Australia vs India 2018-19, Test series: Stats highlights from the first Test
India couldn't have asked for a better start to the series as they trounced Australia by 31 runs in the opening match. This is India's first Test win in Australia since 2007-08. Also, India had never won the first match of a Test series in Australia before this one.
Indian skipper Virat Kohli decided to bat first after winning the toss. Once again, Indian openers failed to deliver in overseas conditions and soon visitors were reduced to 41 for 4. At this time, Cheteshwar Pujara held the fort and struck one of the finest centuries of his career. Before getting run-out, Pujara scored 123. India ended up on 250.
In reply, Aussies, too, fumbled at the start as Aaron Finch fell in the very first over. Indian bowlers did a fantastic job as wickets kept falling at regular intervals. Australia got to 235 which meant India were marginally ahead after the first innings.
In the second innings, Murali Vijay and Rahul started cautiously and added a half-century stand for the opening wicket. Pujara once again was brilliant during his 71. Ajinkya Rahane also contributed valuable 70. India managed to put 307 runs on the board this time, setting up a target of 323. Though Australian batsmen, especially tail-enders fought bravely, they fell short of the target by 31 runs.
Here are some of the interesting stats of this match:
530 - It was 530th Test match played by India (Won - 149, Lost - 164, Drawn - 216, Tied - 1).
815 - It was 815th Test match played by Australia (Won - 383, Lost - 221, Drawn - 209, Tied - 2).
1083 - No. of total runs scored in the match (Runs break-up: Bat - 1017, Extras - 66)
84 - No. of fours hit in the match. Cheteshwar Pujara hit 16 of them, the highest amongst the batsmen.
10 - No. of sixes hit in the match, Rohit Sharma hit 3 of them, the highest amongst the batsmen.
1 - Cheteshwar Pujara scored the only century of the match
4 - No. of half-centuries scored in the match ( one each by Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Travis Head and Shaun Marsh).
123 - No. of runs scored by Cheteshwar Pujara in the 1st innings of the match, the highest individual score in the match.
87 - No. of runs added by Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara for the 4th wicket in the 2nd inning of India, the highest partnership for any wicket in the match.
40 - No. of wickets fell down in the match.
6/122 - Bowling figures of Nathan Lyon in the 2nd innings of India, the best by any bowler in the match.
35 - No. of batsmen caught out in this match. This is a joint record in Tests.
291 - Australia's score in 4th innings. This is the highest inning total without a 50+ partnership for a team in Test matches.
Individual Records
Cheteshwar Pujara scored his 16th Test century in the 66th match.
Nathan Lyon took 13th five-wicket haul in his 81st Test match.
Rishabh Pant assisted in 11 dismissals in this match. This is a joint world record for a wicketkeeper for most dismissals in a Test match.