Partnerships and byes galore

Stats highlights from the second day of The Oval Test

10-Aug-2007

The second day of The Oval Test had plenty of statistical highlights. Here are some of the main ones:

Anil Kumble had to wait 151 innings to finally get his first Test century © Getty Images

The story of the day was Anil Kumble's unbeaten 110. In 117 previous Tests, his highest had been 88, against South Africa at Kolkata in 1996-97. In his 118th match, and his 151st innings, he wasn't to be denied, though. It's the most number of Tests any batsman has played to get to his first century. Chaminda Vaas held the earlier record - his unbeaten 100 against Bangladesh in Colombo earlier this year came in his 97th Test, while Jason Gillespie was playing in his 71st Test when he struck that memorable 201 not out against Bangladesh, again, at Chittagong in 2005-06. Kumble had only scored 79 runs in his 11 previous innings, and his innings is also his first 50-plus score overseas. (Click here for Kumble's innings-by-innings list.)

India's total of 664 is their highest against England, and their fourth-highest against all teams. It's also only the 11th time - and the fourth for India - that all 11 batsmen made double-digit scores.

As at Trent Bridge, India's top-order batting was characterised by contributions from every batsman. In all there were six 50-plus scores in the innings. Only twice previously have so many Indian batsmen scored so many in a single innings: at Kanpur against New Zealand in 1976-77, India managed 524 for 9 declared with six half-centuries but no hundreds - a total which remains, thanks to Kumble's hundred, the highest without a century; against Australia at Kolkata in 1997-98, India scored 633 for 5 declared, with the top six all going past 50, and Mohammad Azharuddin scoring an unbeaten 163.

So many significant scores from the batsmen meant there were partnerships for almost every wicket. In all India put together an astonishing eight 50-plus stands, which is a record in Test cricket. There are 25 instances of six 50-plus stands, but no team had managed seven in a single innings.

The last-wicket stand between Kumble and Sreesanth yielded 73 at a rate of 5.47 per over. It's the fourth-highest tenth-wicket partnership for India, and their highest against England. The 133 that Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan added against Bangladesh at Dhaka in 2004-05 remains the highest.

Not only did the lower contribute handily, they did so at a brisk pace: India's last five wickets scored 310 runs in 68.4 overs, a scoring rate of 4.51.

Much of that scoring rate was due to the 81-ball blitz by Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His 92 is now the highest by an Indian wicketkeeper in England, going past Farokh Engineer's 87 at Headingley in 1967. In fact, Dhoni and Engineer share the top five scores by an Indian wicketkeeper in England: Engineer also scored 86 at Lord's and 64 not out at Edgbaston in 1974, while Dhoni contributed a match-saving unbeaten 76 in the first Test of this series at Lord's.

England had a forgettable day in the field, and it's hardly surprising that a few of them entered the record books for all the wrong reasons. Matt Prior had a terrible time behind the stumps, dropping a couple of catches and letting through 33 byes, which is the second-highest in a single Test innings. England leaked 37 against Australia at the same ground way back in 1934, but there was a good reason for that: Les Ames, the regular wicketkeeper, was forced to retire hurt while batting in England's first innings, which forced frank Woolley to keep wicket in Australia second innings. Whereas Ames had conceded four byes in Australia's first-innings score of 701, Woolley allowed 37 in the second-innings score of 327. Prior joins two other wicketkeepers who have conceded 33 byes: John Murray, against India at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai in 1960-61, and Jim Parks against West Indies at Kingston in 1968. In fact, the five highest number of byes conceded in an innings have all been by England.

James Anderson and Monty Panesar became only the second and third England bowlers to concede more than 150 runs in an innings against India. Andrew Caddick was the first, going for exactly 150 in 40.1 overs at Headingley in 2002.

Matt Prior Monty Panesar James Anderson Anil Kumble MS Dhoni England India England vs India India tour of England, 2007

S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo