SPORTS

Statistical Highlights

By Rajneesh Gupta
March 20, 2005 18:07 IST

· Rahul Dravid's 135 followed his first innings 110, making him only the second Indian batsman to score a century in each innings of a Test against Pakistan after Sunil Gavaskar who had done so at Karachi in 1978-79.

· This was the second instance of two centuries in same Test for Dravid. He had also performed the similar feat against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1998-99.

· Dravid also became the ninth batsman in the Test cricket history to perform the feat of twin tons in the same Test on more than one occasion. India's Sunil Gavaskar remains the only one to have done so THRICE. Others to score a century in each innings of a Test twice in their career are: Australia's Allan Border, Greg Chappell and Matthew Hayden, West Indies' George Headley and Clyde Walcott,England's Herbert Sutcliffe and Sri Lanka's Aravinda de Silva. 

· The century in the second innings was 20th for Rahul Dravid in his 88th Test. He became fourth Indian after Sunil Gavaskar (34 centuries), Sachin Tendulkar (34) and Mohammad Azharuddin (22) and 27th batsman overall to have done so.

· Dravid has now aggregated 7,658 after 88 Tests. Dravid's run-aggregate is now the highest for any Indian batsman after exactly 88 Tests. The previous record was on the name of Sunil Gavaskar with 7585 runs.In fact in all Test cricket, only one batsman – West Indies' Gary Sobers had a run-aggregate higher than Dravid after 88 Tests. Sobers aggregate stood at 7,782.

· Dinesh Karthik (93) made his highest Test score, bettering his previous best of 46 against South Africa also at Eden Gardens last year.

· Karthik's innings is the highest by an Indian wicket-keeper against Pakistan putting into shade Parthiv Patel's 69 at Rawalpindi last year.

· Karthik's innings is the highest by an Indian wicket-keeper at Eden Gardens, bettering Farokh Engineer's 75 against England in 1972-73. Incidentally the previous highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper against Pakistan at this ground was a paltry 37 by Syed Kirmani in 1979-80.

· It was also the highest score by a number seven Indian batsman against Pakistan. The previous record was on the name of Roger Binny with an unbeaten 83 at Bangalore in 1983-84.

· Karthik became the second Indian wicket-keeper to be dismissed in the nervous nineties after Farokh Engineer who was dismissed for 90 against New Zealand at Corporation Stadium, Madras in 1964-65.

· India made identical score in both innings (407). This provided the third such instance for India and eighth overall in Test cricket. The other such instances for India came against Australia at Calcutta in 1956-57 (India made 136 in either innings) and at Sydney in 1980-81 (India made 201-9 in first innings and were all-out for 201 in the second).

· For the first time in Test cricket, India managed to score 400-plus runs in both innings of a Test. It was seventh such instance in all Test cricket.

· The highest total made in the fourth innings at the Eden Gardens is the 325 for 3 by India, chasing a target of 430 against the West Indies in 1948-49. The match was drawn. However the highest fourth innings winning total here is only 120 for 2 also by India against South Africa last year.

Rajneesh Gupta

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