Stats: India vs South Africa, 3rd Test, Day 3 - India end South Africa's nine-year-old record
It was no surprise that the spinners completed the final rites, as India beat South Africa by 124 runs, to clinch the Freedom series, 2-0, with one Test to go. Ravichandran Ashwin starred with yet another 5-wicket haul, as he finished with 12 wickets in the match.
So let us take a look at some of the records that were broken on what turned out to be the third and final day of the Third test in Nagpur.
Stats from the Third Day’s play:
1- The first series win at home as Captain for Virat Kohli, that too against the number 1 team in the world.
1- This is the first Test match in India where no batsman could score 50+ in the entire Test match and the 7th time overall.
7- The number of years since an Indian bowler last took 50 Test wickets in a single year. Harbhajan Singh achieved that feat in 2008, when he picked up 63.
7- Ashwin’s figures of 7/66 is his best bowling figures in a Test innings, beating his previous best of 7/103.
15- This is the first time South Africa have lost an overseas Test series after being unbeaten in 15 consecutive away series, in a span of 9 years, prior to this loss. Their last away series defeat was a 2-0 loss against Sri Lanka in 2006.
39- The joint highest individual score by South African batsmen in the second innings. Both Amla and du Plessis were dismissed for 39. Murali Vijay’s first innings score of 40 turned out to be the highest individual score by any batsman in the Test match.
55- The number of wickets Ravichandran Ashwin has taken this year, thus far. He is now the leading wicket-taker in Test matches this year, beating Stuart Broad’s tally of 51.
72- The highest partnership in the Nagpur Test, by Amla and du Plessis for the fifth wicket, in the second innings.
142.37- The third highest average balls per dismissal, achieved by Faf du Plessis, in the fourth innings of a Test match.
169- The number of wickets Ashwin has taken in 31 Tests so far, the most for any spinner who has played 31 Tests.