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Test cricket turns 146 today: Sachin century emperor, Muralitharan is wicket-king; Learn interesting facts and records of this format
The longest and most challenging format of cricket, Test cricket turns 146 today. On 15 March 1877, the teams of England and Australia clashed at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium for the first time at the international level. International cricket also started since then. India played a Test match for the first time in 1932 and took 20 years to register their first win.
From 1877 till March 15, 2023, 12 countries started playing Test cricket around the world, and have played a total of 2499 matches so far. In 1971, the format of ODI and T20 cricket also came in 2004. Which has made the test even more interesting. In the next story on the 146th anniversary of Test cricket, we will know the top batsman, bowler, and all-rounder of this format. Along with this, we will also know some such records and facts about which very few people know…
England played the most matches
So far 2,499 matches have been played in Tests, out of which 1,711 results came out. 2 matches were tied and 786 matches ended in a draw. England has played the most 1,060 matches, while Australia has won the most 405. England has also lost the maximum 318 matches. At the same time, Australia has tied for the maximum number of matches (2). The first match was in 1960 against West Indies in Brisbane and the second in 1986 against India in Chennai.
India started Test cricket after 55 years
Team India stepped into International Cricket for the first time on 24 June 1932. The team played a match against England, in which we lost. In 1952, Team India got its first victory in this format. The team defeated England by an inning and 8 runs.
India has played 569 matches in this format so far. In 172 wins and 175 losses, the team got. There was also one match tie and 221 Test draws. India has defeated Australia the most 32 times. On the other hand, England has defeated us in the maximum number of 50 Tests. India’s top score in Tests is 759 runs, which the team made against England. At the same time, Team India’s smallest score is 36 runs, which is made against Australia.
The 2500th match will be held on March 17
Two days later, on Friday, March 17, the last match of the 2 Test series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka will be played in Wellington. Which will be the 2500th match of Test cricket. New Zealand won the first Test by 2 wickets on the last ball.
New Zealand won the 2 Test series 1-1 against England at home just a few days back. New Zealand won the last match of this series by just one run after following on. Which is also the record for the smallest win in terms of runs in Test cricket.
When Team India bowled 271 overs
On August 6, 1997, in the Colombo Test, Sri Lanka scored 952 runs at the loss of 6 wickets by batting the entire 271 overs against India. This is the highest score ever made in Test cricket. Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya scored 340 and Roshan Mahanama single-handedly scored 225 runs in this match. 3 Indian bowlers bowled more than 70 overs in this test.
Sri Lanka made this score in the second innings, while India declared their first innings at a score of 537/8.
Now take a look at some interesting team records…
South Africa was all out for just 30 runs in 12.3 overs against England in 1924. This is the record for being dismissed in the fewest balls.
The maximum number of matches on one ground was held at the Lord’s ground in England, where 143 Test matches have been played so far.
New Zealand hit the most 22 sixes in an inning in the Sharjah Test against Pakistan in 2014. This match was won by New Zealand only.
The Visakhapatnam Test match in 2019 between India and South Africa had the maximum number of 37 sixes. India won this test.
During the 1977 West Indies-Pakistan match, the highest number of 173 runs in a Test went from extras. This is the world record for most extras in a Test.
4 teams have won matches after follow-on
Test cricket is played in four innings, with the team batting first batting first in the third innings and the team batting later batting again in the fourth innings. The 5-day game also has a follow-on rule. According to this, if the team batting in the second innings lags behind the score of the team batting first by 200 or more runs, then the team batting first can follow them in the third innings and call them for batting again. That is, a team can bat 2 times in a row.
In the event of a follow-on, the batting team is trailing by a huge margin. It is very difficult to win in such a situation, but there have been 4 matches in Test cricket when the team won the match even after facing the follow-on. England beat Australia twice in 1894 and 1981 by margins of 10 and 18 runs.
India defeated Australia by 171 runs in 2001 and New Zealand beat England by one run 20 days ago on 24 February.