More records come Tendulkar’s way

By IANS

Melbourne : There were more records coming Sachin Tendulkar’s way during the course of his attacking 62 on the second day of the first Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).


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It was his 85th score of 50 or over in Test cricket. With 37 centuries and 48 fifties, Tendulkar is second only to Allan Border, who has 90 scores of fifty-plus in Test cricket.

During the course of his 77-ball innings of 62, Tendulkar achieved a strike rate of 80.51, his best-ever 50-plus innings in terms of strike rate in Australia. It bettered his 114 off 161 balls at a strike rate of 70.81 at Perth in February 1992.

Also, Tendulkar became the first Indian batsman to amass 300 runs at MCG – 329 (ave.47.00) in seven innings and four Tests.

Tendulkar’s run-aggregate (1921) and fifty-plus scores (15 – 7 centuries and 8 fifties) are also records in India-Australia Tests.

Other statistical highlights of the second day were as follows:

** India’s 196 in the first innings is their lowest Test score in last nine Tests and since their 169 against South Africa at Cape Town in January this year.

** Australia’s 343 is their lowest completed innings total in 4 Tests in 2007, eclipsing the 393 against England at Sydney in January.

** Stuart Clark (4/28) produced his best bowling performance at home – his second best in Tests, next only to his 5 for 55 against South Africa at Cape Town in 2005/06.

** Brett Lee completed his 250 wickets – 251 at 30.38 runs apiece in 62 Tests. In the process, he has overtaken Richie Benaud’s tally of 248 wickets (ave 27.03) in 63 Tests.

** Lee is now the sixth in the all-time list of leading Australian wicket-takers. Shane Warne (708) tops the chart, followed by Glenn McGrath (563), Dennis Lillee (355), Craig McDermott (291), Jason Gillespie (259) and Lee (251).

** Adam Gilchrist, playing in his 93rd Test, with Zaheer Khan’s dismissal off Lee, took his tally of dismissals to 395 (358 catches + 37 dismissals), equalling an Australian record held in the name of Ian Healy – 395 dismissals (366 catches + 29 stumpings) in 119 Tests. Only South Africa’s Mark Boucher – 404 dismissals (385 catches + 19 stumpings) in 107 Tests, has recorded more dismissals than Gilchrist and Healy.

** With Yuvraj Singh’s catch, Gilchrist became the first wicketkeeper in India-Australia Tests to complete 50 catches. He has now 54 dismissals – 52 catches + 2 stumpings in 15 Tests.

** Zaheer Khan (4/94) has produced his second best performance against Australia, next only to his 5 for 95 at Brisbane in 2003-04. Overall, he has now captured 4 wickets in an innings against Australia 3 times. His only other instance of four-wicket haul against Australia is 4 for 95 at Nagpur in 2004-05.

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