India vs Bangladesh 2019: 5 records that could be broken in the pink-ball Test
After a long wait, India will make their debut in day-night Tests with the second match against Bangladesh starting at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from Friday. India are currently 1-0 up in the series, having defeated Bangladesh by an innings and 130 runs in the first Test at Indore.
In the build-up to the historic Test, Indian captain Virat Kohli expressed his excitement to be part of India’s maiden pink-ball Test. “This pink ball Test match is a challenge for us. It is very exciting for us as the energy will be very high. It is a landmark occasion,” Kohli said ahead of the big day.
Also see - IND vs WI schedule 2019
The India-Bangladesh Test will be the 12th day-night match to be played, making the hosts the ninth nation to feature in a pink-ball Test. The match could also see a few records being broken, five of which are listed below:
#1 Will Kohli go past Ganguly in the top Indian run-getters' list?
Kohli is currently at number seven in the list of all -ime run-getters for India, with 7,066 runs from 83 Tests. He needs 147 runs at Eden Gardens to go past former captain and current BCCI President Sourav Ganguly, who scored 7,212 runs in 113 Tests.
Kohli registered a rare duck in the first Test at Indore, so he will be keen to make amends in Kolkata.
#2 Will Kohli become the first Indian captain to 5000 Test runs?
The Indian captain is close to another landmark; if he scores 32 runs in the pink-ball Test, Kohli will become the first Indian captain to score 5,000 runs as a skipper.
Only five captains in world cricket have achieved this feat - Clive Lloyd, Allan Border, Stephen Fleming, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith.
#3 Can Agarwal surpass Kambli to become the fastest Indian to 1000 Test runs?
Indian opener Mayank Agarwal has notched up 858 runs in his Test career so far in 12 innings. If he manages to score 142 runs in India’s first innings at Kolkata, he will become the fastest Indian to reach 1,000 runs in Test matches.
Vinod Kambli currently holds the Indian record, having reached the landmark in 14 innings.
If Agarwal does reach the landmark in his next innings, he would match the record of Don Bradman too, who got to 1,000 Test runs in 13 innings. The record for fastest 1,000 runs in Tests is jointly held by Everton Weekes and Herbert Sutcliffe, who both got there in 12 innings.
#4 Agarwal closing in on Smith in 2019's top run-getters' list
With 740 runs in seven Tests, Agarwal is the second highest run-scorer in 2019. If he can score 35 runs, he would overtake Steve Smith to become the top run-getter in the longer format of the game this year.
Smith, the former Aussie skipper, smashed 774 runs in this year's Ashes with three hundreds and as many fifties.
#5 Ashwin, Ishant near Irfan Pathan in list of highest wicket-takers in India-Bangladesh Tests
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and pacer Ishant Sharma both have 16 wickets each in Tests against Bangladesh. While Ashwin has played only three games, Ishant has featured in six.
If the duo claims three wickets at Kolkata, they can displace Irfan Pathan from the number two slot among top wicket-takers in India-Bangladesh Tests. Pathan claimed 18 in two Test matches.
Zaheer Khan is the most successful bowler for India in Tests against Bangladesh with 31 wickets in seven matches.