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Ashwin and Axar star in another home series victory

article_imageSTATISTICAL HIGHLIGHTS
Last updated on 06 Mar 2021 | 06:31 PM
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Ashwin and Axar star in another home series victory

Here are all the statistical highlights from the fourth and final Test between India and England

900 International wickets for Jimmy Anderson

One of the best swing bowlers in the world presently, James Anderson has been the workhorse for England. In the fourth Test at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, with the wicket of Ajinkya Rahane, Anderson registered his 900th International wicket, only the third pacer to achieve this feat. Anderson is the leading wicket-taker among the pacers in Tests (614) and he leads the chart for England with 269 ODI wickets too. 

Back-to-back century partnership for the seventh and eighth wicket

At 6 for 146 runs, India were in spot of bother with still 59 runs behind. Washington Sundar, who was the saviour in a similar situation in Australia in Brisbane, joined hands with Rishabh Pant. For the seventh wicket, both youngsters put on a 113-run partnership before Rishabh was dismissed for a well complied 101. It didn’t stop there, Axar Patel who had poor outings with the bat in his first few innings came good to add salt on injury to England. For the eighth wicket as well, Sundar and Axar piled on 106 runs. 

This was only the third instance of both seventh and eighth-wicket partnership posting a century in the same innings of a Test. 

Most ducks for a visiting team in a series in India

Apart from the first Test in Chennai, it hasn’t been a great outing for the English batsmen. Including Joe Root, who had amassed a sensational double century in the first innings of the first Test. Let alone half-centuries, their batsmen were struggling to get off the mark in almost every match. 

That is the reason why there were 15 ducks from the English batsmen through this series. This is the most for a visiting team against India. 

Jonny Bairstow “ducked” off 

At the time of the selection for the Indian tour, the England selection committee had announced Jonny Bairstow’s absence in the squad as “rested”. Many experts were in dubiety. Michael Vaughn had expressed himself in disbelief through a tweet.

However, all the belief in Bairstow turned out to be dud. His return in the third Test of the series wasn’t fruitful as he bagged a pair (ducks in both innings). In the previous three matches against India, Bairstow’s returns weren’t convincing as well. He had three ducks in six innings with the highest score of 18. Heading into the fourth Test, he managed to bat out in the first innings scoring 28, but in the second innings, he bagged yet another duck. 

For five consecutive matches, Bairstow suffered at least one duck against India. This is the most for a batsman against an opposition in Tests.  

Most dismissals through LBW

In sub-continent pitch, straighter ones from the spinners are more lethal than the turning ball. From a pacer’s perspective, the ball stays low and the ball bouncing over the stumps after the impact on the pads is a rare sight. In this series, 38 wickets have been through LBW. This is the most for a series in India. 

In majority of those LBW’s, The England skipper had a fair amount of share. In eight innings this series, Root was stuck in front of the wicket six times, which is the second-most for a captain in a series. 

Axar Patel equals Dilip Doshi

Due to an injury that Ravindra Jadeja sustained during the Melbourne Test, he was out for the first two Tests. Later on, as a precaution, he was ruled out of the remainder of the series. But, his replacement, Axar Patel didn’t disappoint as he filled the void with power-packed performances throughout the series. In his debut Test match, he bagged a five-wicket haul in the 4th innings. Then in the Pink ball Test, he became the first bowler ever to bag five-for in both innings. Hence registering the best spell for a bowler in D/N Tests. 

In the fourth, he continued it with a four-wicket haul in the first innings and then finished the series in a grand style by bagging five-for. In total, Axar starred the series with 27 wickets, which is the joint-most for an Indian in his debut series. In his first three matches, he has four 5-wicket hauls, which is the most for an Indian bowler in Tests.

Most wickets in a series for R Ashwin 

Prior to this series, Ravichandran Ashwin had an average record against England, be it at home or away. He had wickets to his name (51) but at an average of 36.5, the worst against opponents for him. Defying the odds, Ashwin came out on top. Without his partner in crime Jadeja, Ashwin had a huge responsibility. Every time he has been shouldered with responsibility, the maestro has performed above excellence. 

He bagged 32 wickets this series, which is his personal best. Before this, against South Africa, he had 31 wickets. 

England's fifty-plus partnerships drought

In the first Test on a flat pitch in Chennai, England had four 50+ partnerships out of the five wickets. Joe Root and Ollie Pope’s 86-run partnership for the fifth wicket was the last of it. For the remainder of the series, 75 partnerships, none of the England pair posted a 50+. 

This is the most consecutive number of partnerships without a fifty for England in Tests.   

Kohli goes past Waugh

Virat Kohli has already become the most successful captain for India, now he is hunting to become the world’s best. In the third Test of this series, Virat Kohli went past MS Dhoni’s record of 21 wins at home and levelled with Steve Waugh’s 22. After a win in the fourth Test, he went past Waugh’s record. In the 30 matches he has captained for India at home, Kohli has 23 wins, this is the third-most for a captain at home. 

The staggering point of it is, he has a win percentage of 76.7, which is the best for a skipper who has led for 20+ games at home. 

India's consecutive series win at home 

Since the time Kohli has been appointed as the Indian captain, India have not lost a series at home. This was the 10th consecutive series that India won at home. Throughout his captaincy, Kohli has lost only twice. Once against Australia in Pune in 2017 and the other one being the first Test of this series. 

The 10 consecutive series wins at home for Kohli is the joint-most for a captain in Tests. Ricky Ponting between 2004 and 2008 hadn’t lost a series at home for 10 consecutive times. 

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