India vs South Africa, Day 4: Report | Images | Scorecard
· The first-wicket partnership of 218 runs between Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir is the second highest opening partnership against all countries just behind the world record 413-run partnership between Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy against New Zealand at Madras (now Chennai) in 1955-56.
· This is now the second highest opening partnership in Test cricket for any side responding to opposition's total of 500-plus. The 283-run partnership between Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe for England against Australia at Melbourne in 1924-25 still remains the highest. England were then responding to Australia's total of 600.
· This is now the fifth highest opening wicket partnership on Indian soil and eighth highest against South Africa in all Tests.
· The above partnership is India's highest for any wicket against South Africa in India, surpassing the 165 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Rahul Dravid for the sixth wicket at Kanpur in 1996-97.
· The above partnership is the second highest for any wicket at Kanpur after 272-run partnership between Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev for India for the sixth wicket against Sri Lanka at Kanpur in 1986-87.
· This was the second double century partnership for the opening wicket involving Sehwag. He had also participated in a 201-run partnership with Sanjay Bangar against West Indies at Mumbai (WS) in 2001-02. Sehwag thus became only the second Indian to feature in two double century opening wicket partnerships after Sunil Gavaskar.
· The wicket of Gambhir was the 350th for Shaun Pollock in his 86th Test. He became the first South African and 15th bowler in the world to reach this landmark.
· Sehwag scored eighth hundred of his career in only his 28th Test. Among the Indians only Sunil Gavaskar has scored more hundreds (9) after 28 Tests. However Gavaskar like Sehwag- had also scored eight hundreds after 46 innings.
· Sehwag, during his scintillating innings of 164, completed 1,000 runs in Test matches in the calendar year 2004. He became the first Indian and the seventh batsman after West Indies' Brian Lara (1,178), Chris Gayle (1,135) Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (1,130), Kumar Sangakkara (1,114), Australia's Damien Martyn (1,097) and West Indies' Ramnaresh Sarwan (1,005) to aggregate 1,000 runs this year.
· Sehwag also became the seventh Indian (on 13th occasion) to perform the feat of aggregating 1,000 Test runs in a calendar year. Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar have both done so four times apiece. Gavaskar also holds the record of highest run-aggregate in a calendar year.
· Sehwag reached his 150 with a six (from 149 to 155) off Robin Peterson. He became third Indian to do so after Nayan Mongia (v Australia at Delhi in 1996-97) and Sachin Tendulkar (also v Australia at Bangalore in 1997-98). It may be recalled here that during his record innings of 309 against Pakistan at Multan, Sehwag reached 100 and 300-run marks with sixes.
· Sehwag has now crossed 150 on four occasions. Only Sachin Tendulkar (14), Sunil Gavaskar (12), Rahul Dravid (8), Mohammad Azharuddin (7) and Dilip Vengsarkar (6) have more scores of 150-plus than Sehwag for India, VVS Laxman has also four such scores to his credit.
· Sehwag's innings is the second highest by an Indian against South Africa only behind Sachin Tendulkar's 169 at Johannesburg in 1996-97.
· The two sixes in India's first innings have taken Sehwag's career tally of sixes to 28 more than what Gavaskar aggregated in whole of his career of 125 Tests! Among the Indians now only Kapil Dev (61), Sourav Ganguly (41), Sachin Tendulkar (39) and Navjot Sidhu (38) have hit more sixes than Sehwag.
· Sehwag has now aggregated 2,080 runs in his career as an opener. Among the Indian openers only Sunil Gavaskar (9,607), Navjot Sidhu (2,911) and Pankaj Roy (2,220) managed to score beyond 2000 runs. However Sehwag's average of 54.73 is the highest among all the Indian openers who have aggregated more than 1,000 runs in their career. Gavaskar (50.30) comes second.
· Sehwag and Gambhir provided only the third instance in Indian Test cricket of an opener scoring a century and other becoming a victim of nervous ninety in the same innings. The first such instance was seen in Madras (now Chennai) Test against Pakistan where Kris Srikkanth scored 123 and Sunil Gavaskar made 91. At Colombo against Sri Lanka in 1993-94, Navjot Sidhu scored 104 and Manoj Prabhakar made 95.
· Incidentally Sehwag-Gambhir pair narrowly missed becoming only the fourth Indian opening pair to have recorded a century each in the same innings. The three Indian openers to have done so are Vijay Merchant (114) & Mushtaq Ali (112) against England at Manchester in 1936; Vinoo Mankad (231) & Pankaj Roy (173) against New Zealand at Madras (now Chennai) in 1955-56 and Sunil Gavaskar (172) & Krish Srikkanth (116) against Australia at Sydney in 1985-86.
· The 96-run fourth-wicket stand between Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly is India's best against South Africa in India, surpassing the 49 by the same pair at Mumbai (WS) in 1999-00.
- Statistical highlights, Day 1
- Statistical highlights, Day 2
- Statistical highlights, Day 3