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Asian Test Championships, India versus Pakistan, Eden Gardens, Calcutta, February 16-20, 1999

Asian Test Championships, India versus Pakistan, Eden Gardens, Calcutta

Highlights of day one

*For the first time since 1912, a Test series involving three teams was being attempted. In 1912, three teams -- host England, Australia and South Africa -- had participated in a triangular tournament, which was won by England.

*Also for the first time, two neutral umpires -- West Indian Steve Bucknor (in his 42nd match) and South African David Orchard (in his 11th match) -- were officiating in a Test on Indian soil.

*Only twice before, have two neutral umpires officiated in the same Test match in the subcontinent. On both occasions it occurred in Pakistan. In 1986-'87, in the last two Tests against the West Indies, Indian umpires VK Ramaswamy and PD Reporter officiated, while the Indo-Pak series in 1989-'90 had the services of two English umpires -- John Hampshire and John Holder -- in all the four matches.

*Wajahatullah Wasti (aged 24 years) became Pakistan's 156th Test player.

*For Pakistan, who were at one stage 26-6 before lunch, it was its second worst performance in Tests. In November, 1981 at Perth in 1981 against Australia it had lost six wickets for 25 runs and then went on to lose eight wickets for 26 runs. Pakistan were eventually dismissed for 62 iin that Test - its lowest ever in Tests.

*Pakistan's 6 for 26 was the second lowest total by any opponent losing the first six wickets against India. At Chennai, in December, 1969, India had captured six Australian wickets for just 24 runs in the second innings. Interestingly, Australia won the match by 77 runs.

*The 84 run partnership between Salim Malik and Moin Khan for the seventh wicket fell just short of the record of 88 runs at this venue for Pakistan between Mushtaq Mohammad and Intikhab Alam in 1960-'61.

* However the 63 run partnership between Moin and Wasim Akram for the eighth wicket betters Pakistan's previous best at this venue, which was just 22 between Intibhab Alam and Fazal Mahmood in 1960-61.

*The last wicket partnership of just 8 runs between Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq was Pakistan's best at this venue. It betters the previous best of 5 runs between Mahmood Hussain and Haseeb Ahsan during the 1960-'61 series.

2nd day's highlights

*The 2nd wicket partnership of 65 runs between S Ramesh and Anil Kumble was the best for India against Pakistan at this venue. It surpasses the previous best of 63 between Arun Lal and Mohinder Amarnath during the 1986-'87 series.

*The first ball "duck" by Sachin Tendulkar was the third of his Test career. Only twice before was he dismissed off the first-ball. The first instance was against New Zealand at Christchurch in February, 1990 when he was caught by keeper Ian Smith off the bowling of Danny Morrison. His second first ball dismissal came against South Africa at Port Elizabeth in December, 1992, when he was caught by keeper Dave Richardson off the bowling of left-arm pace-man Brett Schultz. Incidentally, both the matches were lost by India.

*It was Tendulkar's second duck in three matches against Pakistan and his sixth in 102 innings (in 67 matches). Last month at Chennai he was dismissed for a "duck".

*In three matches and five innings Sadagoppan Ramesh has so far scored 283 runs since making his Test debut. Among Indians only Vinod Kambli (544 runs), M Azharuddin (439), Saurav Ganguly (402) and Sunil Gavaskar (313) have scored more runs than Ramesh in their first five innings since debut. Incidentally, Kambli's tally is the all-time Test record.

* Likewise, Ramesh has scored all his 283 runs against the Pakistanis. Among Indians only Sanjay Manjrekar (493 runs), Anshuman Gaekwad (313), Sunil Gavaskar (310), M Azharuddin (289) and Chandu Borde (285) have scored more runs than Ramesh in their first five innings against Pakistan. Just for the record, West Indian Gary Sobers has a record 674 runs in his first five innings against Pakistan.

*Incidentally, Ramesh's 79 was the highest score made by an Indian opener against Pakistan at this venue. It betters the previous best by Arun Lal who made 70 in the 2nd innings during the 1986-'87 series.

*For the fourth successive Test match between the two countries, India managed to take the first innings lead. The sequence began from December 1989 at Sialkot, when India took a first innings lead of 74 runs. India then managed leads of 16 and 80 runs respectively at Chennai and Delhi. Now at Calcutta, India's lead was 37 runs.

3rd day's highlights

*The fourth wicket partnership of 114 runs between Saeed Anwar and Yousuf Youhana was the best for Pakistan on Indian soil surpassing the unbeaten 98 between Javed Burki and Wallis Mathias at Kanpur during the 1960-'61 series. It also betters the previous best for the this wicket for Pakistan at this venue which was 73 by Taslim Arif and Wasim Raja in 1979-'80.

*The sixth wicket partnership of 22 runs between Anwar and Salim Malik was the best for Pakistan at this venue bettering the 18 run partnership between Imtiaz Ahmed and Anwar Hussain in 1952-53.

*The tenth wicket partnership of 12 runs between Saeed Anwar and Shoaib Akhtar betters Pakistan's previous best at this venue which was 8 runs between Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq in the first innings of this match.

*The last wicket partnership of just 8 runs between Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq was Pakistan's best at this venue. It betters the previous best of 5 runs between Mahmood Hussain and Haseeb Ahsan during the 1960-'61 series.

*Azhar Mahmood became the 21st Pakistani batsman to bag a "pair", for the 23rd occasion in Tests. Incidentally he became the first Pakistani to do so against India. He also becomes the first visiting batsman to do so at Calcutta.

*Saeed Anwar's unbeaten 188 was: 1) the highest score of his career surpassing his previous best of 176 made against England at the Oval in 1996.

2) the highest score made by a Pakistani batsman on Indian soil, bettering the previous best of 160 made by Hanif Mohammad at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai in 1960-'61.

3) the third highest score made by a Pakistani left hander in Tests. The best remains as 257* by Wasim Akram (v Zimbabwe, Sheikupura, 1996-'97) and 205 by Aamer Sohail (v England, Manchester, 1992)

4) the highest score made by a Pakistani left hander against India. The previous best being the 125 by Wasim Raja at Jullundur in 1983-84.

5) the highest score made by a Pakistani batsman at Calcutta. The previous best being 97 by Waqar Hasan in 1952-'53

6) the second highest score made by a Pakistani left-hander abroad. The best still remains 205 by Aamer Sohail against England at Manchester in 1992.

*Anwar also becomes the third Pakistani batsman after Nazar Mohammad (124* at Lucknow, 1952-53) and Mudassar Nazar (152* at Lahore, 1982-83) to carry his bat throughout the innings. Interestingly, all the three instances came against India. He also becomes the 32nd batsman to do so, for the 38th occasion.

*Anwar's 188 represented 59.49% of his team's total. This just falls short of the Pakistani record of 59.65% held by Saeed Ahmed when he scored 68 out of the total of 114 against England at Nottingham in 1967.

*Javagal Srinath's 8 for 86 was:

1)his best figures in Tests bettering his 6-21 against South Africa at Ahmedabad in 1996-'97

2) the third best bowling figures by an Indian pace bowler in Tests after Kapil Dev's 9-83 against West Indies at Ahmedabad in 1983-'84 and 8-85 at Lahore in 1982-'83.

3) the second best figures at this venue after the 8-64 by South African Lance Klusener in 1996-'97.

4) the best figures at this venue by an Indian bettering the 7-49 by Ghulam Ahmed in 1956-'57

* Srinath's 13-134 in the match was:

1) the fifth best figures by an Indian bowler

2) the best figures by an Indian pace bowler. The previous best being Kapil Dev's 11-146 also against Pakistan at Chennai in 1979-'80.

3) the best figures at this venue bettering Australian Richie Benaud's 11-105 in 1956-'57

4) the best figures by an Indian at this venue bettering Ghulam Ahmed's 11-130 in 1956-'57.

* Nayan Mongia's five catches in Pakistan's second innings equals the previous best by an Indian keeper against Pakistan. Syed Kirmani had also taken five catches at Faisalabad in 1982-'83.

* However, with Mongia taking three catches in the first innings, he has equalled the Indian record of eight catches in a match held by himself against South Africa at Kingsmead in 1996-'97.

Incidentally, o team has ever won a Test chasing over 100 runs in the fourth innings at Calcutta. India's 82-2 chasing 78 against England in 1992-'93 remains the highest to date. Just for the record, the highest fourth innings total at Calcutta is 325-3 by India against West Indies in 1948-49, chasing 430 runs. The match was drawn.

4th day's highlights

*The opening partnership of 108 runs between S Ramesh and VVS Laxman was the best for India against Pakistan at this venue. The previous best being the 59 runs between Nari Contractor and ML Jaisimha in 1960-'61. Interestingly, the last occasion the Indians put on over a hundred runs for the opening wicket was at this same venue when Navjot Singh Sidhu and Laxman put on 191 against Australia in March last year.

*Sachin Tendulkar (when on 9) became the sixth Indian and the 43rd batsman in Test history to reach 5000 runs. He was playing in his 67th Test and 103rd innings. At 25 years and 301 days he becomes the youngest to do so. The previous youngest was Pakistan's Javed Miandad at the age of 27 years and 245 days (against New Zealand at Dunedin in February, 1985).

* Mohammad Azharuddin (when on 18) became the fourth Indian and the 26th batsman in Test history to reach 6000 runs. He was playing in his 97th match and 143rd innings.

5th day's highlights

*Javagal Srinath joins three other unfortunate bowlers (see list below) to capture maximum wickets in a Test match and yet be a part of the losing team. Srinath's match figures of 13-134 is now the best among such unfortunte bowlers. 13-163 by Sydney Barnes, England v Australia, Melbourne 1901-'02, 13-217 by Merv Hughes, Australia versus West Indies, Perth, 1988-'89, 13-244 Tom Richardson, England versus Australia, Manchester 1896 are the other unfortunates. Just for the record, Bapu Nadkarni's 11-122 against Australia at Chennai (Corporation) Stadium in 1964-'65 was the previous best by an Indian bowler while being a part of a losing team.

*Although no team has ever won a Test chasing over 78 runs in the fourth innings at Calcutta, India's total of 232 (chasing 279) was the third highest fourth innings total at Calcutta after the 325-3 by India against West Indies in 1948-'49, chasing 430 runs (match drawn) and the 233 by England in 1961-'62, chasing 420 (India won the match by 187 runs)

* It was the fourth successive match at this venue that produced a result. The last match to be drawn was against West Indies in December, 1987.

*It was the sixth successive match that produced a result on Indian soil. The last match to be drawn was against Sri Lanka at Mumbai in December, 1997.

* It was India's fifth loss since March 1998 in seven Test matches.

*This victory was Wasim Akram's 11th in 20 Tests as captain, while it was Azharuddin's 14th loss in 46 matches as captain.

Editor's Note: In order to enhance your cricket watching, Mohandas Menon will present similar statistical updates on every international fixture being played around the world.

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