Five lesser-known feats of Indian cricketers
The Indian cricket team is the most scrutinized team in the cricketing world today. The Indian players are massive celebrities in the country, and cricket is a sport that is the life throb of millions in the country. The players are venerated for their astounding performances on the field, and an Indian win in any format of the game brings unbridled joy to the masses.
And, there are millions who follow every move of their favourite cricketing stars. But then, are you an Indian fan and do know everything about Indian cricket and its players? In this article, let us take a look at 5 things about Indian cricket that many people might not be aware of.
5) Getting Sir Don Bradman out hit wicket
Even 72 years after he last played a Test match for his country, even close to two decades after his passing away, Sir Don Bradman continues to generate a sense of awe in the cricketing world. The legendary batsman was out hit wicket just once, and it was to an Indian bowler.
In the year 1947, India and Australia locked horns in the first Test at Brisbane. Even though Australia won the match by an innings and 226 runs and Bradman scored 185 in that game, the match is famous because Bradman was dismissed hit wicket for the first and only time in his career. The bowler who took Bradman’s wicket was Lala Amarnath. Amarnath played 24 Test matches for India and was also India’s first-ever centurion.
4) Sourav Ganguly’s amazing MOTM streak
Sourav Ganguly is one of the finest batsmen to have ever graced the ODI arena. The left-handed batting legend played a colossal 311 ODI matches for his country and scored 11363 runs at an average of 40.73. And, Ganguly is the only player in the history of ODI cricket to have won the Man of the Match award on 4 consecutive occasions in ODI cricket.
In the year 1997, Ganguly hit the purple patch of his career and scored 1338 runs. And, from 14th September to 21st September 1997, he won four consecutive Man of the Match awards, all against Pakistan. In the first game he won the award for his all-round performances, in the second, he won the award for picking up 5 wickets, in the third match he won the award for scoring 75, and in the fourth match, he again won the award for scoring 96 runs.
3) Diamond duck without being run out!
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is known for his bowling skills. But then, he finds his name in this exclusive list for something that is not related to bowling. Kumar is the second cricketer in the history of the ODI format to have been dismissed for a duck without facing a delivery to a mode of dismissal that was not run out. Confusing?
In an Asia Cup encounter that took place between India and Sri Lanka in the year 2014, Kumar was stumped off the first delivery he faced, but the ball was declared a wide. So, technically, he was dismissed for a diamond duck, a situation where a batsman gets out for a duck without facing even a single delivery. But what makes it unique, is the fact that he was dismissed to a mode that was not run out.
2) The long wait
In the last 19 years (2002 to 2021), there has not been a single year where India have not won at least a single Test match. But then, can you believe that it took the Indian side 19 years to win their first-ever Test match? The Indian side played their first Test match way back in the year 1932.
And, in the first 19 years and 24 Test matches, they could not post a single win. And finally, in the year 1952, India recorded their first-ever Test victory by thrashing the England side by an innings and 8 runs at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai. Mulvantrai ‘Vinoo’ Mankad was the catalyst of the triumph, picking up 8 wickets in the first innings.
1) VVS Laxman’s unfortunate record
VVS Laxman is a legend of Indian cricket. The batting maestro played at the international level for 16 years, and featured in a staggering 134 Test matches for India, scoring 8781 runs at an average of 45.50. Laxman also played 86 ODI matches for his country and scored 2338 runs at a decent average of 30.76.
But then, in his entire career, he could not even play a single World Cup match for his country. In fact, in his career span (1996 to 2012), India played as many as 4 World Cups, but Laxman did feature in even a single World Cup game. It is indeed sad that a man who was such a gifted willow wielder could not play a single World Cup game for his country.
