Test cricket has witnessed
only two batsmen – WH Ponsford and SFAF Bacchus – dismissed hit wicket
after scoring 250 plus runs. WH Ponsford of Australia was dismissed hit wicket against England at The
Oval in August 1934 after scoring 266 runs while SFAF Bacchus of West Indies was dismissed hit wicket against India at
Kanpur in Feb 1979.
There are twelve occasion s
of batsmen dismissed hit wicket after scoring a century – scores between 100
and 199 – and are listed below. VVS
Laxman is the only Indian
batsman in this twelve batsmen list. He is the only batsman to be dismissed hit
wicket in a test innings with a three
figure innings to his credit against West Indies
Only three batsmen – WA Hadlee
of New Zealand, CG Borde of India and RW Marsh of Australia – have been
dismissed hit wicket in nineties. RW Marsh remains the only wicket
keeper batsman to be dismissed hit wicket in a test innings in nineties.
No
Player
Runs
I
Team
Opp
Ground
Mon/Yr
1
WH Ponsford
266
1
Aus
Eng
The Oval
Aug 1934
2
SFAF Bacchus
250
2
Win
Ind
Kanpur
Feb 1979
No
Player
Runs
I
Team
Opp
Ground
Mon/Yr
1
AC MacLaren
120
2
Eng
Aus
Melbourne
Mar 1895
2
JB Hobbs
187
1
Eng
SAF
Cape Town
Mar 1910
3
WH Ponsford
181
2
Aus
Eng
Leeds
Jul 1934
4
DG Bradman
185
1
Aus
Ind
Brisbane
Nov 1947
5
DCS Compton
184
3
Eng
Aus
Nottingham
Jun 1948
6
AJ Watkins
111
1
Eng
SAF
Johannesburg
Feb 1949
7
PBH May
112
3
Eng
SAF
Lord’s
Jun 1955
8
GP Thorpe
119
2
Eng
NZl
Auckland
Jan 1997
9
VVS Laxman
130
1
Ind
Win
St John’s
May 2002
10
BC Lara
110
3
Win
Aus
Georgetown
Apr 2003
11
Ahmed Shehzad
176
1
Pak
NZl
Abu Dhabi
Nov 2014
12
PSP Handscomb
110
1
Aus
Pak
Sydney
Jan 2017
No
Player
Runs
I
Team
Opp
Ground
Mon/Yr
1
WA Hadlee
93
2
NZl
Eng
Manchester
Jul 1937
2
CG Borde
96
3
Ind
Win
Delhi
Feb 1959
3
RW Marsh
97
1
Aus
Win
Kingston
Feb 1973
R Dravid-VVS Laxman share an unique partnership in test cricket
The following are the six pair of batsmen who have partnered 300
plus runs in a test innings on two or more occasions for the same wicket in the
annals of test cricket.
South Africa pairs – HH Gibbs-GC
Smith and HM Amla-JH Kallis- are the only pair of batsmen to achieve the
captioned feat on three occasions.
The only Indian pair -R Dravid-VVS Laxman-stand out as a unique pair in the captioned list due to the following facts. They are the only pair in the annals of test cricket to partner 300 plus runs on two occasions for the fifth wicket against the same opposition – Australia – on home soil and away soil.
No
Partners
Wkt
Runs
I
Team
Opp
Ground
Mon/Yr
1
HH Gibbs, GC Smith
1
368
1
SAF
Pak
Cape Town
Jan 03
2
HH Gibbs, GC Smith
1
338
1
SAF
Eng
Birmingham
Jul 03
3
HH Gibbs, GC Smith
1
301
1
SAF
Win
Centurion
Jan 04
1
HM Amla, JH Kallis
3
330
3
SAF
NZl
Jo’burg
Nov 07
2
HM Amla, JH Kallis
3
340
1
SAF
Ind
Nagpur
Feb 10
3
HM Amla, JH Kallis
3
377*
2
SAF
Eng
The Oval
Jul 12
1
M Jaya’dene, Sangakkara
3
624
2
Srl
SAF
Col-SSC
Jul 06
2
M Jaya’dene, Sangakkara
3
311
2
Srl
Ban
Kandy
Jul 07
1
Mohd Yousuf, Younis Khan
3
319
1
Pak
Ind
Lahore
Jan 06
2
Mohd Yousuf, Younis Khan
3
363
2
Pak
Eng
Leeds
Aug 06
1
MJ Clarke, RT Ponting
4
352
1
Aus
Pak
Hobart
Jan 10
2
MJ Clarke, RT Ponting
4
386
1
Aus
Ind
Adelaide
Jan 12
1
R Dravid, VVS Laxman
5
376
3
Ind
Aus
Kolkata
Mar 01
2
R Dravid, VVS Laxman
5
303
2
Ind
Aus
Adelaide
Dec 03
One hundred occasions of 300 plus runs partnership in a test innings
The partnership of 361 runs
between DA Warner and M Labuschagne for the second wicket in the test between Australia
and Pakistan at Adelaide In Nov 19 provided the 100th occasion of
batsmen posting a triple hundred plus runs partnership in the annals of test
cricket. All such occasions are tabulated below
Indian
Premier League has witnessed nineteen occasions of bowlers performing hat
tricks. All such occasions are tabulated below
No
Bowler
Taam
Opposition
Venue
Date
1
L
Balaji
Chennai
Punjab
Chennai
10.05.08
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-24-5
2
Mishra
A
Delhi
Deccan
Delhi
15.05.08
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-17-5
3
M
Ntini
Chennai
Kolkata
Kolkata
17.05.08
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-21-4
4
Yuvraj
Singh
Punjab
Bangalore
Durban
01.05.09
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-22-3
5
RG
Sharma
Deccan
Mumbai
Centurion
06.05.09
Bowling
figs
2.0-0-06-4
6
Yuvraj
Singh
Rajasthan
Deccan
Jo’burg
17.05.09
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-13-3
7
Praveen
Kumar
Bangalore
Rajasthan
Bangalore
18.03.10
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-18-3
8
Mishra
A
Punjab
Deccan
Dharmasala
21.05.11
Bowling
figs
4.0-1-09-4
9
A
Chandila
Rajasthan
Pune
Pune-MCA
13.05.12
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-13-4
10
SP Narine
Kolkata
Punjab
Mohali
16.04.13
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-33-3
11
A Mishra
Sunrisers
Pune
Pune-MCA
17.04.13
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-19-4
12
PV
Tambe
Rajasthan
Kolkata
Ahmedabad
05.05.14
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-26-3
13
SR
Watson
Rajasthan
Sunrisers
Ahmedabad
08.05.14
Bowling
figs
2.0-0-13-3
14
A Patel
Punjab
Gujarat
Rajkot
01.05.16
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-21-4
15
S Badree
Bangalore
Mumbai
Bangalore
14.04.17
Bowling figs
4.0-1-09-4
16
AJ Tye
Gujarat
Ris Pune
Rajkot
14.04.17
Bowling figs
4.0-0-17-5
17
JA Unadkat
Rising Pune
Sunrisers
Hyd-RGS
06.05.17
Bowling figs
18
SM Curran
Punjab
Delhi
Mohali
01.04.19
Bowling figs
2.2.0-11-4.
19
S Gopal
Rajasthan
Bangalore
Bangalore
30.04.19
Bowling figs
1.0-0-12-3
Indian
Premier League has witnessed five occasions of overseas bowlers performing hat tricks.
All such occasions are tabulated below
No
Bowler
Taam
Opposition
Venue
Date
1
SP Narine
Kolkata
Punjab
Mohali
16.04.13
Bowling
figs
4.0-0-33-3
2
SR
Watson
Rajasthan
Sunrisers
Ahmedabad
08.05.14
Bowling
figs
2.0-0-13-3
3
S Badree
Bangalore
Mumbai
Bangalore
14.04.17
Bowling figs
4.0-1-09-4
4
AJ Tye
Gujarat
Ris Pune
Rajkot
14.04.17
Bowling figs
4.0-0-17-5
5
SM Curran
Punjab
Delhi
Mohali
01.04.19
Bowling figs
2.2.0-11-4.
A
Mishra has performed the feat on three occasions, while Yuvraj Singh has
performed the feat on two occasions. The following table lists the feats of
these two bowlers
Tendulkar
will become the first cricketer in the annals of test cricket to appear in 200
tests. The ensuing Mumbai Test would be his 200th test
Tendulkar
holds the record of playing most tests at home. Mumbai test was his 94th
test. Thus at the end of his test career he has played most tests at home – 94
tests. RT Ponting has played 92 tests at home
He
has an aggregate of 3630 runs against Australia and it is the second highest
aggregate against Australia by any batsman. The best total is credited to JB
Hobbs who has an aggregate of 3636 runs,
His
16 half centuries against Australia is a world record. He shares this record
jointly with GA Gooch and H Sutcliffe who have scored similar number of half
centuries against Australia
He
is the only batsman to total 10000 test runs while batting at number four. At
the end of the Mumbai test against West Indies his run aggregate read 13521 runs.
He remains the only batsman in the annals of test cricket to appear in exact
275 innings while batting at number four.
He
is the only batsman to score 100 plus fifties while batting at number four. At
the end of the Mumbai test he has an aggregate of 102 fifties while batting at
number four
His
44 hundreds and 58 half centuries are a record for most centuries and half
centuries for a batsman who has batted at number four in tests. He is the only
batsman to score 50 plus half centuries while batting at number four.
He
is the only batsman to score 20 test hundreds while batting at number four on
home soil and 24 test hundreds while batting at number four on away soil.
His
partnership runs of 6920 with R Dravid are yet another world record for most
partnership runs between two batsmen in the annals of test cricket.
SR
Tendulkar and R Dravid have posted 20 three figure partnerships in a test innings
which is yet another world record for most three figure partnerships between
two batsmen in tests. In fact, they are the only pair to post 20 three figure
partnerships.
SR
Tendulkar and R Dravid have posted 29 half century partnerships in a test
innings which is yet another world record for most half century partnerships
between two batsmen in tests.
SR
Tendulkar and R Dravid have posted 49 half century partnerships in a test
innings which is yet another world record for most half century partnerships
between two batsmen in tests.
He
has an aggregate of 7142 runs at home and is the second batsman to aggregate
7000 plus runs at home. RT Ponting is
other batsman with 7578 runs
He
has played 153 innings at home. RT Ponting holds the record for or most test
innings on home soil. He has played 154 innings at home.
Tendulkar
has pouched 115 catches and stands third in the list of Indian fieldsmen who
have pouched 100 plus catches in tests. Others are – R Dravid {209}, VVS Laxman
{135).
He
shares the record for most double hundreds by an Indian batsman with V Sehwag.
Both the batsmen have scored six double hundreds.
He
is the only batsman in the annals of test cricket to total 1000 plus runs in
six calendar years. His feat is listed thus –
No
Player
Mat
Runs
HS
Year
1
SR
Tendulkar
12
1000
169
1997
2
SR
Tendulkar
10
1088
217
1999
3
SR
Tendulkar
10
1003
155
2001
4
SR
Tendulkar
16
1392
193
2002
5
SR
Tendulkar
13
1063
154*
2008
6
SR
Tendulkar
14
1562
214
2010
He
is one of the six batsmen {seven occasions} and the only Indian batsman to
aggregate 1500 plus runs in a calendar year. The seven batsmen are listed below
No
Player
Team
Mat
Runs
Year
1
Mohd
Yousuf
Pak
11
1788
2006
2
IVA
Richards
Win
11
1710
1976
3
GC
Smith
SAF
15
1656
2008
4
MJ
Clarke
Aus
11
1595
2012
5
SR
Tendulkar
Ind
14
1562
2010
6
RT
Ponting
Aus
15
1544
2005
7
RT
Ponting
Aus
11
1503
2003
He
is one of the eight batsmen who have scored 5000 plus runs in a team’s victory
tests. He has scored 5946 runs in India’s 72 wins and holds the record for an
Indian batsman to total 5000 plus test runs in India’s wins
No
Player
Team
Mat
Runs
C
HC
1
RT
Ponting
Aus
108
9157
30
42
2
SR
Waugh
Aus
86
6460
25
25
3
JH
Kallis
SAF
81
6264
21
28
4
ML
Hayden
Aus
71
6154
23
19
5
SR
Tendulkar
Ind
72
5946
20
24
6
JL
Langer
Aus
70
5229
15
19
7
R
Dravid
Ind
56
5131
15
23
8
GC
Smith
SAF
58
5117
18
20
Has
scored 1645 runs in the fourth innings of a test – a record for most runs
scored by a batsman in the fourth innings of a test in the annals of test cricket
He has a unique record. He has played 100 tests when India has won the toss and
100 tests when India has lost the toss.
He
has played most innings in drawn tests – He has appeared in 72 drawn tests and
104 innings.
T20I team totals of 200 plus runs without a century
Twenty20 Internationals has witnessed 44 occasions
of 200 plus team totals posted which did
not contain a century. All such occasions are tabulated below.
India have always featured
prominently in any discussion about spin bowling, but never was this emphasis
on spin greater than in the 1960s and 1970s, when four of their most celebrated
slow-bowling exponents played together. There were high-quality spinners from
India before – Subhash Gupte scalped 149 wickets at 29.55, and was rated better
than Shane Warne by no less a player than Garry Sobers; Vinoo Mankad snared 162
at just over 32 and also contributed mightily with the bat; while Bapu Nadkarni
was the king of thrift, taking 88 wickets and conceding 1.67 runs per over.
However, when Bishan Bedi, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna and S
Venkataraghavan broke into the team in the 1960s, they established such a hold
over the Indian bowling attack that for the next decade and more they became
the core of the bowling unit, in all countries and conditions, to such an
extent that India’s seam and swing bowlers became almost redundant.
It was a diet by spin for
opposition batsmen, and yet there was plenty of variety in the menu to choose
from. Bedi was the classical left-arm spinner with a smooth action and
fantastic deception; Chandrasekhar was as unorthodox as Bedi was orthodox,
bowling sharp topspinners, googlies and legspinners at almost medium pace; Prasanna
and Venkataraghavan were both offspinners, but while Prasanna was guileful and
crafty, Venkat was accurate and relentless. Together they defined the Indian
bowling attack, on turning tracks at home and in seaming conditions abroad.
The overall stats for three
of those four spinners are pretty similar: Bedi led in terms of matches played,
wickets taken and bowling averages, but Chandrasekhar and Prasanna weren’t far
behind. Venkat’s stats suffered in comparison to the other three – he averaged
less than three wickets per Test – but his career economy rate of 2.27 shows he
was tough to score off.
Chandrasekhar’s average was
slightly higher than Bedi’s, but his strike rate was easily the best among them
all. At his best he was probably the most unplayable of them, and he was the
only one among the four who averaged more than four wickets per Test. India
didn’t win too many overseas Tests during that time, but when they did,
Chandrasekhar had a significant role to play in each: in five overseas wins he took
six in an innings five times, and averaged 17.14.
Career stats of India’s
four spinners
BOWLER
TESTS
WKTS
AVE
SR
5/10
W/T
Bishan Bedi
67
266
28.71
80.3
14/ 1
3.97
BS Chandrasekhar
58
242
29.74
65.9
16/ 2
4.17
Erapalli Prasanna
49
189
30.38
75.9
10/ 2
3.86
S Venkataraghavan
57
156
36.11
95.3
03/ 1
2.74
Apart from Venkat, the
other spinners did pretty well overseas too. Chandrasekhar, Bedi and Prasanna
all averaged less than 34 in away Tests, which is significantly better than India’s
top spinner today: Harbhajan Singh’s away average is 38.83. The only bowler
among the quartet who didn’t have much success abroad was Venkat, averaging
more than 44 and taking only one five-for in 25 Tests.
The four spinners, home and
away
BOWLER
HOME
WKTS
AVE
AWAY
WKTS
AVE
Bishan Bedi
30
137
23.99
37
129
33.72
BS Chandrasekhar
32
142
27.69
26
100
32.66
Erapalli Prasanna
22
95
26.94
27
94
33.85
S Venkataraghavan
32
94
30.64
25
62
44.40
Between December 31, 1966
and the end of 1978, India played 68 Tests, of which at least three of these
four spinners played in 55. (In one Test, against England at Edgbaston, all
four played but India lost by 132 runs.) In the 55 Tests, India’s record read
thus: won 14, lost 25, drew 16. It doesn’t look all that imposing, but it’s a
whole lot better than India’s Test record before they came along: in the 12
years before these four started playing together, between the beginning of 1955
and the end of 1966, India had won only seven out of 56 and had lost 19. The
win-loss ratio thus changed from 0.37 to 0.56, an improvement of 51%.
Among those 14 wins were
some pretty significant ones. In 1971, they won a Test in the West Indies for
the first time, and followed that with their first win in England. On both
occasions they won the series. The win in Port-of-Spain in 1976 is remembered
mostly for the run-chase of 403, but the spinners did their job too, with
Chandrasekhar taking eight wickets in the match and Bedi five. In Auckland in
1976, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna combined to take 19 wickets in the match as
India won by eight wickets. And then there were the two wins in Melbourne and
Sydney in 1977-78 – albeit against a depleted Australian team – which brought
India back in the series after they lost the first two Tests. Overall, of the
14 Tests that India won, six were overseas.
India, before and during
the spin quartet
PERIOD
T
W/L/D
W/L
BLG AVE
Jan 1955 to 30 Dec 1966
56
07/19/30
0.37
36.41
At least 3 of spin
quartet
55
14/25/16
0.56
32.86
During this period when the
spinners were in full flow, the role of pace in the Indian bowling attack was
reduced to a bare minimum. In the 68 Tests between 1967 and 1978, spin
contributed 766 wickets, an average of more than 11 per match. No team came
close to that average, with Pakistan’s 6.46 being the next best. Spin also
contributed almost 78% of the wickets that Indian bowlers took during this
period.
Team-wise stats for
spinners in Tests between Dec 31, 1966 and Dec 31, 1978
TEAM
T
SPIN W
AVE
Sr
5/10
SPIN W/T
TWKTS
India
68
766
30.58
77.8
42/ 4
11.26
0987
England
112
575
29.10
81.0
26/ 6
05.13
1755
Australia
91
417
34.71
88.0
12/ 1
04.58
1509
West Indies
76
364
39.02
105.6
14/ 0
04.79
1148
Pakistan
46
297
32.09
79.7
11/ 2
06.46
0637
New Zealand
54
204
40.53
101.3
04/ 0
03.78
0725
And in the 55 matches when
at least three of them played together, their numbers were pretty identical to
those listed above – an average of about 11 wickets per match and 30 runs per
wicket.
India’s bowling when at
least three from the spin quartet played
T
SPIN W
AVE
SR
5/ 10
SPIN W/T
TWKTS
%AGE
55
635
30.60
76.8
35/ 4
11.54
786
80.79
The four Indian spinners
were among the best during this period, but there were a few others who were in
that bracket. England’s Derek Underwood led the way in terms of both wickets
and averages, taking 264 at an excellent rate of 24.34 runs per wicket. Bedi was
next in terms of wickets, but Ashley Mallett, Australia’s offspinner, had
excellent numbers too, averaging less than 28 for his 125 wickets. West Indies’
Lance Gibbs was the other offspinner in this list, taking 172 wickets in 47
games.
Spinners in Tests between
31 Dec 1966 and 31 Dec 1978
BOWLER
T
WKTS
AVE
SR
05/10
Derek Underwood
72
264
24.34
70.3
16/ 6
Bishan Bedi
64
259
28.52
80.0
14/ 1
BS Chandrasekhar
46
199
29.39
63.4
15/ 1
Erapalli Prasanna
47
185
30.16
75.3
10/ 2
Lance Gibbs
47
172
33.22
99.6
08/ 0
Ashley Mallett
35
125
27.95
73.0
06/ 1
S Venkataraghavan
35
99
35.39
93.4
02/ 0
Intikhab Alam
30
98
32.63
75.6
05/ 2
Playing four spinners in
the same XI wasn’t a luxury India could afford, though, so three in the side
was the staple. Here’s a look at how the spinners and the team fared when
various combinations of three spinners played.
Bedi, Chandrasekhar and
Prasanna
In the 24 Tests that
Chandrasekhar, Bedi and Prasanna played together, India won seven and lost 12.
Four of these wins were in two five-Test series when India fought back from 0-2
deficits to draw level, only to then lose the final match. The trio helped India
beat West Indies in Kolkata and Chennai in the 1974-75 series, before they lost
the last match in Mumbai, while that sequence of results was repeated in
Australia in 1977-78 – wins in Melbourne and Sydney to draw level, followed by
defeat in Adelaide to lose the series.
Among the three bowlers,
Chandrasekhar and Bedi had identical numbers, taking just over 100 wickets at
excellent averages. Chandrasekhar’s best was in that Melbourne game, when he
took figures of 6 for 52 in each innings to finish with match figures of 12 for
104 – his best in his 58-Test career. Bedi took two six-fors as well, but in
two matches, and with hugely contrasting results – 6 for 71 against England in
Bangalore in 1977 (a match in which Chandrasekhar took six as well), and 6 for
226 in the Lord’s drubbing in 1974.
Among the three, the bowler
with the least impressive stats in these 24 Tests was Prasanna, with only 61
wickets at an average of 40. His only five-for was against West Indies in that
Chennai Test in 1974-75. And six times he finished wicketless in an innings
despite bowling 20 or more overs.
Overall, in the 24 Tests
that all these spinners played, they accounted for 266 out of 346 wickets taken
by the Indian bowlers – a percentage of 76.88.
Tests that Bedi, Chandrasekhar
and Prasanna played together
BOWLER
T
WKTS
AVE
SR
05/10
BS Chandrasekhar
24
103
27.81
060.1
08/01
Bishan Singh Bedi
24
102
28.34
071.7
05/00
Erapalli Prasanna
24
061
40.01
101.8
01/00
Together
24
266
30.62
074.19
14/01
Bedi, Chandrasekhar and
Venkataraghavan
Bedi, Chandrasekhar and
Venkat played together 18 times, and of those Tests, India won four and lost
seven. A couple of those wins were especially famous: in 1971 at The Oval,
India won a Test, and a series, for the first time in England; and in
Port-of-Spain in 1976, India chased down 403, at the time the highest
fourth-innings total in a win.
Among these three,
Chandrasekhar was again the bowler who was the most influential in the two
wins: at The Oval his 6 for 38 destroyed England in their second innings, while
in Trinidad his 6 for 120 kept West Indies down to a manageable 359 in their
first innings. Overall, though, Bedi was the most successful in these 18 Tests,
with 85 wickets at 24.96. Venkat played a strictly supporting role in most of
these matches, taking only 39 wickets at more than 40 each. Overall, these
three bowlers took 208 out of 262 wickets taken by all Indian bowlers in the 18
Tests.
Tests that Bedi,
Chandrasekhar and Venkataraghavan played together
BOWLER
T
WKTS
AVE
SR
05/10
Bishan Bedi
18
085
24.96
074.2
05/01
BS Chandrasekhar
18
084
29.25
065.3
06/00
S Venkataraghavan
18
039
43.82
118.8
00/00
Together
18
208
30.22
079.01
11/01
Bedi, Prasanna,
Venkataraghavan
Prasanna didn’t do too well
when he played alongside Bedi and Chandrasekhar, but his performances lifted
when Venkataraghavan was around. In 13 Tests that he played with Venkat and
Bedi, Prasanna took 61 wickets at less than 28. Venkat himself didn’t do too
badly: though he took only 41 wickets, his average was the best among the
three. Bedi was relatively less successful in terms of wickets, but his economy
rate of 2.04 runs per over was the best among the three.
In these 13 Tests, India
won only two and lost seven. One of the wins was against West Indies in
Port-of-Spain in 1971 – Sunil Gavaskar’s debut Test. The three bowlers together
picked up 145 wickets out of 181 that the Indian bowlers took – a percentage of
80.11.
Tests that Bedi, Prasanna
and Venkat played together
BOWLER
T
WKTS
AVE
SR
05/10
S Venkataraghavan
13
041
27.19
068.8
02/00
Erapalli Prasanna
13
061
27.86
067.5
04/01
Bishan Bedi
13
043
34.11
100.0
02/00
Together
13
145
29.53
77.6
08/01
And finally, a look at the
batsmen who excelled against India during this period. No one dominated them
like Zaheer Abbas on India’s tour to Pakistan in 1977-78. In five innings his
scores read thus: 176, 96, 235*, 34*, 42. In fact, that series hastened the end
for the three spinners who played in that series: Chandrasekhar averaged 48.12,
Bedi 74.83 and Prasanna 125.50. Prasanna didn’t play any Tests after that,
Chandrasekhar played five and Bedi six. Venkataraghavan was around for much
longer – till 1983, but in his last four series he wasn’t much of a force,
averaging more than 50 in each of them. In fact, in his last 14 Tests he
managed only 23 wickets.
The era of the four Indian
spinners ended with a bit of a whimper, but while it lasted it was glorious.
Bhagwat Subramanya
Chandrasekhar (informally Chandra; born 17 May 1945) is an Indian former
cricketer who played as a leg spinner. Considered among the top echelon of leg
spinners, Chandrasekhar along with E.A.S. Prasanna, Bishen Singh Bedi and
Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan constituted the Indian spin quartet that
dominated spin bowling during the 1960s and 1970s. At a very young age, polio
left his right arm withered. Chandrasekhar played 58 Test matches, capturing
242 wickets at an average of 29.74 in a career that spanned sixteen years. He
is one of only two test cricketers in history with more wickets than total runs
scored, the other being Chris Martin. He was awarded the Padmashri in 1972
Chandrasekhar was named as
a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1972; in 2002 he won Wisden’s award for
“Best bowling performance of the century” for India, for his six
wickets for 38 runs against England at the Oval in 1971.
Chandrasekhar was born in
1945 in Mysore, where he had his primary education. He developed an early
interest in cricket watching the playing styles of Australian leg spinner
Richie Benaud. An attack of polio at the age of six left his right arm withered.
At the age of 10, his hand had recovered and Chandrasekhar started playing
cricket.
By that time his family
relocated to Bangalore and he got an opportunity to play for “City
Cricketers”. In an interview, Chandrasekhar stated that he joined up mainly
to get a chance to play with the leather ball. While playing on the streets of Bangalore, he
had mainly used a rubber ball. While playing for the club, Chandrasekhar tried
different bowling styles that also included fast bowling. It was in 1963 that he decided to play as a
leg spin bowler. His idea proved to be right as he was soon selected for the
national side.
Making his Test debut for
India against England at Bombay in 1964, he collected four wickets in the
match. He was named the Indian Cricket Cricketer of the Year the same year.
Chandrasekhar was influential in setting up India’s first victory in England
when he picked up six wickets for 38 runs at The Oval in 1971; the bowling was
named the “Indian Bowling performance of the century” by Wisden in
2002. Wisden noted that, “Chandrasekhar was wonderfully accurate for a
bowler of his type, and his extra pace made him a formidable proposition even
on the sluggish Oval pitch.” His consistent bowling performances in 1971
earned him being named one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1972.
In a Test against New
Zealand in 1976, Chandrasekhar and Prasanna took 19 wickets and were crucial in
setting up India’s win. Attributed to him is a famous umpire-directed quote,
made during a day of bad decisions in New Zealand after several of his lbw
appeals were given not out: “I know he is bowled, but is he out?”
Chandrasekhar also played a major role in India’s victory in Australia in 1977–78.
During that series he became the first bowler in test history to register the
identical figures in a same test (6 for 52 in both innings).
Chandrasekhar had minimal
batting skills, finishing with a Test average of 4.07. He was given a special
Gray-Nicholls bat during the 1977–78 Australian tour with a hole in it to
commemorate the four ducks he scored, and he has 23 Test ducks to his credit.
He also holds the dubious distinction of scoring fewer runs (167) off his bat
than wickets (242) taken in Test cricket; the only other cricketer with this
distinction over a significant Test career is New Zealand fast bowler Chris Martin.
Honours and recognitions
Indian Cricket Cricketer
of the Year in 1964
Wisden Cricketers of the
Year in 1972
Padmashri in 1972[14]
Arjuna Award in 1972[15]
Three occasions of a bowler capturing four wickets in four balls in international cricket
Cricket is often considered
a batsman’s game, as the rules favor them more than the bowlers. But we have
still witnessed some great bowling performances throughout the history of the
sport; bowlers have created a name for themselves with their heroics on the
field.
Some players inscribe their
name in history by achieving records that stand for years to come. A hat-trick
is one such rare feat in cricket, which every bowler hopes to achieve at least
once in their international cricket career.
Taking 3 wickets off 3
consecutive balls is no easy task as it has happened only 100 times over 130
years – 48 times in ODIs, 44 times in Tests and 8 times in T20Is.
Of those already rare
instances, some bowlers went an even rarer step further by picking 4 wickets
off 4 consecutive deliveries. Here is a look at those three instances:
Lasith Malinga vs South
Africa, 2007
Lasith Malinga during the
2007 World Cup game against South AfricaLasith Malinga during the 2007 World
Cup game against South Africa
Known for his unique
bowling action and deadly yorkers, Lasith Malinga became the first person in
cricket history to achieve this rare feat.
In the 2007 World Cup
Super-8 game, Sri Lanka posted a below-average total of 209 runs on the board
against South Africa. The Proteas were well on course to achieving the target
until 44th over, with Jacques Kallis being the backbone of the chase.
Malinga then bowled a
memorable spell which pushed the Proteas into a state of turmoil. He dismissed
Shaun Pollock and Andrew Hall off the final 2 deliveries of the 45th over, and
then returned to dismiss the dangerous Kallis and Makaya Nitini in the first 2
deliveries of the 47th over, thus picking 4 wickets off 4 deliveries.
Despite Malinga’s heroics,
South Africa edged past Sri Lanka to win the match by one wicket. Malinga
finished with figures of 9.2-0-54-4.
Rashid Khan vs Ireland,
2019
Rashid Khan is undoubtedly
one of the best T20 players in the world. He has been in tremendous form
lately, with some mind-blowing performances across the globe.
Earlier this year, the
cricketing world witnessed one such performance that proved yet again why he
was the best when it came to T20 cricket.
In the 3rd T20I against
Ireland, Afghanistan were asked to bat first. The Afghans posted a humongous
score of 210 in 20 overs with the help of Mohammed Nabi’s blistering 81, which
came in 36 balls.
In response, Ireland
started on the right note as Kevin O’Brien and Andrew Balbirnie added 96 runs
for the second wicket. But Rashid then spun a web across the Ireland batsmen,
which completely derailed the chase.
He removed the well-settled
O’Brien on the final ball of the 16th over, thus denting their confidence. In
the next over, Rashid completely killed the contest by scalping George
Dockrell, Shane Getkate and Simi Singh in 3 consecutive deliveries.
Rashid thus became the
first bowler in T20I history and second across all international cricket to
pick 4 wickets off 4 balls. Ireland could never recover in the chase as they
ended up with a score of 178 in their 20 overs, thus losing by 32 runs. Rashid ended with figures of 5/27 in his 4
overs.
Lasith Malinga vs New
Zealand, 2019
Lasith Malinga has the most
international hat-tricksLasith Malinga has the most international hat-tricks
In the series against New
Zealand Lasith Malinga was being severely criticized for his fitness and
performances, which weren’t up to the mark due to his age. But he shut everyone
up with a single memorable spell.
In the 3rd T20I game the
Lankans were asked to bat first, but their innings stumbled as Mitchell Santner
and Todd Astle picked 3 wickets each. As a result, Sri Lanka ended up with a
score of 125 runs in 20 overs.
Chasing 126, Black Caps had
a horrendous start. Malinga removed Colin Munro, Hamish Rutherford, Colin de
Grandhomme and Ross Taylor off 4 consecutive balls in the 3rd over to leave New
Zealand in deep trouble.
Malinga thus became the
only bowler in cricket history to take 4 wickets off 4 consecutive balls twice.
The New Zealand batsmen could not recover from the heavy blows as they were
dismissed for a paltry 88 runs in 16 overs.
Malinga’s figures read 5/6
in 4 overs, including a maiden. He thus proved that he still had it in him to
deliver match-winning performances, irrespective of his age.