Last Updated on 7 years by Charbel Coorey
What a shame the first India v Sri Lanka Test was ruined by rain.
With any result possible mid-way through the fifth day, it was almost a disappointment to see that it was only a day 3 pitch, rather than a proper day 5 pitch. Still, it was such a thrilling finish; the kind of excitement that only Test cricket can provide. India came so close, with the light ultimately winning.
India would rue their middle-order mini-collapse, which held them back and didn’t allow Kohli to score as quickly as he would have liked in the earlier part of his innings. India then threw absolutely everything at Sri Lanka – Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were especially impressive with conventional and reverse swing ripping through the Lions’ top and middle order, but it wasn’t quite enough in the end.
There were some special individual performances in this Test, which help make up the stats highlights:
3rd best conversion rate in Test history (min. 2,000 runs)
Virat Kohli has crossed fifty 32 times in Test cricket. Amazingly, 18 of those have been hundreds.
This puts him third on the list of best 50/100 conversion rates in Test history, among players with at least 2,000 Test runs. He sits behind Don Bradman of Australia and George Headley of West Indies. What a great player Virat Kohli is – he gave India a chance of winning when they had a chance of losing the Test.
Equal most hundreds by an India captain
Virat Kohli’s brilliant second innings hundred also saw him equal the record for most hundreds by an India captain (11). He sits level with the great Sunil Gavaskar.
At the same time, Kohli reached 50 international hundreds, and is the joint fastest to the mark, alongside Hashim Amla (348 inns). An absolute star.
Batting each day of a Test match
Cheteshwar Pujara achieved a rare feat.
During this Test, he became the ninth player ever to bat at least one ball on each of the five days of a Test. His total of 74 (52 and 22) is the lowest for any player who batted each day of a Test.
1500+ runs and 400+ wickets double
Rangana Herath became the eighth player in Test history to achieve the double of 1500 runs and 400 wickets in Test cricket.
His 67 in the first innings helped give Sri Lanka a handy first innings lead, which in the end was vital in helping them save the Test. He is sure to play more of a role with the ball in the remaining two Tests.
Most wickets by seamers by India in a Test match at home
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami took 17 wickets between them in this Test. This is the most ever Indian seamers have taken in a Test in India.
Good form ahead of the South Africa tour.
Wicketless game for spinners
This is the first time in 262 home Tests that the Indian spinners went wicketless. All wickets were taken by the seamers, and were very close in delivering India an amazing victory. This means Ravi Ashwin stays on 292 Test wickets.
Ahead of the South Africa tour, India would be happy to see they aren’t relying on their spinners to help them win Test matches. Their seamers are bowling very well at the moment.
Best Match figures ever for Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues to impress, taking his best ever match figures of 8/96. This included 4/8 in the second innings. I can have no complaints that he won Man of the Match.
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All India needed was 10 more minutes. It is amazing how close Test cricket can be, and they proved that they are in a good state to go ahead and take this Test series by the scruff of the neck.
