Stuart Broad excited to play his 100th Test match in India

The upcoming series opener between India and England at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot is going to be special event for England pace bowling star Stuart Broad as he will become only the 64th player in Test cricket’s 139 years history to join the prestigious 100 Test club.

The 30-year old is well aware that his milestone Test is shaping up to be among the toughest of his career so far. Some good news arrived just in time for the English side after it was conformed that James Anderson, England’s leading wicket-taker of all time, will be available for the test series, Broad has to shoulder the pace bowling responsibility his bowling partner won’t be available for the opening Test. The Nottinghamshire quick is unfazed by this fact.

Eager to make his 100th match memorable, Broad enthused, “Yeah, obviously I am aware how special an achievement it is because of the players that have come before me. The amount they have given to English cricket, it’s a special cap to receive. Actually, I think, what excites me more is this (100th game) being the start of a huge series for us as well.”

Broad admitted, “When Jimmy (Anderson) is not in the side, I find it a bit more forceful with the communication – make sure the bowling unit is sharing as much as possible because if you go quiet as a bowling unit, you are not working together and it is much harder to get those 10 wickets in an innings. I think our team has always taken for granted that Jimmy and I always talk. So, when Jimmy is not in the team, we make sure we are sharing information a lot more.”

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“There is no bigger occasion than starting a series in India, against a number 1 team in the world. It’s great to get a milestone being in such an important game because we know how vital it is to start these tours well. I think we are coming as massive underdogs, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s pretty exciting as well, we’re not really sure what to expect. Obviously, the South African series here this time last year was a pretty low scoring one. But in the New Zealand series, there were some runs scored, he further elaborated”

Since January 2013, India have played 13 Tests at home and won 12 of them with the remaining one ending in a rain-affected draw. Incidentally, England were the last side to defeat them on Indian soil during the course of their 2-1 victory during the 2012 series. But, this time around, it’s a completely different scenario.

Here are some memorable moments from his illustrious career so far