Stats preview to the Test series between India and New Zealand

Bharath Seervi20-Sep-20161988 The last time New Zealand won a Test in India, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Since then, in 14 Tests, the hosts have won six and drawn eight. The last three Tests between the two teams in India were all won by the home team, while the five previous Tests were all drawn. New Zealand have won only two Tests in India in 31 attempts.3 Consecutive series without a defeat for New Zealand in Asia – all three were drawn. They drew against Sri Lanka in 2012-13, Bangladesh in 2013-14 and Pakistan in 2014-15. In seven matches played in those three series, they won two, lost two and drew three. Overall, though, New Zealand have lost eight out of ten series in India.9 Tests, out of the last 10 in India, that have produced decisive results – all nine have been won by India. They won four out of four against Australia in 2012-13, both the matches against West Indies in 2013-14 and three Tests against South Africa last season. The only draw during this period was the Bangalore Test against South Africa, which was badly affected by rain and had only 81 overs of play. Incidentally, four of the last five Tests in India were completed by the third day itself.6 Players from the New Zealand squad who have played Tests in India. Among them, Kane Williamson has had the best batting average (36.22). New Zealand will miss the services of Tim Southee, who was ruled out of the Test series with an ankle injury. Southee has taken 12 wickets from three Tests in India, at an average of 29.66.

81.08 Percentage of India’s wickets taken by spinners in ten Tests at home since the start of 2013: spinners have nabbed 150 out of 185 wickets taken by Indian bowlers during this period. R Ashwin has been the dominant bowler, taking nearly 50% of the spin wickets. He has taken 72, while Ravindra Jadeja has picked up 47. The specialist spinners in New Zealand’s squad – Ish Sodhi, Mitchell Santner and Mark Craig – have not played a Test in India.155 Williamson’s average against spinners in Tests since 2015 – the best among all batsmen who have faced 500-plus balls against spin. Ross Taylor comes next with average of 118 against slow bowlers in this period.

18 Wickets taken by Ashwin in the two-match series when New Zealand last toured India, in 2012. He took five-wicket hauls in three of the four innings of that series. His bowling average of 13.11 in Tests against them is his best against any team. Ashwin needs seven wickets in his next Test to become the second fastest to 200 wickets.85.20 Virat Kohli’s average against New Zealand – his best against any opposition. In seven innings against them, he has gone past 50 five times, including two centuries. When New Zealand toured in 2012, Kohli’s scores were 58, 103 and 51 not out.2009 The last time Kanpur hosted a Test match – India beat Sri Lanka by an innings and 144 runs in that game. India have won four of their last five Tests here, while one was drawn. In these five Tests, India’s spinners have accounted for 70% of the total wickets taken by the team’s bowlers. Indian spinners have taken 63 wickets at 23.80, but none of the spinners in the current squad have played a Test here.

Stats highlights from the third day’s play between India and New Zealand in Indore

Bharath Seervi10-Oct-20162 Bowlers who reached 20 five-wicket hauls in fewer Tests than Ashwin’s 39. Sydney Barnes had taken those many in 25 Tests and Clarrie Grimmett in 37 Tests. The previous quickest among India bowlers was Harbhajan Singh in 59 Tests.5 Five-wicket hauls for Ashwin against New Zealand – the most by any India bowler. Only one spinner has taken more than five such hauls against New Zealand – six by Derek Underwood. Ashwin has four six-wicket hauls.35 Ashwin’s strike rate against New Zealand – best by an India bowler against any opposition taking 25 or more wickets.8 Instances of New Zealand’s No. 4 and 5 both bagging ducks in a Test innings. Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi were the two batsmen to score 0 in this innings. New Zealand’s only other such instance since 2000 was in Brisbane in 2011-12.11.40 Taylor’s average in this series – the worst by any New Zealand No. 4 batsman in series of three or more Tests. His scores so far have been 0, 17, 36, 4 and 0. This is also the first series where he has got out for a duck twice. This was his sixth duck since 2015 – joint-most by any player batting in the top-seven positions.2013 Last instance of a century partnership by visiting openers in Tests in India prior to Martin Guptill and Tom Latham’s 118-run stand, by Ed Cowan and David Warner in Mohali. Since then, there had been just one fifty-plus stand in 18 innings for visitors.3 Number of times Ashwin has got Kane Williamson in this series, in three innings. He had got him only once in three innings before this series and only once in 12 innings in all international matches. In his 12 Test innings in India, Williamson has got out to spinners 10 times and twice to fast bowlers.241 Runs scored by James Neesham against India, in just three innings. He had made 33 and 137 not out on his Test debut in Wellington in 2013-14 before adding another 71 in the first innings of this match. Against other teams, he has accumulated only 442 runs in 15 innings at average of 29.46.2010 Last time an overseas opener scored three or more fifty-plus scores in a series of three or fewer Tests in India before Tom Latham in this series – Shane Watson. The only other opener to do so in the last 50 years was Matthew Hayden in 2001-02 series. Latham and Rohit Sharma are the only batsmen to score at least a fifty in each of the three matches of this series.

Stuart Broad withstood the pain from a foot injury to exemplify England’s spirit, but defeat is still the likely outcome in the second Test

George Dobell in Visakhapatnam19-Nov-20162:18

Compton: Stokes, Bairstow showed the fight England need

The Barmy Army trumpeter played The Great Escape theme several times on Saturday.Maybe it was optimistic or maybe he was simply trying to be encouraging. But when one of the supporters sitting near him pointed out that the vast majority of those who tunnelled out of Stalag Luft III in 1944 (the escape upon which the film was based) were recaptured and murdered by the Nazis, it did little to dampen spirits.That’s because most people understand that The Great Escape – as a film, at least – isn’t really about escaping. Or not entirely, anyway.It’s about spirit. It’s about a refusal to accept defeat. Even when it is seemingly inevitable.So maybe the theme was the perfect accompaniment to an absorbing day’s cricket when England gave their all and still finished facing almost certain defeat.There have been days – some of them really not so long ago – when an England side going into a day like this would have subsided with a whimper. Think of Sydney 2014 or Leeds 2009. Think of the 1990s. That band of spectators who watch every day – and no other country can replicate such travelling support – has had to put up with some dark days amid the good ones.Everything was against England here. They had conceded too large a first innings score and their top-order had failed to give them the start they required in reply. With the pitch deteriorating and several players struggling with injury or illness – Stuart Broad has a foot injury, Zafar Ansari vomited on the pitch on Friday and Jonny Bairstow rolled his ankle on his way to the crease on Saturday – they knew their chances of clawing their way back into the game were slim.But, to their immense credit, they did not buckle or bend. Instead, Ben Stokes and Bairstow stretched their overnight partnership beyond 100 and, in the process, provided a reminder of the technique and temperament England will need to demonstrate to prosper in these conditions.There were none of the indeterminate prods we saw the previous night from Alastair Cook or Ben Duckett. Instead, we saw both men use their crease and their feet. We saw them trust their defence but take the opportunity to attack. We saw them render a pitch that had appeared treacherous on the second evening look nothing more than tricky on the third morning.Stokes was especially impressive. His improvement against spin is so marked that he is suddenly looking the best player of slow bowling in the side. Such is his ability to come down the pitch or play back, that he confuses the bowler as to the length they should bowl and then punishes anything short or over-pitched.It is true that life seemed somewhat easier against the older ball. It is true that, just as it seemed the partnership was in danger of becoming dangerous, Bairstow was punished for playing across a straight one by a quick, full ball that may have reversed a little. And it is true that, without Chris Woakes, the tail – Adil Rashid apart – folded fast.But the stand between Stokes and Bairstow was just what England needed after a disappointing second day. It reminded them of the attitude, the fight and the technique they are going to have to show if they are going to get anything from this series. It reminded them how they should have played on the second day.Stuart Broad is deep in thought as England face an uphill challenge•Associated PressThat resilience was then replicated by the bowlers. Broad, despite limping heavily, produced an opening spell of 6-2-6-2 (he had figures of 4.1-4-0-2 at one stage) to put India under just a little bit of pressure, while James Anderson (who had figures of 6-1-5-1 at one stage) produced a peach of a ball to swing back through Cheteshwar Pujara’s defensive prod to leave them 40 for 3.It would have been perfectly understandable – perhaps even sensible – for Broad to sit in the dressing room with his feet up. A scan taken on Friday night had shown a strained tendon and joint in his right foot and, whatever advice the medics gave, running in and bowling as fast as he could was surely not among it.But, perhaps reasoning that he is out of the third Test already, he gave this spell everything. And, just for a few minutes, he hinted that he could replicate the sort of drama that we have seen at The Oval (2009), Durham (2013) or Jo’burg (2016). The Barmy Army’s songs increased in intensity (their song for him rhymes the words ‘Stuart Broad’ with ‘large pork sword’) and, in between urging them between deliveries to sing louder, Broad hit the pitch hard enough to gain the seam movement that accounted for both the first two wickets. Anderson, meanwhile, touched 90mph and reiterated the same message: we’re not giving up; we’re not losing belief.Maybe, had it not been for Kohli, England might have been able to creep back into the game. Increasingly, though, he is emerging as the key difference between the sides. Just as he prevented a tricky situation in Rajkot from becoming a crisis, so he prevented a wobble becoming a collapse here. Even when the ball kept low, he seemed to find it with the centre of his bat. His half-century has effectively shut the door on England in this game.His declaration will probably come around or just after lunch on day four. The lead is already 298 and is already probably enough. England will try to slow India’s progress but it is inevitable they will then be left with a minimum of five sessions of batting before them. It’s hard to see any result other than an India win. But cricket wouldn’t be half the game it is of it was predictable and if England are doomed, nobody has told them yet.Whatever happens, England’s attitude can have significance beyond this game.It should prove to them that they can prosper in these conditions. It should prove to them that Ravi Ashwin, for all his skill and control, can be combatted and that there is no place in this England dressing room for defeatism or excuses. Previous England teams (and not just England teams) may have bemoaned the conditions, the food, the climate and the loss of an important toss. This one will learn to deal with challenges or make way for players who will. This one, despite its flaws, has much to admire about it.Will there be a great escape? Probably not. But if we witness more spirit of the Great Escape this England team will receive no complaints from those watching.

Ishant Sharma’s effective use of the full delivery and Joe Root continuing with his Mumbai mindset were among Aakash Chopra’s insights from Chepauk

Aakash Chopra16-Dec-2016Black soil means slow turn
The pitch at Chepauk for this game is made of black soil and therefore it should be expected to get slower as the match progresses. The square at Chepauk has two different kinds of pitches – a couple with red soil and a few with black soil. The former is used whenever a rank turner is the requirement (mostly in Ranji games) and the latter for a typical Indian surface that turns but not viciously. The toss is important but not as important as it was at Wankhede – where England managed to squander that advantage.Importance of the full ball
The new SG ball rarely swings and there’s little lateral movement off the pitch in India. The only thing a fast bowler plays with is the marginal change of lines and length, and the early skepticism of openers. In the sixth over, Ishant Sharma bowled a full, wide ball luring Keaton Jennings into a big booming drive. Openers are so focused on balls pitching in the good-length area that, at times, they are caught unawares by the full ball. In any case, Jennings’ weight is on the back foot in the initial stages of his innings and is therefore always a little late on his shots.Root starts where he left off in Mumbai
Batting is a lot about the mind space that you’re in and Joe Root has shown how it dictates your response. Root wasn’t a happy sweeper in the early part of this Test series, definitely not in the early part of the innings but it changed in the second innings of the fourth Test. The pitch at Wankhede forced Root to sweep right from the beginning, for that was the only way to survive on a wilting pitch. In Chepauk, he picked up where left off in Mumbai, sweeping Ravindra Jadeja and Amit Mishra fairly early in his innings. It must be said that the first-day pitch at Chepauk isn’t half as alarming, although, in the end, Root was dismissed sweeping at Jadeja.Ashwin’s drift and dip
The first ball of the 27th over, bowled by Ravichandran Ashwin, drifted away in the air and went straight on with the arm, to which Root defended on the front foot. The following ball drifted in to which Root stepped out, only to see it dipping a foot shorter. These two deliveries showcased the deception Ashwin creates in the air.Tough call
The idea of staying with the umpire’s call on DRS is to discourage players from marginal reviews and to maintain the sanctity of the on-field umpire. To an extent, it’s also an acknowledgment of technology not being 100% accurate. While this does make sense, one wonders why the team should be penalised for it. Mishra appealed for a leg-before against Moeen Ali and, while the ball hit the pads in front of the wicket, Hawk-Eye’s projection showed that it would have just clipped leg stump instead of hitting it fully. Now, that can’t be considered a bad review and therefore it is a little unfair to penalise India for it, as losing a review might mean an umpiring howler later in the innings going uncorrected.Bairstow’s driving lesson
Jonny Bairstow played an English shot on an Indian pitch. He tried to drive one on the up and hit it straight to the fielder placed for the catch in the covers. If you want to play along the ground off the front foot, you must get to the pitch of the ball, because every now and then it will either stop or turn more than expected. Moeen played in an almost identical manner but fortunately none of his shots went close to the India fielders.Seam bowlers’ beehive to Moeen Ali•ESPNcricinfo Ltd(Lack of) bouncers to Moeen
Ishant dimissed Moeen with a bouncer at Lord’s in 2014. Mohammed Shami dismissed Moeen with a bouncer in Mohali two weeks ago. Considering these facts you are almost sure that there will be bouncers the moment he walks out to bat. Therefore it was surprising to see so few bowled to him on the first day of the Chennai Test.

The duel between Adil Rashid and M Vijay was set up to be a tantalising one – but one blow for six tipped things India’s way

Sidharth Monga in Mumbai09-Dec-20162:12

Ganguly: Have always believed in Vijay

M Vijay has an idiosyncratic rhythm to his batting. The closest parallel is Misbah-ul-Haq. They both block, block, block, leave, leave, leave with intense concentration, then suddenly, for no rhyme or reason apparent to outsiders, loft a spinner to find release. This was evident in how Vijay hit four sixes during his hundred in Rajkot, even though his strike rate was under 42. Only two India openers have hit more sixes than M Vijay’s 28: Virender Sehwag and Navjot Sidhu. Twenty-seven of Vijay’s 28 sixes have been hit off spinners, and mostly to find himself release after intense concentration doing a rare job in Test cricket today, that of a defensive batsman.Vijay’s 27th six, though, was not as out of the blue as most of his other hits over the fence. You could sense there was a plan to what Vijay was doing. This was part of a fascinating spell of play in the Mumbai Test. This was finally a pitch that turned early, and turned fast, a pitch where the odd one with a batsman’s name on it was sure to arrive. England recognised that. They were certainly not coy about introducing spin: Moeen Ali came on in the eighth over, Adil Rashid in the ninth. They had 400 on the board, and were now going to test India.The way KL Rahul and Vijay started against spin, you knew they were going to take early risks to unsettle them. This was the first Test of the series that England were playing with just two spinners. India knew if they could hit even one of them out of his rhythm or out of the attack they would make big strides towards cancelling the disadvantage of losing the toss on this pitch. Vijay charged out at the second ball he faced from Moeen, Rahul went over mid-off to welcome Rashid. Surely these runs shouldn’t rattle you when you have 400 in the bank?They didn’t. England and their spinners stuck to their guns. This was a strategy fraught with risk, but India didn’t mind it. Even if it meant Rahul was bowled through the gate when driving Moeen against the turn. It didn’t stop Vijay from taking uncharacteristic risks against spin.Two balls after Rahul had been bowled, Vijay tried to hit Rashid over mid-off. The ball was full, but there was a puff of dust, and the miscue barely cleared the fielder running back. This was Rashid’s fourth over, and he had settled into a rhythm now. The ball was drifting, and there was turn. He beat Vijay with one that ripped across him in the same over. The pace was right, and the batsman was edgy. This was a high-strung spell of play. A pull here or there, and it could break. On the surface, the batsman had so much more to lose – but did England have enough confidence in their spinners?Rashid came back for his fifth over with Vijay on 18 off 50. Cheteshwar Pujara had just come in to bat. Vijay again tried to unsettle Rashid. It was clear Vijay was now playing on length. He certainly didn’t want to fall to a ball with his name on it. Anything in his driving arc was going to go. The second ball of this over was full. Mid-off was slightly deeper than mid-on. Vijay went. Mishit again. Alastair Cook ran back from mid-on, but was lobbed.M Vijay freed his arms up to hit over the top against spin•AFPHow would Cook react? Would mid-on go back? The mid-on stayed. The temptation was not taken away. Perhaps this was the result of 400 runs on the board. In Rajkot, Rashid had taken Vijay with a wrong’un. Through the series, Vijay and Ajinkya Rahane had been playing the wrong’un off the pitch. Even here, Rashid tried the googly first up, and Vijay again read it off the pitch. With the fourth ball of this over, Rashid tried the wrong’un. This was also full.This was a big moment. Vijay seemed to have sorted that weakness out or perhaps he just swung hard because it was full and went over mid-on because that fielder was closer. Whatever might have happened, this ball went for a flat six into the sight screen. The gauntlet had been thrown. The leading wicket-taker of the series before the start of this match had just been hit away emphatically, albeit after a few overs of uncertain batting. The tea break was 20 minutes away, Rashid’s figures read 5-0-24-0 but six off them were off edges. The last two overs had gone for 12. Vijay had scored 13 off 20 Rashid deliveries, and had possibly started picking the wrong’un.India were still 345 behind. The pitch had plenty in it. Cook’s response was going to be fascinating. There were two options. One, give Rashid more bowling, at least until tea, and see if he can make the progression from mishits to a wicket. The other option was more orthodox, and more Cook-like: ask the quicks to hold one end up in four-over spells, and attack with spin from the other end.Cook did what Cook does. As a spectator you felt cheated at being denied an extended contest between a spinner who had just started to find himself and an opening batsman coming back from a mid-series slump. Most of cricket, though, is played not for spectators but to win. Cook felt this was the way to victory. He is fixated with control, and he possibly felt Rashid – 5-0-24-0, remember? – could lose him that control. Off went Rashid and for close to two hours after that England operated with pace at one end.By the end of the day, England had endured the first wicketless session in a Test being played on a turner. England are not yet out it – they are still 254 ahead and there can be collapses on this pitch – but you could see from Parthiv Patel’s interview at the end of the day that India were now feeling confident. Rashid never found that rhythm again, especially with a change of ends. Jos Buttler said they didn’t look back at that bowling change with regret, and that they backed the captain’s decision. If England squander this golden opportunity to make a comeback into the series, they will possibly look at those 20 minutes before tea differently.

Kevin Pietersen and Pawan Negi were among the high profile players released by the IPL franchises during the transfer window that ended on December 15

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Dec-2016Players released 11 (six overseas)Players retained 16 (five overseas)Purse spent INR 469,000,000Purse remaining INR 191,000,000At a glance Rising Pune Supergaints released the most players among all the IPL franchises ahead of the 2017 auction after finishing second from bottom last season. They offloaded a lot of their seamers and overseas players and will need to replenish those stocks. Kevin Pietersen, their most high-profile player to get the axe, had played only four games in the 2016 season before he was ruled out with an injury.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 8 (one overseas)Players retained 16 (six overseas)Purse spent INR 516,500, 000Purse remaining INR 143,500,000At a glance Dale Steyn suffered a shoulder injury during South Africa’s tour of Australia in November and was cut from the Gujarat squad; he played only one game for them last season. Gujarat retained the core of their squad -and most of their overseas players – after finishing top of the league stage in 2016. They released seven Indian players though, so their local contingent will need beefing up.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 4 (three overseas)Players retained 19 (five overseas)Purse spent INR 426,500,000Purse remaining INR 233,500,000At a glance Despite winning only four out of 14 games and finishing bottom of the league in 2016, Kings XI released only four players – the fewest among all the teams – and retained 19. David Miller was still listed as their top contract – INR 125,000,000 – despite making 161 runs in 13 innings last season. So unless they make significant purchases in the 2017 auction, the largely same squad will be charged with the task of a better finish.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 9 (six overseas)Players retained 14 (four overseas)Purse spent INR 462,500,000Purse remaining INR 197,500,000At a glance Kolkata Knight Riders released six out of the ten overseas players in their squad and will need reinforcements. Chris Lynn was retained despite playing only two games last season, while Morne Morkel was let go despite being picked for ten. Morkel has had injury trouble for a while and is presently out of action for South Africa. KKR have released a lot of overseas seamers and might look to make a purchase to fill that gap.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 8 (four overseas)Players retained 20 (six overseas)Purse spent INR 544,450,000Purse remaining INR 115,550,000At a glance Mumbai – and RCB – retained the most players ahead of the 2017 player auction despite finishing outside the top four in IPL 2016 for the first time since the 2009 season. They cut two big hitters from New Zealand: Corey Anderson did not play a game for them last season because of fitness issues, while Martin Guptill had been brought in as a replacement player.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 7 (three overseas)Players retained 18 (five overseas)Purse spent INR 445,000,000Purse remaining INR 215,000,000At a glance At the 2016 player auction Delhi Daredevils had bought Pawan Negi, who was uncapped for India at the time, for INR 85,000,000; he was the most expensive Indian player. Negi has been released ahead of the 2017 auction, having made only 57 runs and taken one wicket in eight matches last season. Delhi have otherwise retained the bulk of their young squad that finished sixth in 2016 under the mentoring of former India captain Rahul Dravid.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 10 (three overseas)Players retained 20 (eight overseas)Purse spent INR 531,750,000Purse remaining INR 128,250,000At a glance RCB released 10 players ahead of the 2017 auction, but they still have 20 on their roster. The core remains the same, and of the players released only Varun Aaron was a regular in their XI in the 2016 season, when they lost the final to Sunrisers Hyderabad.ESPNcricinfo LtdPlayers released 6 (two overseas)Players retained 17 (five overseas)Purse spent INR 451,000,000Purse remaining INR 209,000,000At a glance Sunrisers Hyderabad won the IPL in 2016 and the core of their squad remained unchanged for 2017. They released Eoin Morgan – 123 runs at a strike rate of 117 – and Trent Boult, who played only one game last season.

How many players have scored centuries in their 99th and 101st Tests?

Steven Lynch17-Jan-2017Hashim Amla joined the club of players who scored a century in their 100th Test match. How many have scored centuries in their 99th and/or 101st Test? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa
Hashim Amla’s 134 against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg last week made him the eighth batsman to score a century in his 100th Test, after Ricky Ponting (who made two in 2005-06), Colin Cowdrey (1968), Gordon Greenidge and Javed Miandad (both 1989-90), Alec Stewart (2000), Inzamam-ul-Haq (2004-05) and Graeme Smith (2012). Ponting had also scored a century in his 99th Test, while Inzamam added one in his 101st. Brian Lara (2003-04) and Mahela Jayawardene (2008-09) both scored hundreds in their 99th and 101st Test matches. Eight others reached three figures in their 99th Test: Sunil Gavaskar (1983-84), Mohammad Azharuddin (in what turned out to be his last match, in 1999-2000), Sachin Tendulkar (2002), Gary Kirsten (2003-04), Sourav Ganguly (2007-08), VVS Laxman (2008-09), Virender Sehwag (2012-13) and Michael Clarke (2013-14). Ganguly, who made 239, Gavaskar, Lara and Laxman all reached 200. Apart from Inzamam, Jayawardene and Lara, six others made centuries in their 101st Test: Viv Richards (1988-89), Stephen Fleming (who scored 262 in 2004-05), Justin Langer (2006-07), Kumar Sangakkara (2011-12), Younis Khan (2015) and Brendon McCullum (2015-16).Is it right that Virat Kohli now has more hundreds in successful run-chases even than Sachin Tendulkar? asked Praful Patel from India
Virat Kohli’s 122 in that exciting match against England in Pune on Sunday was his 15th century in 63 successful chases – one more than Sachin Tendulkar managed in more than twice as many matches (127). Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar all scored nine hundreds in successful chases, while Chris Gayle, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting made eight. Sunday’s century was Kohli’s 17th in ODIs while batting second, equaling Tendulkar’s record. Dilshan and Gayle made 11, and Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar ten.Bangladesh’s 595 in Wellington was their second-highest Test total•Getty ImagesShakib Al Hasan’s 217 against New Zealand meant he has scored a double-century and taken seven wickets in an innings in Tests. How many people have managed this? asked Azam Hossain from Bangladesh
Some nifty work from ardent Facebooker Michael Jones saved me the trouble of looking this up: Shakib’s 217 in Wellington the other day, which followed his 7 for 36 against New Zealand in Chittagong in 2008-09, made his only the ninth player to have managed a double-century and a seven-for in Tests. The others are the Australians Allan Border and Jason Gillespie, Ian Botham of England, India’s Vinoo Mankad, Wasim Akram of Pakistan, the South African Aubrey Faulkner, and the West Indian pair of Denis Atkinson and Frank Worrell. Mankad actually managed two centuries and two eight-fors, while Botham had one double to go with two eight-fors.Clarrie Grimmett took 11 wickets in his first Test and 13 in his last. Has anyone done better than this? asked John Hackett from New Zealand
The Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett marked his Test debut, aged 33 in 1924-25, with 5 for 45 and 6 for 37 against England in the final Test of the 1924-25 Ashes, and signed off with 7 for 100 and 6 for 73 v South Africa in Durban in 1935-36, when he was 44. The only other man to take ten wickets in his first and last Tests was England’s Tom Richardson, who started with 5 for 49 and 5 for 107 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1893, and finished with 8 for 94 and 2 for 110 in Sydney in 1897-98. The only man to take more wickets than Grimmett in his last Test was England’s Sydney Barnes, with 14 for 144 – 7 for 56 and 7 for 88 – against South Africa in Durban in 1913-14.England fast bowler Tom Richardson is one of only two bowlers to take ten wickets in his first and last Tests•Getty ImagesWas Bangladesh’s 595 at the Basin their highest Test total? asked Brett Carter from New Zealand
Bangladesh’s 595 for 8 declared in the first innings in Wellington at the weekend was actually their second-highest total in Tests – they made 638 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2012-13. Mushfiqur Rahim made 200 in that one, Bangladesh’s first double-century. Tamim Iqbal improved on that with 206 against Pakistan in Khulna in April 2015, but Shakib Al Hasan’s 217 in Wellington now tops the list. Bangladesh’s highest total at home is 556, against West Indies in Mirpur in 2012-13, although they came within one of that in Khulna when Tamim made his double-hundred. New Zealand’s 539 was their third total of 500 or more against Bangladesh (their record remains 553 for 7 declared in Hamilton in 2009-10), and their third-highest in Wellington after 680 for 8 declared against India in 2013-14 (when Brendon McCullum hit 302), and 671 for 4 v Sri Lanka in 1990-91 (when Martin Crowe made 299).Who was the last man born in England to score a Test century for Australia? asked Jarrod Harte from Australia
This question was obviously inspired by Yorkshire-born Matt Renshaw, who piled up 184 for Australia against Pakistan in Sydney early in January. He’s only the fourth English-born batsman to score a century for Australia, but it’s not very long since the last one – Andrew Symonds, who was born in Birmingham, made two Test tons to go with six in one-day internationals. The other two, though, were from way back: Charles Bannerman, who scored an undefeated 165 in the very first Test of all, in Melbourne in 1876-77, and Percy McDonnell, who made three Test hundreds against England in the 1880s, were both born in London. Archie Jackson, who stroked a brilliant 164 on debut against England in Adelaide in 1928-29, was born in Rutherglen in Scotland, while Tom Horan, who scored 124 against England in Melbourne in 1881-82, was born in County Cork in Ireland. The only other overseas-born batsman to score a Test century for Australia is Kepler Wessels (born in Bloemfontein in South Africa) who made four, including 162 on debut against England in Brisbane in 1982-83.Post your questions in the comments below

When the high-profile PSL final gets underway on Sunday, among the thousands at the ground will be Meher Muhammad Khalil, the courageous bus driver who drove the Sri Lanka team to safety during the terror attack of 2009

Imran Ahmad Khan05-Mar-2017Eight years and two days after he drove a bullet-ridden bus to Gaddafi Stadium, Meher Muhammad Khalil will be at the ground to watch the historic Pakistan Super League final. “I jumped out of my bed when I got a call from the Pakistan Cricket Board [inviting him to the game],” says Khalil, sharing his excitement. “Every year in March, there is a strange sense of despair that grips me but this time around, I hope the smiles don’t go away.”Sri Lanka’s Test tour of Pakistan in 2009 was the first time Khalil was given duties as a team bus driver for the PCB. There had been a one-off stint with the Pakistan Football Federation for a bilateral match but this, he says, was the first “proper experience”.”Just a day before the attack, I drove the players to a shopping mall and Kumar Sangakkara talked to me on the bus,” recalls Khalil. “He asked me if they were safe in Pakistan. I told him if, God forbid, anything happens to them then I would stand in the way and give my life for them.” Little did Khalil know that a near-death experience was only a few hours – and a few seconds by distance – away.On March 3, 2009, Khalil’s bus exited the Pearl Continental Hotel in Lahore and took the same route that had been used for the first two days of the second Test. The journey to the stadium normally took around seven minutes, as all the roads were closed to general traffic. Soon after they crossed the shopping mall, where Sangakkara and Khalil had that brief conversation the previous day, terror struck.”First I thought these were firecrackers,” says Khalil. The initial firing was aimed at the two police vehicles and the umpires’ van tailing the team bus. The sound became louder and the frequency was too high for it to be firecrackers. “There was firing from everywhere,” says Khalil, recalling that he froze for a few seconds as the security vehicles in front of the bus also came under attack. “Their initial aim was to hit the drivers of all these vehicles and stop us from moving. “In the chaos that ensued, Sri Lanka’s cricketers and coaches got off their seats and lay close to the floor of the bus. Shouts of “Go Go Go!” from someone in the bus spurred him on to press down on the accelerator. In between, a grenade had passed through from under the bus and a rocket-launcher strike had missed the bus. According to Khalil, the rocket only missed the bus because he had to turn it slightly to cross the main roundabout at Liberty Market. “Those two minutes are how wars must feel like,” he says.

“I don’t play cricket but God helped me do something that the cricketing world remembers me for now.”

He drove straight through and covered the remaining one-kilometer distance without looking back. English does not come naturally to Khalil and he recalls that his first words to the players and coaches were in Urdu. Soon after he parked the bus inside Gaddafi Stadium, he stood at the door, gestured with his hands and shouted “Jaldi karein!”[Urdu for “Hurry up!”]The players were surprisingly calm, Khalil recalls. As he shouted for ambulances and officials rushed to the scene, injuries started becoming apparent. Thilan Samaraweera, who had scored the second double-century of his Test career the day before, got a bullet to his thigh. Tharanga Paranavitana, Kumar Sangakkara, Thilan Thushara and Ajantha Mendis had shrapnel injuries. “There were 58 bullet holes on the bus,” Khalil says. One of those, as shown in pictures from that day, seems to have been just a couple of feet above where the bus driver’s head would normally be. “I just thank God none of us died.”Khalil was asked to park the bus in the hockey stadium across the street where he notified officials that personal items of players such as phones and chains were still in the bus. He was then taken to a police station for questioning. “Initially, the agencies took me as a suspect.”He recalls that some Pakistan cricketers – including Misbah-ul-Haq – came to get him from the station and then took him to meet the Sri Lankan players. This happened, according to Khalil, because both Sangakkara and Muttiah Muralitharan had asked to see him. “They kept thanking me for saving their lives,” says Khalil. “I was told by those around me that they even wanted me to go to Sri Lanka with them but I declined.”In the days that followed, Khalil was elevated to the status of a national hero. His presence of mind in the midst of all the chaos was credited for getting the team out of the situation just in time. TV appearances, cash rewards and a special state guest invitation from the Sri Lankan president came next. In a special ceremony organised by Sri Lanka Cricket a month after the attack, Khalil met with the players and their families. Sangakkara and Jayawardene also paid glowing tributes.Mahela Jayawardene with Meher Muhammad Khalil at a special ceremony organised by SLC. Khalil was felicitated by the board and met the players and their families•AFP”Unforgettable!” says Khalil, about his experience of visiting Colombo. “Don’t you think it’s strange that I was driving the team with security protocol a month ago and now, in Sri Lanka, I was the one being driven around with protocol?”In Pakistan, Khalil got cash rewards from various state officials. He complains today that funds promised by then Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani never made their way to him. The country’s president also gave him a civilian award for bravery. “Friends and family members who hardly ever met me now started calling me their best friend!” laughs Khalil.Having worked as a driver with little to no savings, Khalil now found himself with enough money to start a business. He moved to Morocco and then South Africa in 2010 but returned to Pakistan in 2012, after a couple of false starts.It was in Centurion where he met Jayawardene and Sangakkara at a hotel while they were touring. “I left a message at the hotel reception and then got a call from Jayawardene,” says Khalil. “I drove five hours with my friends to meet them and they were nice enough to give us tickets to watch them play.”He has not been in touch with any of the players apart from this one encounter. While he says he did not stay in touch with Sri Lankan cricketers because of distance, he was unable to meet Pakistan players because of their busy schedules and lack of access. “Our players are hard to get hold of,” he says.Khalil has been working as a bus driver in Lahore since his return from South Africa in 2012. Eight years after that dreadful day, he is not entirely satisfied with how things panned out.”I don’t care about the TV appearances and the money but people who called me a hero back then have forgotten me now,” he complains. He says the least the PCB could have done for him was to give him a job for his actions that day.A father of five, Khalil takes pride in his children sharing the tale of his heroic act with their friends. He says he is sure of where he stands in terms of what he did for the country. “I don’t play cricket but God helped me do something that the cricketing world remembers me for now.”

Australia had come to India well-prepared, and had competed for three-and-a-half Tests, but the middle session of the third day disrupted all their diligence

Jarrod Kimber in Dharamsala27-Mar-20176:29

Manjrekar: Warner’s defence not as strong in India

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is running in with the Himalayas behind him. The scores are pretty much even. The series is level. David Warner is prowling around the crease like a heavyweight hoping he looks tough enough; his third-innings hundreds practically tattooed to his face. Matt Renshaw is facing up. He looks like a work experience kid at a law firm that has just found out he has to try a case.We are three and a half Tests in, with two innings to play. No one is in front, anyone can win this series. Test cricket is screaming naked into the full moon; it doesn’t get better than this.Bhuvneshwar runs through the crease twice as Renshaw handles the first two balls. All is okay with the world.Then the third ball. Oh, the third ball, it starts then. Whatever is about to happen, it is going be big, exciting. The world is going to shake. This series, wow, this series.

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India don’t know what to do. Umesh Yadav looks fired up, but India have a deep backward point and a few catchers. They are going to go hard at Warner, and he is going to be Warner as much as he can. Umesh steams in and drops short. Warner launches like it’s the last ball he’ll ever see. Forget the deep backward point, forget the slips, forget gully, forget everything, this is his ball and he tries to destroy it. He wants to knock the lacquer, the shine and most of the leather off. And no one bothers moving when he hits the ball. Death by Warner.When Renshaw gets on strike, he plays the role of extra as Umesh curves one in that springs away. It isn’t a play and miss; it is a miss. Then Wriddhiman Saha flies; he gets himself as high as someone his size has ever been, just to pluck a ball by Umesh that is flying towards the snow-capped mountains. Warner is snorting, Saha is flying, Umesh is snarling, Test cricket is gnashing its fangs.Bhuvneshwar gets in on it. Forget the gentle-paced length balls clustered in well-meaning areas. He’s up and at Warner with a short ball that bangs into Warner’s heart like a surprise fist. Warner steps back in shock, looking back at Bhuvneshwar suspiciously while he gets his breath. When he finally faces the next ball, Bhuvneshwar brings out his real weapons and has him edging to third slip. Karun Nair drops Warner like the first innings. Bhuvneshwar bounces Renshaw to follow up because he can’t bounce Nair or Warner.But that drop gets Warner on strike at the other end, and Umesh follows up Bhuvneshwar’s double punch with a final blow.This is on. Something right here, right now, is going to happen. This is going to be one of those days. You knew it at the start: when it looked like Australia were going to get a wicket first ball, when Ravindra Jadeja slapped balls into the crowd, when the Australians barked at him as he slapped some more. It was going to be one of those days.

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Steven Smith looks made of pure runs. While around him, there is something apocalyptic about to happen. Smith takes his first ball off his hip like nothing has happened; like this is a Sunday church game, like nothing matters. It’s just a ball.With the Himalayas in the background, it was Steven Smith who looked unconquerable, until he was•Associated PressAt the other end, Renshaw seems to be visualising his next play and miss. Smith continues to score easily. He walks across his stumps, he plays across the line, he is in his own world filled with Charlie Parker music and butterflies. At the other end, Renshaw hears nothing but screams and smells sulphur as he plays and misses. Smith plays a ball from outside off stump down into the leg side for two. It seemed like a throwdown, followed by Smith jogging two runs because the coach asked him to. Renshaw edges short of slip as pitchforks are sharpened.Out of the 36 balls bowled, ten of them have not been well controlled, according to . Smith has faced 11 of them and has been in charge of all of them. Test cricket is raining down hellfire on Renshaw, and Smith is walking in a beautiful meadow at dusk with a loved one.In the first innings, Smith had been attacked from every side. India had essentially started bowling down cricket strategy manuals at him hoping something would get him out. The longer India bowled to him, the worse they got.Bhuvneshwar goes short at Smith’s body. Smith bunts it away. There are two men out on the boundary, but Smith ignores their existence as he finds the gap he wants. Then Bhuvneshwar tries wide. There is a deep point, and Smith drives past him like there is no need for him being on the field.It isn’t just the deep point, it’s all of them. They are crash test dummies perpetually driving into the unorthodox wall of Smith. You can’t bowl wide, or in the channel, or at the stumps, short is no good either, full gets smashed, spin doesn’t work, and seam just goes. Their biggest success against him was when he missed kicking a ball.In reality, Australia are now just one run behind. In Smith’s world, that’s barely relevant.There is no reason to continue bowling to Smith. It’s like the pointlessness of the everyday life. Waking up, brushing your teeth, going to the toilet, having a shower, getting dressed, forcing down breakfast, braving the rush hour, and working. But we keep doing it, and so did Bhuvneshwar. He ran through that damn crease and won the damn lottery. Smith played on. Smith is out. Smith will not bat again this series.

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What is going on? Glenn Maxwell is supposed to be skipping around the pitch wearing a giant chicken costume, while swinging his bat at imaginary balls bowled by 300-year-old vampiric werewolves.Instead, he’s playing effortless back-foot cover drives like a picture from a 1990s cricket magazine. In the middle of the carnage, he’s the normal one. Seven minutes ago, or weeks, or months, or pretty recently, Darren Lehmann was slagging him off in the press. Now he’s the chosen one, the golden hope, the phoenix who must rise, the man who can win the whole damn thing.Maxwell wasn’t even really part of their first plans. He was hidden behind the non-performing unit, Mitchell Marsh. And this was a series that Australia had planned like hell for.Who would have thought the fate of the series would lay on Glenn Maxwell?•Associated PressSteve O’Keefe talked to every subcontinent spin expert he could find and then skipped the Big Bash League. Australia left a skeleton team to play a T20 international. They went to the UAE and scuffed up the pitches. They brought in S Sriram as an Indian pitch sage. Their bowlers were going to bowl dry and rough the ball up early for reverse swing. Their batsmen were going to play inside the line and back in the crease. All of the things they planned won them the Test in Pune. In Bengaluru, it wasn’t like that. It was a street brawl, and although they almost threw as many punches, it was India left standing. And in Ranchi, they stayed with India until their bowlers were buggered. Then their batsmen somehow survived.So after all the planning, winning, fighting and surviving, their fate is in the hands of Maxwell. #Maxwellball, the Big Show, the Indian millionaire. Shane Warne on Twitter is already suggesting that R Ashwin will be destroyed by Maxwell and that India is hiding him from Australia’s drunken samurai warrior.After the effortless cover pushes, Ajinkya Rahane tries Kuldeep Yadav, the man who bowled a wrong’un to Maxwell in the first innings. Maxwell probably didn’t even pick it when he looked at the replay. It is evident what Maxwell will do because everyone knows how he bats. The same way Virender Sehwag tries to hit reverse-swinging balls into rivers and Kevin Pietersen tries to hit spinners into the wind for six. It’s called game theory when academics talk about it. It’s kill or be killed in the change rooms. It’s either Maxwell or Kuldeep, not both.When Kuldeep overpitches, it doesn’t matter that it is around leg and middle stump, or a wrong’un. Maxwell just drives the thing through covers. If that looked smart and organised, the next one looks like someone punching with a hand wrapped in broken glass. It’s a filthy bloody hit, hoicked from outside off, with no thought for aesthetics or care for technique. It goes. The next over, there will be a short ball as Kuldeep thinks Maxwell is coming for him. Maxwell cuts it away. Now Rahane has four men out and Kuldeep is on the boundary asking coach Anil Kumble for help. When Kuldeep finally lands a wrong’un, Maxwell survives it.Kuldeep is off. Maxwell is too.It didn’t matter that Renshaw came and went in a haze of predictability. That Peter Handscomb was caught by a stunner at slip. Or that Shaun Marsh’s entry was delayed, and his exit hastened. Maxwell could do anything. Maxwell had given Australia the lead, punched the quicks away, destroyed Kuldeep, and delayed Ashwin. He was living dangerously at times, but he was the danger. To himself, his team and the opposition.This is the day, the time, the man. At the end of the biggest season, in the biggest series, the biggest Test and there is Big Show, right in the middle of all of it. Maxwell would do something. If we knew anything, we knew that.Then Maxwell didn’t. Depending on how you view things, he either didn’t play a shot at all, or half did and then sort of stopped. The man with all the shots ever invented played none.Before this match, tweeted: “The lowest left ball %age of any player in this match is, unsurprisingly, Glenn Maxwell who has left just 2.9% of the balls he has faced”. In this series, Maxwell left 10% of the balls he faced. This was Australia’s series where they had thought about everything and tweaked their natural game until it worked in the one place their normal ways don’t. And now when they needed their most natural man to be at his most unchained, he is caught between game plans. Australia’s fight ended.Australia had planned, won, fought, survived, adapted, worked, and Maxwelled. It wasn’t enough. Australia almost climbed cricket’s highest mountain and then they either left their chance or they kind of half took it and then sort of stopped. This series of Test cricket, wow.

It’s the first final in an ICC ODI tournament between India and Pakistan. How well do you know the players from both squads? Try this quiz

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2017