India vs West Indies, 3rd Test Day 2 Stats: Rearguard partnerships and all round exploits
Ravichandran Ashwin and Wriddhiman Saha looked to resume from where they left off by wearing down the West Indies bowling unit further. As time progressed, the latter began to force the initiative and played quite a few attacking shots.
Both batsmen reached their centuries as the visitors found themselves in a comfortable position. However, the post-lunch session saw wickets falling in a heap which ended India’s vigil at 353.
A different opening combination paved the way for a stoic start to the West Indies innings until sharp fielding intervened. With the surface flattening and outfield slowing down considerably, patience continued to be the watchword.
Let us take a look at some of the most fascinating statistics from the second day’s play in St Lucia.
0 – Wicket-keeper batsmen who scored their maiden Test ton for India at an older age than Saha at 31 years and 291 days. Syed Kirmani reached three figures for the first time in Tests when he was 29 years and 310 days.
1 – Instances when India’s number six and number seven batsmen made hundreds in the same innings. Ashwin and Saha were the first to achieve this feat.
1 – Lower totals for India than 353 with centuries from two batsmen in the innings. Both Sunil Gavaskar and Mohinder Amarnath had reached three figures in India’s total of 330 at Perth in 1977.
3 – Fifty-plus opening partnerships for Kraigg Brathwaite and Leon Johnson. Interestingly, they have batted together for only 3 innings and all those came in this venue.
4 – Number of cricketers with multiple tons and five wicket hauls in a Test series. Ashwin joined an illustrious list of all rounders such as Richie Benaud, Tony Greig and Ian Botham.
4 – Instances when Indian wicket-keepers scored a Test century away from home. Saha has followed in the footsteps of Vijay Manjrekar (Kingston, 1953), Ajay Ratra (St Johns, 2002), MS Dhoni (Faisalabad, 2006).
9 – Innings taken by Ashwin to register his fourth Test ton against West Indies which is the third lowest among all batsmen. Only Doug Walters (6 Innings) and Gavaskar (8 Innings) have done this in fewer innings.
14 – Runs added for India’s final four wickets after Saha’s dismissal. They lost their last five wickets in just 48 deliveries.
35 – The previous highest opening partnership for West Indies in Tests since January 2015. Brathwaite and Johnson brought up a fifty-plus stand after 26 innings.
213 – Runs put together by Ashwin and Saha which is the second highest sixth wicket stand for India away from home. Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin Tendulkar had compiled 222 at Cape Town in 1997.
297 – Balls faced by Ashwin which is the fourth highest by an Indian batsmen from number six or lower away from home. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi leads the list thanks to his 148 from 348 balls at Headingley in 1967.
434 – Deliveries faced in tandem by Ashwin and Saha for the sixth wicket. In contrast, the top five wickets could stay at the crease for only 297 balls.