Australia stunned India by nine wickets in the third Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore in a little over two days. Having overpowered the Aussies in the first two Tests, the hosts were expected to get the better of the visitors in the third Test as well to clinch the series and confirm their berth in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023 final. Even most cricket experts predicted so. However, things proved to be quite the opposite. Australia dominated the Test and booked their place in the WTC final with a thumping win.
At the SuperSport Park in Centurion, South Africa got the better of the West Indies by 87 runs, putting up a clinical display. Aiden Markram scored a first-innings hundred, while Anrich Nortje and Kagiso Rabada claimed five-wicket hauls as the Proteas eased to victory.
On their ongoing tour of Bangladesh, England beat the hosts in the first two matches to clinch the three-match series with a game in hand. Dawid Malan and Jason Roy scored centuries in the first and second ODIs, respectively, to play a big role in England’s triumph. With another cricketing week coming to a close, here’s our records round-up for February 27 to March 5.
Lyon becomes leading wicket-taker in Border-Gavaskar Trophy
Veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon created history in Indore, breaking Anil Kumble’s record (111) for most wickets in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. Following his eight-wicket haul in the second innings in Indore, Lyon now has 113 wickets from 25 Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy matches against India at an average of 31.92, with nine five-fors and two 10-wicket match hauls. Kumble picked up 111 wickets from 20 Tests at an average of 30.22, while Ravichandran Ashwin is third on the list with 107 scalps from 21 matches at an average of 28.83.
With his three-wicket haul in the first innings in Indore, when he claimed the scalps of Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and KS Bharat, Lyon went past late Shane Warne’s record of highest non-Asian wicket-takers on Asian soil. Warne had 127 Test scalps in Asia. The wicket of Jadeja was Lyon’s 128th on Asian soil. Daniel Vettori (New Zealand) – 98, Dale Steyn (South Africa) – 92 and James Anderson (England) – 82 complete the Top 5 in the illustrious list.
In the first innings of the same Test, Australian left-arm Matthew Kuhnemann created a new record for the best figures by a visiting bowler in Tests at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Kuhnemann registered exceptional figures of 5/16. Bangladesh’s Abu Jayed (4/108) held the previous record.
Ravichandran Ashwin goes past Kapil Dev
Seasoned Team India off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin went past legendary former all-rounder Kapil Dev on the list of Indian bowlers with the most number of international wickets. Ashwin first dismissed Peter Handscomb on Day 2 in Indore, with Shreyas Iyer taking a sharp catch at short-leg. The scalp saw him pick up his 687th international wicket, drawing him level with Kapil. Ashwin then dismissed Alex Carey and Nathan Lyon to finish with a three-wicket haul in the first innings and break Kapil’s record.
Kapil claimed 687 wickets in 356 international matches. Ashwin now has 690 wickets from 269 matches at an average of 25.97, with 31 five-fers and seven 10-wicket match hauls. The great Kumble is the all-time leading wicket-taker for India with 953 wickets in 401 matches at an average of 30.06, with 37 five-fers and eight 10-wicket match hauls. Former off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is second on the list with 707 wickets from 365 matches, averaging 32.59 with 28 five-fers and five 10-wicket match hauls.
England create history in Bangladesh
The England cricket team created history during their ongoing tour of Bangladesh. They beat the hosts in the first two one-dayers to become the first visiting side to defeat Bangladesh in Bangladesh in an ODI series in seven years. Back in 2016, Bangladesh had also gone down to the Englishmen in the one-day series at home.
Having beaten Bangladesh by three wickets in the first match at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, England were sent into bat after losing the toss in the second ODI at the same venue. The visitors put up an impressive 326/7 on the board as Jason Roy smashed 132 off 124 balls, hitting 18 fours and a six. Skipper Jos Buttler contributed 76 off 64, while Moeen Ali (42 off 35) and Sam Curran (33* off 19) also chipped in with handy knocks. In response, Bangladesh were bowled out for 194 in 44 overs as their home domination in ODIs came to an end. Shakib Al Hasan top-scored for Bangladesh with 58. For England, Sam Curran and Adil Rashid claimed four scalps each.
Temba Bavuma registers unwanted record on Test debut captaincy
Temba Bavuma got off to a winning start as skipper in his first Test as South Africa hammered West Indies by 87 runs at SuperSport Park, Centurion. However, on a personal level, Bavuma had a disastrous start. He was dismissed for ducks in both innings of the Test. He was trapped lbw by Alzarri Joseph’s second-ball in the first innings and fell for a golden duck to the same bowler in the second innings.
Bavuma, who replaced Dean Elgar as Test skipper, has become the fourth cricketer to bag a pair of ducks on his Test captaincy debut. Mark Taylor (Australia), Rashid Latif (Pakistan) and Habibul Bashar (Bangladesh) are the other three with the unwanted distinction.
For West Indies, fast bowler Kemar Roach and wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva registered impressive records in the three-day defeat. With match figures of 1/71 and 5/47, Roach picked up his 260th Test wicket. He is now the fifth most successful West Indies bowler in Tests, behind Courtney Walsh (519), Curtly Ambrose (405), Malcolm Marshall (376) and Lance Gibbs (305). Meanwhile, Da Silva, playing in his 21st Test, joined former West Indies wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs among stumpers with seven dismissals in one inning. Pakistan’s Wasim Bari, England’s Bob Taylor and New Zealand’s Ian Smith complete the famed list.