Australia vs India 2018-19: Looking at the stats of every '3rd' Test of an India-Australia series Down Under
The second Test of the 2018-19 Australia vs India series saw the Aussies make a great comeback and level the series 1-1. Both the teams now shift their focus to the third Test match, to be played between 26th-30th December 2018 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Coincidentally, Melbourne has hosted the most number of 'third' Test matches in a series whenever India have toured Australia - five times. Of the 11 third Test matches played in a series whenever India have toured Australia, Australia have won five, India three, and three matches have ended in a draw.
What do the other stats regarding the third Test match of an Australia vs India series in Australia say? Here's a brief look at them.
Batting performances
501 runs scored by Ricky Ponting is the most number of runs scored by a single batsman in all third Test matches between these two nations Down Under.
257 scored by Ricky Ponting in the 2003 Melbourne Test is the highest individual score by a player in an innings in the 3rd Test.
25 centuries have been scored in all 3rd Test matches played whenever India have toured Australia.
2 centuries scored by Donald Bradman, Ricky Ponting and Sunil Gavaskar each is the most number of centuries scored by a player in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
1 is the number of times a player has scored a century in both innings of a match in the 3rd Test match whenever India have toured Australia. This was scored by Donald Bradman (132 & 127) in the 1947 Melbourne Test match.
49 half-centuries have been scored in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
3 half-centuries scored by Doug Walters is the most number of half-centuries scored by a player in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
Bowling performances
16 wickets taken by Brett Lee is the most number of wickets taken by a player in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
6/52 taken by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in the 1977 Melbourne Test is the best bowling performance by a player in an innings in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
9 five-wicket hauls have been taken in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
2 five-wicket hauls taken by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Glenn McGrath each is the most number of five-wicket hauls taken by a player in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
12 wickets taken by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in the 1977 Melbourne Test is the most number of wickets taken by a single bowler in all third Test matches whenever India have toured Australia.
2 10-wicket hauls in a match have been taken in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia. These were taken by Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (1977) and Glenn McGrath (1999).
Wicket-keeping performances
19 dismissals (Ct - 17, St - 2) by MS Dhoni is the highest number of dismissals by a wicket-keeper in the 3rd Test Match whenever India have toured Australia.
9 dismissals by MS Dhoni in the 2014 Melbourne Test match is the highest number of dismissals by a wicket-keeper in a single 3rd Test match whenever India have toured Australia.