By IANS
Chennai : India captain Anil Kumble extended his world record for most caught and bowled to 33 on the opening day of the first Test match against South Africa here Wednesday.
The India captain dismissed Ashwell Prince (23), which was his second wicket in the day. Kumble also picked up South African captain Graeme Smith (73) earlier in the day for his figures of two for 61.
The following are the other statistical highlights of the day:
For the second time, South Africa have posted a total of 300-plus on the first day of the Test in India. They had made 339 for two on the first day of the 1996-97 Calcutta Test.
Smith and Neil McKenzie registered South Africa’s second best stand (132) for the first wicket in India. In the 1996-97 Calcutta Test, Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson were associated in a stand of 236.
The aforesaid partnership is the second century stand in a row by Smith and McKenzie for the first wicket. In their previous innings at Chittagong against Bangladesh, the pair had created a history with their 415-run partnership.
McKenzie (94 off 156 balls) posted his highest score against India, bettering his 68 at Bloemfontein in 2001-02.
McKenzie’s 14th fifty in Test cricket is his second fifty against India.
McKenzie produced his third score in the 90s. – his previous two knocks being 99 against Australia at Cape Town in 2002 and 90 against England at Trent Bridge in 2003.
Graeme Smith (73 off 97 balls) recorded his third successive fifty-plus in Tests. In his previous two innings against Bangladesh, he had made 62 at Dhaka and 232 at Chittagong in February 2008.
Smith’s 21st fifty in Tests is his fifth against India.
Smith’s 73 is his highest innings in India, surpassing his 71 in his previous innings at Kolkata in 2004-05.
Smith’s innings is also the highest by a South African captain in India, bettering his 71 as above.
Smith has posted four successive fifties against India – 58 at Durban in December 2006; 94 & 55 at Cape Town in January 2007 and 73 at Chepauk.
Smith, during the course of his innings, became the first batsman to aggregate 600 runs in 2008 – 637 runs at an average of 91.00, including two centuries and three fifties in five Tests.
Smith’s batting average away from home is 55.52 (2776 in 29 Tests) while his average at home is 42.85 (2443 in 35 Tests).
Hashim Amla (85 not out) posted his second fifty against India – his seventh overall. His previous highest against India was 63 at Cape Town in 2006-07.