India got off to a strong start against Australia in the series-deciding tie at Dharamsala. The HPCA stadium was expected to favor seamers, but it was India’s first-ever Chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav, who stole all the headlines with his 4-wicket haul.
The visitors got off to a solid start thanks to opener David Warner, who finally found form after struggling throughout the entire series. He was supported by skipper Steven Smith, whose 3rd century in the series helped his team get to a total of 300.
At one stage, it looked like the Aussies might be set for a total of above 400 runs before India made a sterling comeback during the post-lunch session. Kuldeep rightfully stole all the headlines, with his wickets of Handscomb and Maxwell catching the eye.
India’s openers KL Rahul and Murali Vijay just had to see out one over before the end of day’s play. They will have to do a good job as India are without their inspirational skipper Virat Kohli, who is still recovering from his shoulder injury.
Here are all the numbers you need to know –
0 – No chinaman bowler has had better figures on Test debut than Kuldeep Yadav. He finished with figures of 4/44 which bettered the previous record held by Sri Lanka’s Lakshan Sandakan, who had figures of 4/58.
1 – Kuldeep Yadav became India’s first ever Chinaman bowler in Test cricket. 287 players had debuted for India before him
2 – No. of visiting skippers to record 3 centuries in a series in India. Steven Smith becomes the second person after Alastair Cook (2012-13) to do so and the first Aussie.
3 – Kuldeep Yadav becomes the 3rd Chinaman to debut in 9 months after South Africa’s Tabraiz Shamsi, Sri Lanka’s Lakshan Sandakan.
3 - Steve Smith became only the third batsman after Pasty Hendren and Simon Katich to score hundreds in maiden Test of three away venues.
4 – Steven Smith (99) becomes the 4th fastest to 20 Test centuries in terms of innings. Don Bradman (55), Sunil Gavaskar (93) and Matthew Hayden (95) are ahead of him
6 – Steven Smith (482) has recorded the 6th highest runs by a visiting captain in India. He has one innings left in the series
7 – Number of centuries scored by Steven Smith against India in 19 innings
33 – Ajinkya Rahane became India's 33rd Test captain when he stepped in for Virat Kohli
52 – Most number of runs scored by any team in this Indian home season in the first 10 overs. Australia were 52/1 after 10 overs in Dharamsala
54 – Number of consecutive Tests Virat Kohli played for India. Since November 2011, he hadn’t missed a single Test before sitting out this one
79 – Wickets for India’s Ravi Ashwin in 2016-17 – the most by any bowler in a single season, going past South Africa’s Dale Steyn's 78 in 2007-08
111 – Steven Smith was dismissed on the ‘Nelson’. Became the first Aussie skipper in history to do so.
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