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).
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.