By IANS
Chennai : The drawn first Test between India and South Africa produced 1498 runs, which is a record for the highest match aggregate between the two nations.
South Africa scored 540 and 331/5 while India made 627, surpassing the 1288 runs scored 1996-97 Cape Town Test (South Africa 529/7 declared and 256, India 359 and 144).
The other highlights of the match are:
# Virender Sehwag (319 + 1/37 and 1/55) became the second all-rounder to register a triple century and claim two wickets or more in a Test match. Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya was the first to achieve the distinction, posting 340 and capturing 3 for 45 against India at Colombo in 1997.
# Sehwag got his first man of the match award against South Africa – his fifth in Tests.
# The match aggregate is also a record at M.A.Chidambaram Stadium, eclipsing the 1488-32 wickets produced in the Tied Test between Australia and India.
# The match aggregate is the second best on Indian soil – the best being 1609-33 wickets between India and Pakistan in the 2007-08 Bangalore Test.
# During his innings of 19 off 40 balls, Jacques Kallils became the leading run-getter for South Africa against India – 736 (ave.56.61) in 9 Tests, surpassing Gary Kirsten’s aggregate of 720 at an average of 40.00 in 10 Tests.
# Neil McKenzie (94 + 155 not out) became the fifth South African batsman to register a century and a ninety in the same Test match.
# McKenzie’s 155 not out off 339 balls registered his first century against India – his fourth in Test Cricket.
# McKenzie has amassed 249 (94 + 155 not out) in the Test, which is now a new record for most runs in a Test match for South Africa vs. India, bettering Hashim Amla’s aggregate of 240 runs (159 + 81) in the Chennai Test.
# Amla (159 + 81), for the first time in his Test career, has hit a hundred and fifty in the same Test match.
# Harbhajan has claimed 8 wickets in a Test match for the first time in three years – the last occasion being in the 2005-06 Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka, bagging 10 wickets in a Test match.
# For the first time in a Test match, Harbhajan has conceded over 100 runs in both innings.