Stats Highlights, Ind v NZ, 1st Test, Day 1

First Published : 23 Aug 2012, 18:34
Last Modified : 23 Aug 2012, 21:53

By: Rajneesh Gupta

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Hyderabad, August 23: The two-match India-New Zealand Test series began today and it marks a couple of firsts for Indian cricket. Never before has India hosted a Test match in the month of August. However, this is not the first time that the Kiwis have featured in a landmark Test such as this one against India. Another first was Cheteshwar Pujara's brilliant maiden Test ton. The No.3 batsman made history by becoming the first Saurashtra player to reach three figures in a Test innings.

On a day when the Kiwis had to, but didn't quite, grasp every chance that came their way, the hosts ended up with a commanding 307 for five. Here are some more interesting milestones that were crossed during the day's play:

• This was the 51^st Test match between India and New Zealand – 30^th on Indian soil.
   

• The Indian city of Hyderabad was hosting its fifth Test match – three at Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium and two at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. Interestingly all five Tests involved New Zealand!
   

• This is the first ever Test match on Indian soil that is being played in the month of August. Up until 1964, matches on Indian soil were played between October and February only. In 1965 India played a Test for the first time in the month of March (v New Zealand at Kolkata). 1969 saw the first Test being played on Indian soil in the month of September (also v New Zealand at Brabourne Stadium). The Ahmedabad Test in 2008 v South Africa was the first ever Test to be played on Indian soil in the month of April.
   

• Month-wise breakup of Tests on Indian soil:  December (59),November (47), January (36), October (35), February (26), March (19), September (8), April (2) and August (1).
   

• The Gautam Gambhir-Virender Sehwag pair became the first Indian pair and only the fifth pair in Test cricket to aggregate 4,000 runs for the opening wicket. Here’s the complete list: Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (6,482 runs in 148 innings), Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer (5,655 in 113 innings), Alastair Cook and Andrew Strauss (4,711 in 117 innings), Marvan Atapattu and Sanath Jayasuriya (4,469 in 118 innings) and Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag (4,028 in 79 innings).
   

• Cheteshwar Pujara (119*) scored his maiden Test hundred in his fourth Test. His previous highest was 72 against Australia at Bangalore in 2010-11.
   

• Pujara became the seventh Indian batsman to score a hundred in his first innings against New Zealand. The complete list:
   

Incidentally, Pujara is the first Saurashtra batsman to score a Test hundred.

MS Dhoni has now hit 35 sixes as captain. In all Test cricket, only four players have hit more sixes as captain than Dhoni – Brian Lara (49), Clive Lloyd (48), Viv Richards (46) and Ricky Ponting (37).

For the fifth time, India ended Day 1 of a Test match against New Zealand with 300-plus runs on the board. There have been only two higher scores on the opening day of a Test between India and New Zealand on Indian soil – 329/3 in 2010-11 and 311/3 in 1999-00 – both by India at Ahmedabad.