India vs South Africa, 2019: 1st Test, Day 5 – Ashwin equals Muralitharan, Shami's 4th inns exploits, new sixes record and more stats

India sealed a 203-run win in the first of the 3-match Test series against South Africa as they bagged nine wickets in the first two sessions on the final day. Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja reduced South Africa to 70/8 inside the first hour on the final day’s play. However, Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy added 91 runs for the 9th wicket, a partnership that lasted 32.2 overs. Shami picked up the last two wickets to bundle out the visitors to 191.

All the statistical highlights from India’s big win over South Africa in the Vizag Test:

A game for openers and sixes:

37 – A total of 37 sixes were hit by both the teams in this match; the most number of sixes in a single Test match. The previous most number of sixes in a Test was 35 in the 2014 Sharjah Test between Pakistan and New Zealand.

731 – The 731 runs aggregated by openers in this match are the 3rd most by opening batsmen in a Test match. The 2003 Birmingham Test between England and South Africa witnessed 811 runs from the openers while the 2008 India-South Africa Test match in Chennai recorded a total of 749 runs.

Kohli surpasses Fleming:

29 – Virat Kohli has led India to victory in 29 Test matches; the 6th most number of wins for any captain in this format. Kohli went past Stephen Fleming (28) with this victory.

Ashwin @ 350:

66 – Number of matches Ravichandran Ashwin needed for completing 350 wickets in Test cricket; the joint-fastest player to the milestone. Muttiah Muralitharan also needed 66 Tests to reach 350 wickets.

Shami matches Bumrah:

4 – Mohammed Shami bagged four of his five wickets in the 2nd innings via bowled. He thus became only the 2nd Indian pacer with four bowled dismissals in a Test inning. Jasprit Bumrah also dismissed four batsmen bowled in the 2nd innings of the Antigua Test against West Indies this year.

Bumrah also bagged four “bowled” wickets in the CWC19 game against Bangladesh. It was the first instance for an Indian pacer in International cricket with four bowled wickets.

1996 – Mohammed Shami became the first pacer to claim a 5-wicket haul in the 4th innings of a Test match in India in close to 23 years. The last pacer was Lance Klusener who took 8/64 in the Kolkata Test in November 1996. The last Indian pacer with this feat was Javagal Srinath in Ahmedabad during the 1996 IND-SA series where Klusener took 8-fer.

3 – Shami is only the 3rd Indian pacer to take two 5-wicket hauls in the 4th innings. Kapil Dev and Jasprit Bumrah are the other two Indian pacers with two 5-fers in the 4th essay.

A rare feat for Muthusamy:

82* – Senuran Muthusamy’s 82 runs are the 5th most by any player on Test debut without being dismissed after batted twice. The highest is Azhar Mahmood scored 178 runs (128* & 50*) during his debut in 1997 against South Africa in Rawalpindi. For South Africa, the previous highest is only 18 runs by Tabraiz Shamsi in the 2016 Adelaide Test against Australia.

A first for Rohit after six years:

2 – Only the 2nd time Rohit Sharma has won the player of the Match award in Test cricket. He was named PoTM during his Test debut against the West Indies in 2013. The present match was Rohit’s maiden game as an opener in Test cricket.

Piedt shines with the ball:

1 – Dane Piedt became the first South African to score a fifty in the 4th innings while batting at No.10 and lower position. Fanie de Villiers scored an unbeaten 46 in the 4th innings of the 1998 Durban Test against Pakistan. Prior to Piedt, five players at No.10 and one player at No.11 have scored fifties in the 4th innings of a Test match.

An unfortunate end to Elgar’s gritty ton:

160 – Dean Elgar’s 160-run knock is the 6th highest individual score in a Test defeat by a South African in Test cricket. This is also the highest for SA in a Test defeat since Herschelle Gibbs’ 161 in the 2005 Johannesburg Test against South Africa.