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25 Amazing Cricket Facts That'll
Blow Your Mind
Call yourself a cricket superfan? Well, then
how many of these amazing facts do you
know?
1. Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat
to hit the fastest ever ODI century:
Shahid Afridi was flown in to play for the
Pakistan team from West Indies to Nairobi in
1996 and didn’t have a proper bat. That’s
when Waqar Younis gave ‘Young Afridi’ Sachin
Tendulkar’s bat. Afridi hit 11 sixes and six
boundaries with the bat and scored a 37-ball
century against Sri Lanka which was the then
fastest ODI century. The record now belongs
to New Zealand's Corey Anderson.
2. Chris Gayle is the only batsman to hit a
six off the first ball of a Test match
AFP
In the 137 years of Test cricket no cricketer
has ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test
match. Audacious Chris Gayle achieved this
feat against Bangladesh in 2012 off debutant
Sohag Gazi.
3. Abbas Ali Baig was the first Indian
cricketer to be kissed during a Test match
BCCL
When Abbas Ali Baig reached a half-century in
the third Test match against Australia at the
Brabourne Stadium in 1960, a pretty young
girl ran all the way from the North Stand to
greet the batsman. She kissed Baig on his
cheek.
4. Vinod Kambli’s Test match average is
better than his childhood friend Sachin
Tendulkar:
Vinod Kambli played only 17 Test matches
which included two back to back double tons.
Kambli’s Test average is 54.20 while his
childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar averages
53.78 after 200 Tests.
5. Sunil Gavaskar was out off the first ball
of a Test match thrice in his career:
Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman to reach
10,000 Test runs and he ended his career
scoring 34 Test centuries. But did you know he
was out three times off the first ball of a Test?
The bowlers to dismiss him were: Geoff Arnold
(Edgbaston, 1974), Malcolm Marshall (Kolkata,
1984) and Imran Khan (Jaipur, 1987).
6. ML Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri are the
only Indians to bat on all five days of a
Test
7. The only cricketer to play Test cricket
for India and England is Saif Ali Khan’s
grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi
8. Lala Amarnath is the only bowler to
dismiss Don Bradman hit wicket in Test
cricket:
This happened in the 1948 Brisbane Test.
9. There’s an uncanny similarity between
the Indo-Pak match at the Australasia Cup
of 1986 and Asia Cup 2014
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10. India won the 1983 World Cup and won
their first ever Test at Lord’s three years
later in 1986.
India won their second World Cup 28 years
later in 2011 and remarkably won their
second ever Test at Lord’s three years later
in 2014.
11. India is the only country to win the 60-
Over, 50-Over and 20-Over World Cup
12. Alec Stewart was born on 8-4-63 and
he scored 8463 Test runs
13. Asif Karim of Kenya has played
International cricket and Davis Cup
(Tennis) for his country
14. Wilfred Rhodes of England played Test
cricket till he was 52!
15. Allan Border played 153 consecutive
Test matches
16. The only Indian Test cricketer to be
knighted is Maharaja of Vizianagaram
17. Australia beat England by 45 runs in
the first ever cricket Test as well as the
Centenary Test in 1977:
Australia beat England in the first ever Test
match by 45 runs held at the Melbourne
Cricket Ground in 1877. Hundred years later
the opposition were the same, the venue was
the same and the result as well!
18. All four innings of a test on the same
day:
The 2000 Lord's Test between England and
West Indies saw all the four innings being
played on the same day. This feat was
repeated 11 years later in the famous Cape
Town Test where South Africa bowled out
Australia for 47.
19. There's only one person who witnessed
Jim Laker and Anil Kumble taking 10
wickets in an innings:
As a 10-year-old Richard Stokes witnessed Jim
Laker taking all 10 wickets in the 1956 Old
Trafford Test against Australia. Forty-three
years later he was in India watching the India
vs Pakistan Test and saw Anil Kumble taking all
the 10 wickets in an innings. These were the
only two Tests Stokes has watched in his life.
20. On the morning of 11/11/11 South
Africa needed 111 runs to win at 11:11
Quora
This coincidence occurred during the first Test
between South Africa and Australia at Cape
Town. At 11:11, on 11/11/11, South Africa
were 125 for 1 needing a further 111 runs for
a win.
21. Peter Siddle is the only bowler to take a
hat-trick on his birthday:
Peter Siddle remains the only bowler in
international cricket to take a hat-trick on his
birthday. This happened during the Brisbane
Test against England on November 25, 2010.
22. India's Mohinder Amarnath is the only
cricketer to be dismissed for handling the
ball and obstructing the field
Getty Images
23. West Indies' Leslie Hylton is the only
cricketer to be hanged for murder
24. Two Robin Singhs have played test
cricket for India and both are one-Test
wonders:
Robin Singh - India's one-day specialist played
one Test match in his career against Zimbabwe
in 1998. His namesake Robin Singh junior was
a fast bowler who played his only Test against
New Zealand in 1999.
25. Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan
before India:
Did you know Sachin Tendulkar played for
Pakistan before India? This happened during a
practice match between India and Pakistan at
the Brabourne Stadium in 1987. Tendulkar
came as a substitute fielder for Pakistan.
