England pace bowler JC Tongue returned with figures of five for 66 in the third innings of the just concluded test against Ireland at Lord’s to provide the 37^th occasion of an England pace bowler capturing five or more wickets in an innings on test debut. All such occasions are tabulated below

No	Player	Overs	M	Runs	W	I	Opposition	Ground	Start Date
1	F Morley	32.0×4	9	56	5	2	v Australia	The Oval	06 Sep 1880
2	CA Smith	13.2×4	6	19	5	1	v South Africa	Gqeberha	12 Mar 1889
3	F Martin	27.0×5	9	50	6	1	v Australia	The Oval	11 Aug 1890
4	F Martin	30.2×5	12	52	6	3	v Australia	The Oval	11 Aug 1890
5	WH Lockwood	45.0×5	11	101	6	2	v Australia	Lord’s	17 Jul 1893
6	T Richardson	23.4×5	5	49	5	1	v Australia	Manchester	24 Aug 1893
7	T Richardson	44.0×5	15	107	5	3	v Australia	Manchester	24 Aug 1893
8	C Heseltine	16.2×5	3	38	5	3	v South Africa	Johannesburg	02 Mar 1896
9	WM Bradley	33.0×5	13	67	5	2	v Australia	Manchester	17 Jul 1899
10	SF Barnes	35.1	9	65	5	2	v Australia	Sydney	13 Dec 1901
11	A Warren	19.2	5	57	5	2	v Australia	Leeds	03 Jul 1905
12	WS Lees	23.1	10	34	5	2	v South Africa	Johannesburg	02 Jan 1906
13	FR Foster	31.3	5	92	5	3	v Australia	Sydney	15 Dec 1911
14	WR Hammond	21.2	9	36	5	3	v South Africa	Johannesburg	24 Dec 1927
15	MJC Allom	19.0	4	38	5	1	v New Zealand	Christchurch	10 Jan 1930
16	K Farnes	40.2	10	102	5	1	v Australia	Nottingham	08 Jun 1934
17	K Farnes	25.0	3	77	5	3	v Australia	Nottingham	08 Jun 1934
18	CIJ Smith	8.0	4	16	5	3	v West Indies	Bridgetown	08 Jan 1935
19	RTD Perks	41.0×8	5	100	5	1	v South Africa	Durban	03 Mar 1939
20	WH Copson	24.0×8	2	85	5	1	v West Indies	Lord’s	24 Jun 1939
21	AV Bedser	29.1	11	49	7	1	v India	Lord’s	22 Jun 1946
22	R Pollard	27.0	16	24	5	2	v India	Manchester	20 Jul 1946
23	TE Bailey	32.3	6	118	6	2	v New Zealand	Leeds	11 Jun 1949
24	R Appleyard	17.0	5	51	5	1	v Pakistan	Nottingham	01 Jul 1954
25	LJ Coldwell	41.0	13	85	6	3	v Pakistan	Lord’s	21 Jun 1962
26	JDF Larter	25.0	4	57	5	2	v Pakistan	The Oval	16 Aug 1962
27	K Shuttleworth	17.5×8	2	47	5	3	v Australia	Brisbane	27 Nov 1970
28	JK Lever	23.0	6	46	7	2	v India	Delhi	17 Dec 1976
29	IT Botham	20.0	5	74	5	1	v Australia	Nottingham	28 Jul 1977
30	NA Mallender	23.0	7	50	5	3	v Pakistan	Leeds	23 Jul 1992
31	DG Cork	19.3	5	43	7	4	v West Indies	Lord’s	22 Jun 1995
32	JM Anderson	16.0	4	73	5	2	v Zimbabwe	Lord’s	22 May 2003
33	RL Johnson	12.0	4	33	6	2	v Zimbabwe	Ch-le-St	05 Jun 2003
34	RJ Kirtley	16.2	7	34	6	4	v South Africa	Nottingham	14 Aug 2003
35	G Onions	9.3	1	38	5	2	v West Indies	Lord’s	06 May 2009
36	TS Roland-Jones	16.4	4	57	5	2	v South Africa	The Oval	27 Jul 2017
37	JC Tongue	21.0	2	66	5	3	v Ireland	Lord’s	01 Jun 2023

JC Tongue’s effort provides the 28^th occasion of an England pace bowler capturing five or more wickets in an innings on test debut on home soil. All such occasions are tabulated below

No	Player	Overs	M	Runs	W	I	Opposition	Ground	Start Date
1	F Morley	32.0×4	9	56	5	2	v Australia	The Oval	06 Sep 1880
2	F Martin	27.0×5	9	50	6	1	v Australia	The Oval	11 Aug 1890
3	F Martin	30.2×5	12	52	6	3	v Australia	The Oval	11 Aug 1890
4	WH Lockwood	45.0×5	11	101	6	2	v Australia	Lord’s	17 Jul 1893
5	T Richardson	23.4×5	5	49	5	1	v Australia	Manchester	24 Aug 1893
6	T Richardson	44.0×5	15	107	5	3	v Australia	Manchester	24 Aug 1893
7	WM Bradley	33.0×5	13	67	5	2	v Australia	Manchester	17 Jul 1899
8	SF Barnes	35.1	9	65	5	2	v Australia	Sydney	13 Dec 1901
9	A Warren	19.2	5	57	5	2	v Australia	Leeds	03  Jul 1905
10	FR Foster	31.3	5	92	5	3	v Australia	Sydney	15 Dec 1911
11	K Farnes	40.2	10	102	5	1	v Australia	Nottingham	08 Jun 1934
12	K Farnes	25.0	3	77	5	3	v Australia	Nottingham	08 Jun 1934
13	WH Copson	24.0×8	2	85	5	1	v West Indies	Lord’s	24 Jun 1939
14	AV Bedser	29.1	11	49	7	1	v India	Lord’s	22 Jun 1946
15	R Pollard	27.0	16	24	5	2	v India	Manchester	20 Jul 1946
16	TE Bailey	32.3	6	118	6	2	v New Zealand	Leeds	11 Jun 1949
17	R Appleyard	17.0	5	51	5	1	v Pakistan	Nottingham	01 Jul 1954
18	LJ Coldwell	41.0	13	85	6	3	v Pakistan	Lord’s	21 Jun 1962
19	JDF Larter	25.0	4	57	5	2	v Pakistan	The Oval	16 Aug 1962
20	IT Botham	20.0	5	74	5	1	v Australia	Nottingham	28 Jul 1977
21	NA Mallender	23.0	7	50	5	3	v Pakistan	Leeds	23 Jul 1992
22	DG Cork	19.3	5	43	7	4	v West Indies	Lord’s	22 Jun 1995
23	JM Anderson	16.0	4	73	5	2	v Zimbabwe	Lord’s	22 May 2003
24	RL Johnson	12.0	4	33	6	2	v Zimbabwe	Ch-le-St	05 Jun 2003
25	RJ Kirtley	16.2	7	34	6	4	v South Africa	Nottingham	14 Aug 2003
26	G Onions	9.3	1	38	5	2	v West Indies	Lord’s	06 May 2009
27	TS Roland-Jones	16.4	4	57	5	2	v South Africa	The Oval	27 Jul 2017
28	JC Tongue	21.0	2	66	5	3	v Ireland	Lord’s	01 Jun 2023

JC Tongue’s effort provides the eighth occasion of an England pace bowler capturing five or more wickets in an innings on test debut at Lord’s – Mecca of Cricket. All such occasions are tabulated below

No	Player	Overs	M	Runs	W	I	Opposition	Ground	Start Date
1	WH Lockwood	45.0×5	11	101	6	2	v Australia	Lord’s	17 Jul 1893
2	WH Copson	24.0×8	2	85	5	1	v West Indies	Lord’s	24 Jun 1939
3	AV Bedser	29.1	11	49	7	1	v India	Lord’s	22 Jun 1946
4	LJ Coldwell	41.0	13	85	6	3	v Pakistan	Lord’s	21 Jun 1962
5	DG Cork	19.3	5	43	7	4	v West Indies	Lord’s	22 Jun 1995
6	JM Anderson	16.0	4	73	5	2	v Zimbabwe	Lord’s	22 May 2003
7	G Onions	9.3	1	38	5	2	v West Indies	Lord’s	06 May 2009
8	JC Tongue	21.0	2	66	5	3	v Ireland	Lord’s	01 Jun 2023

India will be playing its second test at a neutral venue when it meets Australia in the WTC Final at The Oval on 07 June 23. For Australia, this test will be the 13th test at a neutral venue.

Australia will be meeting India as its third opponent at a neutral venue. Australia’s two opponents at a neutral venue were South Africa {three tests} and Pakistan {nine tests}

Australia-South Africa neutral venue tests were played in England. Australia-Pakistan neutral venue tests were played in Sri Lanka {one test}, England {two tests} and in United Arab Emirates {six tests – two at Sharjah, two at Dubai and two at Abu Dhabhi}

India will be playing its second WTC Final, while Australia is playing its first WTC Final. This is how India and Australia have fared in WTC

Country	P	W	L	D	Pts
Australia	19	11	3	5	152
India	18	10	5	3	127

ICC World Test Championship 2021-2023 – Points Table

Country	P	W	L	D	Pts
Australia	19	11	3	5	152
India	18	10	5	3	127
South Africa	15	8	6	1	100
England	22	10	8	4	124
Sri Lanka	12	5	6	1	64
New Zealand	13	4	6	3	60
Pakistan	14	4	6	4	64
West Indies	13	4	7	2	54
Bangladesh	12	1	10	1	16

PJ Cummins and RG Sharma will be leading Australia and India for the first time in a neutral venue test. They will become the 30^th and 31^st captains to lead a team in a neutral test.

PJ Cummins will be the sixth captain to lead Australia in a neutral test, while RG Sharma will become the second captain to lead India in a neutral test.

Let us have an eye view of the Statistics of India-Australia test series

India and Australia have played 106 tests. India has won 32 tests, Australia has won 44 tests and 29 tests are drawn.

India has been led by 18 captains against Australia. Australia has been led by 18 captains against India. RG Sharma has led India in four tests against Australia, while PJ Cummins has led Australia in two tests against India.

India’s highest team total against Australia is 705 for 4 declared at Sydney in Jan 2004. It also provides the only occasion of a team posting a total of 700 plus runs in the India-Australia test series. It also represents the highest team total by a team in India-Australia test series. Australia’s 674 at Adelaide in Jan 1948 is its highest team total against India. India has posted team totals of 600 plus runs on seven occasions against Australia, while Australia has posted team totals of 600 plus runs on three occasions against India.

India’s 36 all out at Adelaide in Dec 2020 represent its lowest total in an innings against Australia. India has been dismissed for totals of less than 100 runs against Australia on four occasions. Australia’s 83 all out at Melbourne in Feb 1981 represent its lowest total in an innings against India. Australia has been dismissed for totals of less than 100 runs against India on three occasions.

SR Tendulkar’s 3630 run aggregate represent the most runs by an Indian batsman against Australia. He remains the only Indian batsman to aggregate 3000 plus runs against Australia. There are twelve occasions of Indian batsmen scoring 1000 plus runs against Australia of which one batsman has an aggregate of 3000 plus runs and three batsmen aggregating 2000 plus runs {2000 to 2999}. RT Ponting’s 2555 run aggregate represent the most runs by an Australian batsman against India. There are twelve occasions of Australian batsmen scoring 1000 plus runs against India of which two batsmen aggregating 2000 plus runs. SR Tendulkar’s 3630 run aggregate represent the most runs by a batsman in India-Australia test series.

Indian batsmen have scored 87 centuries against Australia. Of these 87 centuries, ten are double centuries. VVS Laxman’s 281 at Kolkata in Mar 2001 represent the highest individual innings by an Indian batsman against Australia. It also represents the only score of 250 plus by an Indian batsman against Australia.

Indian batsmen have scored 41 centuries against Australia at home. Of these 41 centuries, seven are double centuries. VVS Laxman’s 281 at Kolkata in Mar 2001 represent the highest individual innings by an Indian batsman against Australia at home. It also represents the only score of 250 plus by an Indian batsman against Australia at home.

Indian batsmen have scored 46 centuries against Australia in Australia. Of these 46 centuries, three are double centuries. SR Tendulkar’s 241 not out at Sydney in Jan 2004 represent the highest individual innings by an Indian batsman against Australia in Australia

Australian batsmen have scored 107 centuries against India. Of these 107 centuries, one is a triple century and ten are double centuries. MJ Clarke’s 329 not out Sydney in Jan 2012 represent the highest individual innings by an Australian batsman against India. It also represents the only score of 300 plus by an Australian batsman against India.

Australian batsmen have scored 66 centuries against India at home. Of these 66 centuries, one is a triple century and eight are double centuries. MJ Clarke’s 329 not out Sydney in Jan 2012 represent the highest individual innings by an Australian batsman against India. It also represents the only score of 300 plus by an Australian batsman against India.

Australian batsmen have scored 41 centuries against India in India. Of these 41 centuries, two are double centuries. DM Jones’ 210 at Chennai in Sep 1986 represent the highest individual innings by an Australian batsman against India in India.

The India-Australia series has witnessed 15 centuries by Indian captains against Australia. MS Dhoni’s 224 at Chennai in Feb 2013 not only represents the highest individual innings by an Indian captain against Australia but also represents the only double century by an Indian captain against Australia

Australian captains have scored 28 centuries against India. Of these 28 centuries, one is a triple century and two are double century. MJ Clarke’s 329 not out Sydney in Jan 2012 represent the highest individual innings by an Australian captain against India. It not only represents the only score of 300 plus by an Australian captain against India,  sbut also represents the only score of 300 plus runs by a captain in India-Australia test series

Indian wicket keepers have scored five centuries against Australia. MS Dhoni’s 224 at Chennai in Feb 2013 not only represents the highest individual innings by an Indian wicket keeper against Australia but also represents the only double century by an Indian wicket keeper against Australia.  It also represents the only double century by a wicket keeper in India-Australia test series.

Australian wicket keepers have scored two centuries against India – both by AC Gilchrist. 122 at Wankhede in Feb 2001 and 104 at Bengaluru in Oct 2004. AC Gilchrist’s 122 at Wankhede in Feb 2001 represents the highest individual innings by an Australian wicket keeper against India.

MS Dhoni for India and AC Gilchrist for Australia have scored centuries as captain wicket keeper in India-Australia test series. MS Dhoni scored 224 against Australia at Chennai in Feb 2013, while AC Gilchrist scored 104 against India at Bengaluru in Oct 2004

SR Tendulkar’s 3630 runs from 39 tests containing 27 fifties {11 centuries and 16 half centuries} is the highest run aggregate by an Indian batsman against Australia. SR Tendulkar’s 3630 run aggregate represents the highest run aggregate in India-Australia test series. SR Tendulkar’s eleven centuries represents not only the most centuries by an Indian batsman against Australia but also represents the most centuries by a batsman in India-Australia test series.

RT Ponting’s 2555 runs from 29 test containing 20 fifties {08 centuries and 12 half centuries} is the highest run aggregate by an Australian batsman against India.

SR Tendulkar’s run aggregate of 3630 runs, his 39 tests and 74 innings, eight not outs against Australia, 27 fifties, eleven centuries, sixteen half centuries are all record parameters in India-Australia test series for most run aggregate, most test appearances, most  innings appearances, most not outs, most fifties, most centuries and most half centuries.

There are 76 occasions of Indian bowlers captain five or more wickets against Australia. Of these 76 occasions, there is one occasion of a bowler capturing nine wickets in an innings and three occasions of bowlers capturing eight wickets in an innings. JM Patel’s 9 for 69 at Kanpur in Dec 1959 represents the best innings bowling effort by an Indian bowler against Australia. This effort not only represents the only occasion of a bowler capturing nine wickets in an innings in India-Australia test series, but also represents the best innings bowling effort in India-Australia test series.

There are 66 occasions of Australian bowlers captain five or more wickets against India. Of these 66 occasions, there are three occasions of bowlers capturing eight wickets in an innings. NM Lyon’s 8 for 50 at Bengaluru in Mar 2017 represents the best innings bowling effort by an Australian bowler against India.

The series has witnessed 13 occasions of Indian bowlers capturing ten or more wickets in a match against Australia. Harbhajan Singh’s 15 for 217 runs at Chennai in Mar 2001 is the best match bowling effort by an Indian bowler against Australia. This effort not only represents the only occasion of a bowler capturing fifteen wickets in a match in India-Australia test series, but also represents the best match bowling effort in India-Australia test series.

There are 16 occasions of Australian bowlers capturing ten or more wickets in a match against India. SNJ O’Keefe’s 12 for 70 at Pune in Feb 2017 is the best match bowling effort by an Australian bowler against India.

Indian batsmen have posted 109 three figure partnerships against Australia. Of these 109 partnerships, five are 300 plus runs partnerships, six are 200 to 299 runs partnerships. 376 runs partnership for the fifth wicket in India’s second innings between R Dravid and VVS Laxman at Kolkata in Mar 2001 represent India’s highest partnership for any wicket against Australia.

Australian batsmen have posted 123 three figure partnerships against India. Of these 123 partnerships, two are 300 plus runs partnerships and 14 are 200 to 299 runs partnerships. 386 runs partnership for the fourth wicket in Australia’s first innings at Adelaide in Jan 2012 represent Australia’s highest partnership for any wicket against India. This partnership also represents the highest partnership for any wicket in India-Australia test series.

AC Gilchrist’s 75 dismissals {73 catches and two stumping} represent the most dismissals by an Australian glove man against India. AC Gilchrist’s 73 catches represent the most catches pouched by an Australian wicket keeper against India

MS Dhoni with 71 dismissals {56 catches and 15 stumping} holds the record for most dismissals by an Indian wicket keeper against Australia. His 15 stumping is a record for most stumping dismissals by an Indian wicket keeper against Australia. It is also a record for most stumping dismissals by any wicket keeper in India-Australia test series.

BJ Haddin and R Pant own the record for most dismissals in an innings for Australia and India respectively. Both the wicketkeepers have effected six dismissals {all caught}

Player	Dis	Ct	St	I	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
BJ Haddin	6	6	0	1	Aus	Ind	Brisbane	17 Dec 2014
RR Pant	6	6	0	2	Ind	Aus	Adelaide	06 Dec 2018

R Dravid with 46 catches and RT Ponting with 36 catches own the record for most catches by a fieldsman in the series for India and Australia respectively.

K Srikkanth of India holds the record for most catches in an innings against Australia. He held five catches in Australia’s first innings at Perth in Feb 1992.

The following Australian fieldsmen share the record for most cathes in an innings {four catches} against India.

Player	Dis	I	Opposition	Ground	Start Date
AK Davidson	4	3	v India	Delhi	12 Dec 1959
DF Whatmore	4	3	v India	Kanpur	02 Oct 1979
ME Waugh	4	2	v India	Melbourne	26 Dec 1999
ME Waugh	4	4	v India	Chennai	18 Mar 2001
ML Hayden	4	2	v India	Brisbane	04 Dec 2003
AJ Finch	4	3	v India	Adelaide	06 Dec 2018