The Indian cricket team re-wrote the Test record books following a rare display of ultra-attacking long-format cricket on day four of the second Test against West Indies at Port of Spain on Monday, becoming the team with the highest team run-rate in a Test inning lasting a minimum of 20 overs. While England drawing polarising reactions from Test cricket lovers, and purists with their ‘Bazball’ school of cricket, which focuses on positive and attacking gameplay and the need to achieve clear results, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and coach Rahul Dravid seemed to have taken a leaf from England’s book to present to fans what could be the first exhibition of ‘Dravball’.
In their second innings, the Indian team went into white-ball cricket mode and smashed 181 runs in just 24 overs before declaring the innings. India scored their runs at a run rate of 7.54, the highest in Tests by a team during an inning lasting at least 20 overs.
They broke the record of Australia, who had scored 241/2 in just 32 overs against Pakistan in Sydney in 2017. The Aussies had scored these runs at a run rate of 7.53.
bazball who?? #INDvWI #Bazball pic.twitter.com/fNhz7hTWqJ
— Harsha Achanta (@TheHarsha1) July 23, 2023
Notably, India also smashed the fastest team hundred in Test cricket history.
Skipper Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings for India and put on a stand of 98 runs in just 71 balls, that is 11.5 overs.
Following Rohit’s dismissal, India reached the 100-run mark in just 12.2 overs, which is a total of 74 balls.
India surpassed the 22-year-old record held by Sri Lanka. They had reached the 100-run mark in just 13.2 overs, that is in 80 balls against Bangladesh in 2001 during the Asian Test Championship.
Mumbai stars Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma were two players who were at their most attacking.
Rohit Sharma smashed the fastest half-century of his career. Batting in his T20I avatar, Rohit reached his half-century in just 35 balls.
Ishan Kishan also smashed his half-century in just 33 balls. Kishan smashed the second-fastest fifty by an Indian wicketkeeper. Rishabh Pant has the fastest half-century by an Indian keeper in just 28 balls.
At the time of declaration, Kishan was unbeaten at 52 in 34 balls, consisting of four boundaries and two sixes. His runs came at a strike rate of 152.94.
Kishan’s strike rate of 152.94 is the fourth-highest SR in a Test inning (of minimum 50 runs) by an Indian player. The highest SR by an Indian batter in an inning of a minimum of 50 runs is in the hands of legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev, who had smashed 89 in just 55 balls against England in 1982 at Lord’s.
Among the designated wicketkeepers, Kishan played the third-fastest innings of all time in Tests in terms of strike rate. During his 59-ball 102* against England at Perth in 2006/07, Australia’s Adam Gilchrist had scored his runs at a strike rate of 172.88. It is followed by Rishabh Pant, who scored his 50 runs off 31 balls at a strike rate of 161.29 against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru in 2022.
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