Root to become the 69th player to appear in 100 or more Test matches

Q1) How many players have appeared in their 100th Test match while playing in a match against India? – Ajay Kanwal on Twitter

A) So far 10 players have appeared in their 100th match of their career in a Test against India. England’s Joe Root at Chennai will become the 11th player if he plays in the forthcoming series against India. Overall, Root will also become the 69th player to appear in 100 or more Test matches. Pakistani Javed Miandad was the first when he then became the 10th player to appear in 100 matches in Test cricket in December 1989 at Lahore against India. The table below list all such players.

Note: England’s Joe Root will soon join this list later this week!

Q2) Wriddiman Saha claimed four catches as a substitute wicket-keeper in the recent Sydney Test match. Is this the maximum by a substitute in a Test match? – Ashish Vatsal on Twitter

A) Wriddiman Saha’s four catches in the second innings at Sydney is the most by a fielder donning the gloves in Test cricket. Three other players, all non-wicket-keepers, held four catches as a substitute fielder in the same Test match. Saha and Younis Khan are the only substitutes to claim more than three catches in the same innings of a Test match. For the record, two other players as substitute wicket-keepers held two catches in one innings – West Indian Jahmar Hamilton (for Shane Dowrich) against India at Hyderabad in October 2018 and then a few days later in Abu Dhabi, Pakistani Mohd Rizwan (sub for Sarfaraz Ahmed) held two catches against Australia. This was the most catches taken by a sub keeper before Saha claimed four at Sydney in January 2021.

The table below lists all such instances in Test cricket.

Notes:

** 20-year-old Gursharan Singh (a batsman) at that juncture hadn’t appeared in any Test matches. He later did so, seven years later in February 1990 by playing in his only Test of his career at Auckland.

** Younis Khan (a batsman) by then had already appeared in 14 Test matches from February 2000 to May 2001.

** Jack Bird (a pace bowler) by then had already appeared in eight Test matches from December 2012 to December 2016. He later appeared in one more Test in December 2017.

** Wriddiman Saha is the only player in the above list to take four sub catches as a wicket-keeper (came in for injured Rishabh Pant). He had by then already appeared in 38 Test matches from February 2010 to December 2020.

Q3) In the recently concluded Test match at Karachi, Pakistani Nauman Ali claimed a five- wicket haul at the age of 34 years. Is he the oldest on debut? – Mohammad Sharif on Twitter.

A) Nauman Ali at 34y-114d at Karachi became the seventh oldest in Test cricket to claim a five-plus haul on Test debut. However, he is the oldest Asian bowler to achieve this in Test cricket. The tables below provide all the details.

Notes:

** Shaw’s five wicket haul came in the inaugural Test match.    

** Both Marriott and Carr were playing in their only Test match.

** Both Marriott and Johnson also claimed another five-plus wicket haul in the second innings.

** Amir Hamza has so far played in only one Test match!

Q4) How many visiting sides have managed to win a Test series in India? – Ajay Paul on Twitter.

A) Beginning Dec 1933, when India hosted their first ever Test series against England, in all 81 Test series have been played in India (excluding two series not involving India). India’s series record at home has been: won 48, lost 17, drawn 16 (win% 59.25).  The series they have lost are listed below.

Notes:

+ one match Test series (Jubilee Test match)

# The final Test at Kolkata against Pakistan in 1998/99 was also a part of the Asian Test Championships. Before that the series was levelled one-all.

** the last time India lost a home series was against England in 2012/13.

All records mentioned above are correct and updated as on 1 February 2021