There is nothing as entertaining as Test cricket, it was once again proved during the enthralling clash between India and New Zealand in Kanpur, which ended in a lung-opening fashion, as we saw a spirited Kiwis side hold on to a gutsy draw by the narrowest margin of one wicket.
It is not the first time that the Indians have been part of an absorbing Test encounter as they have made it a habit in recent times to dismiss the opponents on the last of the Test. However, this time around the debutant Rachin Ravindra held on well and the early stoppage of the game due to bad light meant that both sides will have everything to fight for in the second and final Test.
"A moment I will never forget" - Rachin Ravindra reflects on the final session at Green Park #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/L8wLCx0SHA
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) November 30, 2021
When two top-ranked sides face each other, we know records are always on the verge of being broken and this time around too there was no exception. Cricwizz, today takes a look at the unique records and stats revolving around the opening encounter between India and New Zealand.
1) A memorable debut
The Indian middle-order batsman- Shreyas Iyer was all over the headlines as he became just the 16th India to register a ton on Test debut. The 26-year old continued his majestic form into the second innings as well by scoring 65 runs and helping India from a dire position at 51 for 5 to a comfortable position.
Iyer became the first Indian player to score a ton and follow it by fifty in the second innings. A dream debut for the former Delhi Capitals skipper, can he cement his place in the side by replacing the big guns in the arsenal.
List of records broken by Shreyas Iyer during his maiden ton
# Third Indian to score a ton on debut vs New Zealand.
# Joint- fourth fastest to a maiden ton on debut in terms of balls faced.
# Third oldest to achieve the milestone (26y 355 days)
From receiving my Test cap from Sunil Gavaskar Sir to going out there and representing my country in red ball cricket, I’ll carry these two days with me for the rest of my life ❤️🇮🇳 Thank you everyone for your wishes, love and amazing support 🙏 pic.twitter.com/vf4jPIVwqt
— Shreyas Iyer (@ShreyasIyer15) November 26, 2021
2) Tim Southee leading the attack from the front
The veteran pacer Tim Southee became the 6th bowler in this fixture to pick 50 wickets and just the second Kiwi after Richard Hadlee to achieve the feat against India. The 32-year old also registered a unique record by becoming the first visiting bowler since 1980 to pick a five-wicket haul in Kanpur.
List of players to pick over 50 wickets in this fixture
| S.no | Player | Team | Wickets |
| 1 | Richard Hadlee | New Zealand | 65 |
| 2 | Bishan Bedi | India | 57 |
| 3 | EAS Prasanna | India | 55 |
| 4 | Ravi Ashwin | India | 55 |
| 5 | Anil Kumble | India | 50 |
| 6 | Tim Southee | New Zealand | 50 |
3) Ravichandran Ashwin’s journey to the top
The Indian all-rounder and currently World’s fifth-best all-rounder in the longest format, Ravichandran Ashwin once again stormed his way to the record books by overtaking his fellow countryman Harbhajan Singh’s tally of 417 wickets to become India’s third-highest wicket-taker in Tests.
Overall the foxy off-spinner is the 13th highest wicket-taker in the longest format and three wickets away from overtaking the Proteas legend Shaun Pollock’s tally of 421 wickets.
Stat Alert - With 418 wickets, @ashwinravi99 becomes India's third-highest wicket-taker in Tests.#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/TRvelxZ1Wk
— BCCI (@BCCI) November 29, 2021
4) Somerville’s wicketless run
An unpleasant record for the off-spinner William Somerville as he now holds the infamous record for the most overs bowled by a visiting spinner without picking a wicket in India since 1998. The 37- year-old bowled a total of 44 overs combining the two innings and was unfortunate not to have picked up a single wicket.
The previous record belonged to the spin legend, Shane Warne of Australia, who went wicketless in the 42 overs bowled against India in Kolkata in the year 1998.
5) Tom Latham's unfortunate dismissal
The Kiwi opener played a gritty innings scoring 95 off 282 balls in the first innings. However, his innings of perseverance came to an end in an unfortunate way as he became just the second Kiwi batsman to be stumped in the 90s. Any guesses on the first? The record belongs to John Wright, who was stumped on 99 vs England. Hurts right?
Latham also became just the third batsman in the history of Test cricket to be stumped by a substitute wicket-keeper. (KS Barat, who was substituted for Saha)
List of players to be dismissed by a substitute wicket-keeper in Tests
| Player | Wicket-keeper |
| Tip Snooke (SA) | Neville Tufnell (ENG) |
| Pervez Sajjad (PAK) | Bevan Congdon (NZ) |
| Tom Latham (NZ) | KS Bharat (IND) |
6) Kyle Jamieson’s dream run
The Kiwi spearhead Kyle Jamieson was once again among the wickets as he managed to pick up six wickets, split across both the innings. The 26-year old is now the fastest Kiwi to pick 50 Test wickets. In the process, Jamieson also became the third-fastest to reach the milestone in terms of balls bowled (1865 balls).
List of players to take the fewest balls to 50 Test wickets
| Player | Team | Balls taken |
| Vernon Philander | South Africa | 1240 |
| Brett Lee | Australia | 1844 |
| Kyle Jamieson | New Zealand | 1865 |
| Frank Tyson | England | 1880 |
| Shane Bond | New Zealand | 1943 |
7) Axar Patel shines once again
A great asset to the Indian side, the left-arm all-rounder Axar Patel has played just four matches for team India and has already picked up 33 wickets to his name. He has also picked up five 5-wicket hauls in his career so far and one 10-wicket haul. The 27-year old is now the joint-second in the list of players to pick up most five-wicket hauls after the first four matches.
This is also the sixth consecutive occasion the all-rounder has picked up a five-wicket haul and he now stands to be the only Indian to achieve the feat. To understand the gravity of the achievement, no other Indian has managed to do that on more than four occasions. Can Axar become the fastest player to pick 50 wickets? He has two more matches to join Australian legend Charles Turner, who achieved the feat in just six matches.
Which of the records did you find the most intriguing. We are now just two days away from the second and decisive Test. Can the Indians register yet another win at home? Stay tuned with Cricwizz for all the latest content revolving around the sport.
