Also, some numbers on India’s left-hand batting dominance and KL Rahul’s role
Sampath Bandarupalli27-Jul-20252:09
Manjrekar: ‘Warriors’ keep sprouting for India when needed
2 – Number of Tests involving England ending in draws since Brendon McCullum became their head coach. This was the 40th Test under McCullum. The other draw was against Australia in 2023, also at Old Trafford.ESPNcricinfo Ltd7 – Number of 350-plus totals for India in the four Test so far, the most for a team in a Test series. The previous best was six, by Australia, who have done it three times in the Ashes, in 1920-21, 1948, and 1989.This series is also the first instance of India crossing 300 on seven occasions in a series. Eight is the record.0 – Instances of a team winning a Test match at Old Trafford after choosing to bowl first. Teams electing to bowl first here have lost three of the 12, while nine ended in draws.The latest result continued India’s winless run at Old Trafford, where they have played ten matches, the most by them at a venue without a win.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Number of hundreds for Shubman Gill in the series, the joint-highest by an India batter in a series. Sunil Gavaskar had four hundreds against West Indies in 1971 and 1978-79, while Virat Kohli also scored four on the 2014-15 tour of Australia.Gill is also only the third captain with four hundreds in a Test series, following Don Bradman against India in 1947-48 and Gavaskar against West Indies in 1978-79.Gill’s four hundreds are also the joint-highest in a series in England. Bradman (in 1930) is the only other visiting batter with four hundreds in a series in England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd722 – Runs scored by Gill in this series. Only Gavaskar has scored more runs in a Test series for India – 774 in 1970 and 732 in 1978-79; both against West Indies.188 – The partnership between Gill and KL Rahul is by far the highest third-wicket stand in Test cricket history after being two-down for zero. The previous highest was 105 by Mohinder Amarnath and GR Viswanath against Australia in Melbourne in 1977.Gill and Rahul batted 417 balls together during their partnership. It is the longest Test partnership for India in England since 1998.9 – 50-plus scores for Ravindra Jadeja in Tests in England, all while batting at No. 6 or lower, the joint-highest by a visiting player alongside Garry Sobers. Jadeja and Sobers are also the only visiting players with 1000-plus runs from No. 6 or lower in England.Jadeja also has 34 wickets in England. Only two visiting players have taken more wickets while scoring 1000-plus runs in a country: Wilfred Rhodes (1032 runs and 42 wickets in Australia) and Sobers (1820 runs and 62 wickets in England).511 – Runs aggregated by Rahul in this series so far. He is the first visiting opener to score 500-plus runs in a Test series since Graeme Smith’s 714 in 2003. Only Gavaskar among India openers (542 in 1979) has scored more than Rahul in a series in England.Four India batters have aggregated 400-plus runs in this series – Gill, Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jadeja, the first such instance for them. The previous series in which four (or more) batters scored 400-plus runs for a team was in 1993 – six Australia batters did it in the Ashes that year.4 – Instances of India knocking off a 300-plus first-innings deficit to draw a Test match. The highest is 368 against England – also at Old Trafford in 1936 – while they overhauled 334 against Sri Lanka in Ahmedabad and 314 against New Zealand in Napier, both in 2009.3 – Century-makers in the second innings for India at Old Trafford – Gill, Jadeja and Washington. It is the first instance of three batters scoring hundreds for India in the second innings of a Test match.Ravindra Jadeja celebrates his well-deserved century•Getty Images1 – Five left-hand India batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan and Pant in the first innings, while Washington Sundar and Jadeja in the second innings – had 50-plus scores in the Old Trafford Test. Only once before have five left-hand batters scored at least 50 for a team in a Test.Seven left-hand batters got at least 50 runs at Old Trafford, including Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes, the most for a Test match.A total of 12 batters got past 50 across both teams. This is the joint-second-highest, behind the 13 by South Africa and England in Durban in 1939.Seven of them at Old Trafford were by India batters, the joint-most for them in a Test match. Only Pakistan (eight vs India in 2006 in Karachi) had more players with 50-plus scores.5 – Number of sessions where India batted 20-plus overs without losing a wicket at Old Trafford. Since the start of 2014, only one team has had as many wicketless sessions in a Test match – six by Pakistan against Australia in 2022 in Rawalpindi. No other team have been as strong in more than three sessions in a Test match in this period.ESPNcricinfo Ltd12 – Batters who have scored a century in this series. Australia’s tour of the West Indies in 1955 is the only other series to feature 12 century-makers.A total of 18 centuries have been scored in this series so far, the third-highest in a Test series. Eleven have come from India, the joint-highest for them in a Test series, alongside the 1978-79 home series against West Indies.