in his 37th match. This also represents his second duck of the season. the first one was against Uttar Pradesh at Meerut in the first innings when he collected the second ball duck

Vinay Kumar took his aggregate of wickets this season to 27 in four matches with eight wickets in this match. He took 5 for 40 and 3 for 83 in this match. This is the third occasion he has captured 25 or more wickets in a season. He had aggregated 27 wickets from eight matches in 2006/07 and 40 wickets from seven matches in 2007/08. Vinaykumar’s 25 plus five wicket haul in a season provides the 54th such instance for Karnataka bowlers.

BS Chandrasekhar and SB Joshi jointly share the record of capturing 25 or more wickets in a season – on nine occasions each

Prior to the start of the season, Sunil Joshi with 431 wickets in 101 matches, needed seven wickets to surpass BS Chandrasekhar’s aggregate of 437 wickets in 76 matches. At the end of the match, Sunil Joshi has 438 wickets to his credit in 105 matches. His 438th victim was S Sureshnath in second innings, whom he had caught by Pawan

Sunil Joshi now has become the most capped player for Karnatnaka. The match agaisnt Maharashtra was his 105h match. Brijesh Patel had held the prevous record with 104 appearances. Sunil Joshi and Brijesh Patel remain the onlyh two cricketers to play 100 plus matches for Karnatkaka, though SMH Kirmani has appeared in 100 matches – representing Karnataka and Railways.

R Vinaykumar’s 5 for 40 in the first innings reprsetnes his third five wicket haul against Maharastra and his ninth five wicket haul against various oppostions. His previous five fors against Maharashtra was 5 for 22 at Bangalore in 2005/06 and 6 for 38 at Ratnagiri in 2007/08.

The 284 runs partnership for second wicket between KB Pawan and Ganesh Satish is a record stand by Karnataka batsmen against Maharashara. The previous best for the second wicket was 139 run stand between Carlton Saldanha and Arjun Raja at Pune in 1990/91. The 284 runs partnership is the 33rd double century partnership by Karnataka batsmen against various oppositions in Ranji Trophy.

The 163 runs unbroken partnership between Amit Verma and Balachandra Akhil for the fifth wicket is also a record partnership for fifth wicket against Maharashtra. The previous best for the fifth wicket was 125 runs between VS Thilaknaidu and DA Chowghule at Pune in 2002/03.

SM Fallah (2/142), S Sureshnath (0/105) and KR Adhav (1/153) conceded 100 plus runs in an innings, providing the 15th occasion of three or more bowlers pponent side have conceded over 100 runs in an innings against Karnataka. This is the second such occasion by Maharashtra bowlers against Karnataka, the first occasion was in the pre-quarter final at Pune in 1990/91 when KT Yerwadekar (2/152), SV Ranjane (1/129), SJ Jadhav (2/114) and Y Kadam (3/104) conceded 100 plus runs.

Sureshnath became the first Maharashtra bowler to concede over 100 runs in an innings without capturing a wicket against Karnataka.

Bharat Raj pens his first article on Allan Border for visitors of crickick.com. Read on ……………..

Australian cricket has been very strong in the last decade as they have quelled every challenge that has come in their way including the final frontier of beating India in India in 2004/05. Under the leadership of captains like Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and now Ricky Ponting, Australian cricket has gone from strength to strength though with the retirement of great players like McGrath and Warne. Australia at present are in a transition phase. The man behind this great surge in Australian cricket is Allan Robert Border, known to his team mates and friends as “AB”, who laid the foundation on which the likes of Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting built an cricketing empire.

“AB” made his test debut in Dec 78 against England at Melbourne under Graham Yallop. It wasn’t the best of times for Australian cricket as their inspirational captain Ian Chappell had just retired from international cricket and had joined the Packer series. Other senior players like Rodney Marsh, Greg Chappell and Denis Lillee followed Ian Chappell’s footsteps and joined the rebel Packer series. So, Australia used lots of players and had different captains during that period like Graham Yallop, Kim Hughes and even Bobbay Simpson who came back from retirement to lead the side in a couple of series.

Anyway coming back to our great man Border, he didn’t have the best of starts to his career though he did make a few decent contributions but was eventually dropped as they recalled Peter Toohey back into the side against England. His debut performance was 29 which came in 105 minutes consuming 115 deliveries with a boundary four. In the second innings he failed to score.

He was recalled for the series against Pakistan at home and was picked for the tour of India. Border made his first hundred against Pakistan at Melbourne in Australia’s second innings. This test has gone into the annals of Test Cricket as “Sarfraz Nawaz’s test. He picked up nine wickets in Australia’s second innings while “AB” shone amidst the ruins to score 105 batting at number three. Needeless to say that Australia lost the match by 71 runs, but steely resilience of AB stood out for Aussies

He also did well when Australia toured India. He scored 162 and 50 on his first appearance against India at Chennai in Sep 1979. He amassed 521 runs from six tests with a hundred and three hal f centuries. It isn’t easy for a young player to do well in his first series away from home but for Border it didn’t matter. At that time there was a change in leadership as Hughes took over the captaincy. It was said that Border had a good relationship with Kim Hughes and was really motivated to perform for his captain.

Border continued to perform well and reached his peak in that epic series against England in 1981 which later came to be known as Ian Botham’s Ashes series. It was a series which would always be remembered for Ian Botham’s heroics and every cricket enthusiast would remember his match winning performance at Leeds. Allan Border aggregated 533 runs in this six test series which contained two hundreds – 123 not out at Manchester and 106 not out at The Oval. Apart from these two hundreds, he registered three half centuries and returned with an impressive average of 59.22. His 123 not out at Manchester came when Aussies were set a target of 506 for a win. Graham Yallop also made 114. Graham Yallop and Allan Border added 79 runs for the fourth wicket Allan Border and Rodney Marsh added 90 runs for the sixth wicket and Allan Border and Denis Lilee added 51 runs for the eigth wicket in this innings, which showed the “staying ability at the crease” of Allan Border even with the lower order batsmen.

It was also the time when senior players like Rodney Marsh, Lillee and Greg Chappell who all had left playing for Australia to take part in the Packer series came back and it was said that there was a divide between the senior players and players who had played when those seniors players were involved in the Packer series. It surely didn’t help Kim Hughes as the senior players weren’t said to be having a cordial relationship with him. Add to it Greg Chappell opted to play mainly in those games that were played in Australia and was even reinstated as the captain for the home matches with Hughes captaining the side whenever Chappell wasn’t available to play matches for Australia away from home. It doesn’t help any team to have two captains for sure.

All these factors didn’t worry the tenacious Border though as he continued to make plenty of runs under pressure. He was surely at the peak of his prowess as far as his batting was concerned. Against the great Caribbean team in 82 he was able to score lots of runs. The Caribbean team then had great quick bowlers like Holding, Croft, Garner and Roberts. Few former players and knowledgeable cricket fans that I have met even opine that they haven’t seen too many players who have played quick bowling better than Border did in that series. He also played a gutsy knock against the old enemy England at Melbourne and almost took Australia to victory but for Thomson, who actually had given good support to Border throwing his wicket away by chasing a rank long hop from Australia’s ultimate nemesis Botham. Pressure can make people surely do funny things!

In 84/85 Australia weren’t just in a transitional phase as senior players like Lillee, Marsh and Greg Chappell retired but because of the reported divide that was there in the dressing room between the senior players and some of the youngsters and the fact that Australia were continually hammered by the great Caribbean team made Kim Hughes to resign from the post of captaincy. Hughes is said to have cried during the press conference and that was a sad chapter for Australian cricket. It also heralded a new era in Australian cricket as Border took up the captaincy and built the team brick by brick.

Actually to start with Border was said to be a reluctant captain as he was apprehensive about captaining a side that was disillusioned and there was no clarity regarding the composition of the side. Luckily for Border he had Simpson as the coach who was appointed to resurrect the fortunes of the side. Simpson gave him confidence and slowly but surely Border became better as a captain.

Simpson’s and Border’s first task was to identify a group of players who were mentally tough and give them a decent run in the side. At that time most of the players playing in Sheffield shield had played for Australia in some form of the game which is not the way to build a side! So in came youngsters like McDermott, Boon, Jones, SR Waugh, Merve Hughes, Healy, O’Donnell, Mathews, P Taylor, Ritchie etc. These were cricketers not with huge amounts of talent but were mentally tough. The players so selected took their time to establish themselves in the side but Border and Simpson never lost faith in those players and both backed the youngsters to the hilt.

Australia continued to get hammered on the field as the old enemy England defeated Australia in their own backyard as again Botham became the nemesis of the Australian team as he took crucial wickets and scored runs. Border looked misfit as the captain of the side though continued to make important contributions as a batsman and the young players couldn’t perform. Border’s reluctance as a leader at that time could be seen by the fact that he was apprehensive to declare Australia’s innings in the famous tied test at Madras as he thought the pitch was flat and the opposition had a very good batting line up but Simpson urged him to declare and he obliged. Border afterwards even said on the last day that he was even thinking whether there was any justice in this world as Australia had declared in both innings yet were on the verge of losing! In the end of course the match ended in a tie.

His first taste of success as a captain came in 1987 when under his leadership Australia won the Reliance world cup. Australia was clearly the underdogs in the completion but they stumped everyone by winning the trophy. Boon and Marsh formed a very good opening partnership and they would serve Australia for a long time to come. Jones was the strokemaker in the middle order and Steve Waugh made an impact too but strangely for his death bowling as he introduced the slower ball concept to world cricket.

Under Border Australia regained the Ashes in 89. One can remember the famous words, can’t bat, can’t bowl and can’t field that was used to describe the Australian team before the series started but that at that time Border is said to have become a tough leader and was even called grumpy. The opposing captain Gower recently on the sky sports website did agree that he found Border a changed man on a cricket field in 89. It was also the series when the older Waugh announced himself as a batsman by making an great hundred at Headingley as he repaid the faith shown in him by Border and Simpson as Australia thumped England, 4-0 and regained the Ashes . During that time the Caribbean team was still the best side and they continued to hammer the Aussies side though no one can forget Border’s remarkable achievement of taking 11 wickets at Sydney to help Australia win a match. For a part-time spinner it was a remarkable achievement though the pitch was said to be a turning wicket.

As the 90’s dawned Australian cricket seemed to be getting stronger and stronger as they started to find players with flair like Shane Warne and ‘Afghan’ Mark Waugh. As far as Shane Warne was concerned one can never forget that Border was the one who gave him the chance to bowl at the Lankan batsmen at a crucial time and Warne turned the match on its head by taking key wickets in a magic spell to help Australia win a closely contested game. It is interesting to note that Warne had gone for plenty of runs against India in his debut test as Shastri took him to the cleaners and even in that test against Lanka the little Kalu had taken heavy toll on Warne. It indicates that Border may have had a gut feeling that Warne could do some magic and in the subsequent years to come Warne was able to repeat such feats again and again. He though has to thank Border for showing so much faith in a youngster who was not successful at that time. Australia under Border still couldn’t challenge the West indies though they came very near to beating them in 92/93. Going into the game at Adelaide they lead the series 1-0 but lost the game at Adelaide by just one run and were hammered at Perth as Ambrose and Bishop ran amok to destroy Australia. It must have been a heart breaking experience for Border and his men came so close to win prestigious Frank Worrell trophy which eluded them. It was also the time when Border was very close to breaking the world record for the highest run aggregate by any batsman which at that time was held by Sunil Gavaskar of India. His batting ability had slowed down a bit, but still he was able to reach the mile stone in New Zealand.

In 1993 he played in his last Ashes series as the side lead by Border was too powerful for an injury ravaged and an unsettled side England. It was also the series in which Border made a quick fire double hundred at Headingley. It was in this series Shane Warne bowled “the ball of the century” dismiss Gatting. Both Waugh brothers had a great time in this series along with Slater The other younger players started to blossom under the able leadership of Border

In 1994 he played in his last series against South Africa and in his last game too he did not let the side down as he supported Mark Waugh to help Australia save the final test to make sure that South Africa won’t win the series. It was a befitting end to a great career. He never achieved his dream of beating the West Indies side but he along with the help of Simpson resurrected the fortunes of Australian cricket. After retiring from international cricket he helped his state team Queensland to win the Sheffield shield for the first time ever.

So, when we think about how good the Australian team has been in recent times. the contribution of “AB” comes to ones mind as he took the side from being the also “rans “to a side which came to be known as a competitive unit and later on the likes of Steve Waugh, Taylor and Ponting were able to reap the benefits of the great man’s work.