Photographs: Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images
If you have a question relating to cricket and did not know who to ask, bounce them off to Rajneesh Gupta. Each week he will pick questions readers send him and provide answers. Your queries should be addressed to: Ask Rajneesh on Facebook or askrajneesh@rediffmail.com
South Africa's Ryan McLaren recently won a one-day international against New Zealand by hitting a six off the last ball of the match. How often has this happened in One-day internationals? - Navneet Rajput
This was the sixth such instance in One-day internationals.
Pakistan's Javed Miandad was the first batsman to do so, when he hit Chetan Sharma for a six to give Pakistan a thrilling one-wicket win in the Australasia Cup final at Sharjah in April 1986.
The next such instance came after about 13 years. With South Africa needing four runs to win off the last ball, Lance Klusener hit New Zealand's Dion Nash for a six at Napier in March 1999 to give his side victory by two wickets.
Zimbabwe's Brendan Taylor provided the third such instance at Harare in August 2006.
In this third match of the series against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe needed 17 runs off the last over and it boiled down to five runs off the last ball. Mashrafe Mortaza sent down a full-toss and Taylor dispatched it over mid-wicket to give his side an improbable victory. Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the fourth batsman to accomplish the feat when he hit Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas for a six at Port-of-Spain in April 2008.
The West Indies, in fact, needed 10 runs off the last two balls. Chanderpaul hit a four off the penultimate delivery and then a six to seal the match.
Zimbabwe's Ed Rainsford was the last batsman (before McLaren) to do so. Against Ireland at Harare, in September 2010, he hit Kevin O'Brien to give his side victory by two wickets.
Three new grounds in India-England ODIs, a first time?
Photographs: BCCI
Three new grounds were used in the India-England ODI series -- Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala. Is this a record for a bilateral ODI series that was not the first series hosted by that country? - G Sharath
Using three new grounds for a mega event like the World Cup is no big deal, but for a bilateral series it's rather unusual. My initial thought was three new grounds in this India-England series should be a record for a bilateral series; but, as it turned out, it is nowhere near the actual record.
In 1983-84, the West Indies visited India and played a five-match ODI series. All five matches were played at new grounds: Srinagar, Baroda, Indore, Jamshedpur and Guwahati.
Before that, India had hosted Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series in 1982-83 and those matches were also played at three new grounds: Amritsar, New Delhi and Bangalore.
In 1984-85, when England visited India, three out of five matches were played at brand new venues in Pune, Nagpur and Chandigarh.
Kapil Dev was never dismissed run-out!
Photographs: Getty Images
Which player has never been run-out in his career? - Mir Gowhar
In Test cricket, India's Kapil Dev holds the record. In his entire career, during which he played 184 innings, Kapil was never dismissed run-out.
Pakistan's Mudassar Nazar (116), England's Paul Collingwood (115),Graeme Hick (114) and Peter May (106) are others who played more than 100 innings and never got run-out.
In one-day internationals, Kenya's Maurice Odumbe played 59 innings without getting run-out even once.
New Zealand's Glenn Turner is second with 40, followed by AA Obanda (38) and Carlton Baugh (35).
In Twenty20 Internationals, Pakistan Shoaib Malik has played 48 innings without getting dismissed in this manner. He is followed by England's Luke Wright (34), Sri Lanka's Sanath Jayasuriya (30), West Indies' Kieron Pollard (28) and West Indies' Darren Sammy (27).
Image: Kapil Dev in action during the 1987 World Cup semi-final against England at the Wankhede stadium.
Photograph: Adrian Murrell/Allsport
Most triumphs of premier domestic championship
Photographs: Bikash Mohapatra
I read somewhere that Mumbai won the Ranji Trophy 39 times. Is there any other side in the world that has won the domestic first-class championship more often? - Ruchir Agrawal
Mumbai's 40 titles are the second most for a domestic team.
New South Wales won the Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup (Australia's domestic first-class championship) a record 45 times.
However, New South Wales' 45 title wins came in 110 editions as against Mumbai's 39 wins in 78 editions of the Ranji Trophy.
So, percentage-wise Mumbai are ahead of New South Wales.
Wicket in first over, both in ODIs and T20s
Photographs: BCCI
I noticed that Bhuvneshwar Kumar took a wicket in his first over, both in One-day internationals and Twenty20 internationals debut games. Has any other Indian performed the similar feat? - GK Krishnan
Bhuvneshwar Kumar made his international debut in a Twenty20 against Pakistan at Bangalore in December 2012. Nasir Jamshed was his first wicket.
After sending down five out-swingers, Kumar brought one in that disturbed Jamshed's furniture.
Five days later, he made his ODI debut and took a wicket off his very first ball, when Mohammad Hafeez offered no shot to his in-swinger and lost his off-stump.
There have been a few players who have taken a wicket in their first over in One-day internationals or Twenty20 international for India, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the first and only one to do this in both formats of the game.
Fastest to score two centuries in ODIs
Photographs: Matt King/Getty Images
Australia's Phil Hughes has now scored twoODI centuries in his first five matches. Is he the fastest to score two centuries in ODIs? - Jermaine Thomas
Not really! Hughes is only the joint-fourth fastest in this list.
England's Nick Knight and Afghanistan's Mohammad Shahzad scored two centuries in their first three matches. England's Dennis Amiss had two centuries in his first four matches.
Ireland's William Porterfield, New Zealand's Rob Nicol and South Africa's Colin Ingram had two centuries in first five games like Phil Hughes.
Apart from WG & EM Grace, Hanif & Sadiq Mohammad, and the pair of Sidath & Mithra Wettimuny, has any other pair(s) of brothers ever opened the batting together in Test cricket? - Pradip Dhole
Apart from the pairs you mentioned, Peter Kirsten and Gary Kirsten also opened together for South Africa. However they are only half-brothers.
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