With the series between India and England currently tied at 1-1., the upcoming match comes with added pressure for both teams as a win is needed to enter the World Test Championship finals. With the added peculiarity of this being a day and night Test match, we take a look at records that can be broken and created.
1,10,000
The much-awaited third Test match between India and England will mark a new beginning for the new Motera Stadium, as it will be the first time an international match will be held there. With a capacity of 1,10,000, It will be the largest cricket stadium in the world surpassing Melbourne Cricket Ground.
394
Just six wickets separate Ravichandran Ashwin from the historic landmark of 400 Test wickets. Reaching the target would mean Ashwin will be the second quickest to claim 400 Test scalps surpassing New Zealand's Richard Hadlee and South Africa's Dale Steyn, who are both tied in the second position at the moment.
The next Test marks Ashwin's 77th test match. Overall, he will become the sixth spinner to join the 400 club, and will only be the third Indian spinner to do so after Anil Kumble (619) and Harbhajan Singh (417).
99
The upcoming India-England Test will mark the 100th career Test match for Ishant Sharma. It's been an illustrious career making his debut in May 2007, He has taken a total of 302 wickets with career-best figures of 10/102. He is the second senior-most Test player in the world after James Anderson, making his debut ahead of Stuart Broad. Joe Root and Stuart Board are the only other players with 100 plus Tests among the active players.
611
The 38-year-old Burnley Express is just 9 wickets away from surpassing Anil Kumble, an Indian spin great, to become the third-highest wicket-taker in Test matches. Albeit playing 27 matches more than Kumble, the upcoming match stands a great opportunity for the bowler to enter the history books.
517
Claiming 517 wickets from 145 Test matches, Stuart Broad stands just 3 scalps away from overtaking the legendary Courtney Walsh from West Indies. If he is included in the playing Xl and does manage to pick up three wickets, he could become the 6th highest wicket-taker bowler in Test history. Given it's a day and night Test match featuring the pink ball, which predominantly favors the pacers, many wouldn't bet against Broad achieving this feat.
148
Umesh Yadav stands on the verge of the 150 wicket club in Test matches. Making his debut in Nov 2011, The Indian fast bowler has gone onto play a total of 48 Test matches so far. He is India’s most successful pace bowler in Day and Night Tests taking a total of 11 wickets leading Ishant Shamra, who has 9 wickets to his name.
16
The encounter between India and England will mark only the 16th D/N Test match to be played. Both teams have not been very successful in this variant as England have managed only 1 win in their 3 matches, while the Men in Blue have a 50% win percentage. Do you think D/N Tests could gain more popularity than the traditional Test matches?
124
The third Test match in the series will be India’s 125th Test match against the England cricket team. So far having played 124 matches against each other, It's the most India has played against a particular opponent in Test matches. The record currently stands with India winning 27, England winning 48, with 49 matches being drawn between the two. Playing their first match in 1932, there are an 89 years of rivalry and history on display.
41
King Kohli, the batting maestro has always been one to break records ever since he shot into prominence. The upcoming match is no different as it presents the opportunity for Kohli to surpass Ricky Ponting to be the captain with the most centuries in International cricket. Currently tied at 41 centuries, a century in the next game would mark his 42nd century as captain.
21
As Kohli will lead India against Joe Root’s England in the next Test, the run machine will be looking to surpass MS Dhoni’s captaincy record with both having won 21 matches at home. This will be another feather in his already illustrious cap making another entry into the history books.
With both teams going for the win, it promises to be an interesting matchup. Eyeing for a place in the WTC final, the tactics deployed will be intriguing to watch. Let us know which records you are looking forward to being seen broken.
