Khawaja’s marathon knock; Ashwin surpasses Kumble

On the only batting-friendly wicket this series, Usman Khawaja and Cameron Green made merry. Thanks to their monumental effort, Australia posted a big total of 480 after batting 167.2 overs.

Every Indian bowler was made to toil hard. But, Ravichandran Ashwin’s guile and patience, helped him fetch a six-for. The day was filled with records, and the heroes were Khawaja, Green and Ashwin. Here are a few notable stats from the second day of the Test:

Khawaja bats long and big

In the two Tests prior to this, Khawaja was one of Australia’s best batters. However, he couldn’t convert his 50s into 100. In this Test, he made sure he converted his start into a daddy hundred. En route to his innings, he registered some sensational records:

- On the first day, when Khawaja registered his century at the age of 36 years and 81 days, he became the oldest Australian player to hit a Test ton in India.

- In his innings of 180, Khawaja batted 422 balls, which is the most balls faced by an Australian batter in innings in India (since ball data is available).

- Among visiting openers, only Andrew Hall of South Africa, batted longer. In 2004, he scored 163 after batting 454 balls in Kanpur.

- In terms of time, no visiting opener has batted for more than 10 hours in India, apart from Khawaja (611 minutes). Overall, only Younis Khan (690 mins) in 2005, and Hashim Amla (675) in 2010, have batted longer.

- Only two Aussie batters, the late Dean Jones (210) in 1986 and Matthew Hayden (203) in 2001, both in Chennai, had a higher score than Khawaja’s 180.

- In his innings, Khawaja faced 134 balls against Ashwin. In an innings, only Sir Alastair Cook (146) in 2012 at Eden Gardens, batted more deliveries against Ashwin without being dismissed.

- This was Khawaja’s fourth Test century in Asia. Among Aussie openers, it is the joint most alongside Hayden.

- In Tests in Asia, Khawaja averages 74.7 in 19 innings. Among openers who have faced 15+ innings in Asia, no one has an average as high as Khawaja.

Ashwin goes past Kumble

It was a lion-hearted effort from India’s premium off-spinner. He emerged as the best bowler for India in this innings with a spell of 6/91. Like Khawaja, Ashwin registered few records of his own:

- In Tests at home, this was Ashwin’s 26th five-wicket haul. By virtue of it, he went past Anil Kumble’s record of 25. He now has the most five-wicket hauls for an Indian at home.

- Overall, only Muttiah Muralitharan (45), has more five-for at home. Ashwin alongside Rangana Herath, shares the second spot.

- This was Ashwin’s seventh five-wicket haul against Australia in Tests, and all of them have come at home. These are the joint-second most five-for against an opposition in home conditions. Muttiah with eight against Bangladesh and South Africa tops the list.

- With 113 wickets against Australia, Ashwin now has the most wickets against an opponent for an Indian in Tests. Once again, he went past Kumble’s tally of 111 against the same opponents.

- His 113 wickets, are also the most for a spinner against Australia in Tests, surpassing Kumble.

Green and Khawaja's partnership creates history

Australia posted a big total of 480 and the reason behind that was the fifth-wicket partnership of 208 between Green and Khawaja.

In Tests in India, there has been only one bigger partnership for Australia, any wicket. In 1979, Allan Border and Kim Hughes forged a 222-run partnership in Chennai, which is the highest. In Tests in Asia, this is only the second time, their fifth or lower wicket partnership has hoisted 200+ runs. In 2004, against Sri Lanka in Colombo (SSC), Simon Katich and Justin Langer had put on 218 runs for the sixth wicket.

Australia’s lengthy innings

In none of their previous five innings, barring their chase in Indore, Australia managed to bat 100 overs in an innings. In this match, on a batting-friendly wicket, they seized the opportunity to bat long and score big.

In Tests since 2000, their total of 480 is the second highest. In 2008, they had posted 577 in Delhi, their highest in this period. They batted 167.2 overs to score those many runs, which is also the second most overs faced by them, in the aforementioned time.