Statistical highlights: 4th and final day at Harare
Mohandas Menon
Ajit Agarkar has recorded his eighth duck of his Test career in 10
matches and 16 innings. Agarkar, who had five ducks in a row within a space
of 25 days during December 1999 - January 2000 in Australia, now has three
ducks in his last four innings (including the pair against Australia at
Mumbai in March this year). He now has a duck frequency of 50% (i.e. 8 ducks
in 16 innings), which equals the all-time worst record held by Australian
tail-ender Alan Hurst (10 ducks in 20 innings). With little more effort,
Agarkar can sure claim the title as being the "worst batsman in scoring
ducks" in Test history. Just for the record, the worst duck frequency by an
Indian batsman, was held by Dilip Doshi who had 14 ducks in 38 innings
(36.84%).
In the meanwhile, tail-end batsman Ashish Nehra became the first Indian
to bag a pair (ducks in each innings) against Zimbabwe. He in fact became
the only sixth batsman to do so after - Pakistanis Manzoor Elahi (in 1995)
and Mushtaq Ahmed (in 1998), West Indian Adrian Griffith (in 2000) and
Bangladeshis Manjrural Islam and Mohammad Sharif (in April this year).
When he claimed the wicket of Srinath, Heath Streak claimed his 300th
first-class wicket of his career in his 98th match since his first-class
debut in 1992-93. Among current Zimbabwe players, Streak has the maximum
first-class wickets.
Andy Blignaut who has the distinction of being the first Zimbabwean
bowler to take a five-wicket haul (5-73) on Test debut against Bangladesh in
April this year (although off-spinner John Traicos too has a five wicket
haul on debut for Zimbabwe in 1992, but he had earlier appeared for South
Africa in 1970), recorded his second five wicket haul of his Test career in
just four matches. His 5-74 in India's second innings was statistically his
second best Test figures.
Interestingly, Blignaut who has appeared in 20 first-class matches
(including four Test) since his debut in 1997-98, has never claimed a
five-wicket haul in any of his other 16 first-class matches.
Blignaut's 5-74 provided the only third occasion when Zimbabwe bowlers
have taken a five wicket haul against India. Henry Olonga (5-70 at Harare in
October 1998) and John Traicos (5-86 at Harare in October 1992) are the
other bowlers to do so.
Despite a finger injury, Andy Flower in the second innings became the
first Zimbabwean keeper to take four catches in an innings against India. By
also taking one catch in the first innings he also becomes the first
Zimbabwean keeper to claim five in the match against India.
Stuart Carlisle (62 not out) could not have found a better occasion to
record his highest Test score of his career in his 18th Test match. His
previous highest score was the 58 he made on two occasions - against New
Zealand at Auckland in January 1996 and against India at New Delhi in
November 2000. Interestingly, now four of his 50-plus scores out of the five
have come against India.
Although India won the last Test match at Bulawayo to record its first
win out of the sub-continent in 15 years, the team now has still not won a
Test series out of the sub-continent since 1986 with this loss at Harare.
India's last beat England 2-0 in 1986. In the meanwhile India has won the
three-match series 1-0 in Sri Lanka in August 1993 and in the one-off Test
match in Bangladesh in November 2000 - but both these coming in the
sub-continent.
Zimbabwe has now won its sixth Test match in 52 matches. The team has
beaten the three teams from the sub-continent - Pakistan, Bangladesh and
India - on two occasions each.
Zimbabwe has also won three Test matches out of its last four games.