25 Amazing Cricket Facts That’ll Blow Your Mind

Call yourself a cricket superfan? Well, then how many of these amazing facts do you know?

1. Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar’s bat to hit the fastest ever ODI century

Shahid Afridi was flown in to play for the Pakistan team from West Indies to Nairobi in 1996 and didn’t have a proper bat. That’s when Waqar Younis gave ‘Young Afridi’ Sachin Tendulkar’s bat. Afridi hit 11 sixes and six boundaries with the bat and scored a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka which was the then fastest ODI century. The record now belongs to New Zealand’s Corey Anderson.

2. Chris Gayle is the only batsman to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match

In the 137 years of Test cricket no cricketer has ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. Audacious Chris Gayle achieved this feat against Bangladesh in 2012 off debutant Sohag Gazi.

3. Abbas Ali Baig was the first Indian cricketer to be kissed during a Test match

When Abbas Ali Baig reached a half-century in the third Test match against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium in 1960, a pretty young girl ran all the way from the North Stand to greet the batsman. She kissed Baig on his cheek.

4. Vinod Kambli’s Test match average is better than his childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar

Vinod Kambli played only 17 Test matches which included two back to back double tons. Kambli’s Test average is 54.20 while his childhood friend Sachin Tendulkar averages 53.78 after 200 Tests.

5. Sunil Gavaskar was out off the first ball of a Test match thrice in his career

Sunil Gavaskar was the first batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs and he ended his career scoring 34 Test centuries. But did you know he was out three times off the first ball of a Test? The bowlers to dismiss him were: Geoff Arnold (Edgbaston, 1974), Malcolm Marshall (Kolkata, 1984) and Imran Khan (Jaipur, 1987).

6. ML Jaisimha and Ravi Shastri are the only Indians to bat on all five days of a Test

7. The only cricketer to play Test cricket for India and England is Saif Ali Khan’s grandfather, Iftikhar Ali Khan Pataudi

8. Lala Amarnath is the only bowler to dismiss Don Bradman hit wicket in Test cricket

This happened in the 1948 Brisbane Test.

9. There’s an uncanny similarity between the Indo-Pak match at the Australasia Cup of 1986 and Asia Cup 2014

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10. India won the 1983 World Cup and won their first ever Test at Lord’s three years later in 1986.

India won their second World Cup 28 years later in 2011 and remarkably won their second ever Test at Lord’s three years later in 2014.

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11. India is the only country to win the 60-Over, 50-Over and 20-Over World Cup

12. Alec Stewart was born on 8-4-63 and he scored 8463 Test runs

13. Asif Karim of Kenya has played International cricket and Davis Cup (Tennis) for his country

14. Wilfred Rhodes of England played Test cricket till he was 52!

15. Allan Border played 153 consecutive Test matches

16. The only Indian Test cricketer to be knighted is Maharaja of Vizianagaram

17. Australia beat England by 45 runs in the first ever cricket Test as well as the Centenary Test in 1977

Australia beat England in the first ever Test match by 45 runs held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1877. Hundred years later the opposition were the same, the venue was the same and the result as well!

18. All four innings of a test on the same day

The 2000 Lord’s Test between England and West Indies saw all the four innings being played on the same day. This feat was repeated 11 years later in the famous Cape Town Test where South Africa bowled out Australia for 47.

19. There’s only one person who witnessed Jim Laker and Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an innings

As a 10-year-old Richard Stokes witnessed Jim Laker taking all 10 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test against Australia. Forty-three years later he was in India watching the India vs Pakistan Test and saw Anil Kumble taking all the 10 wickets in an innings. These were the only two Tests Stokes has watched in his life.

20. On the morning of 11/11/11 South Africa needed 111 runs to win at 11:11

This coincidence occurred during the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town. At 11:11, on 11/11/11, South Africa were 125 for 1 needing a further 111 runs for a win.

21. Peter Siddle is the only bowler to take a hat-trick on his birthday

Peter Siddle remains the only bowler in international cricket to take a hat-trick on his birthday. This happened during the Brisbane Test against England on November 25, 2010.

22. India’s Mohinder Amarnath is the only cricketer to be dismissed for handling the ball and obstructing the field

23. West Indies’ Leslie Hylton is the only cricketer to be hanged for murder

24. Two Robin Singhs have played test cricket for India and both are one-Test wonders

Robin Singh – India’s one-day specialist played one Test match in his career against Zimbabwe in 1998. His namesake Robin Singh junior was a fast bowler who played his only Test against New Zealand in 1999.

25. Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before India

Did you know Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before India? This happened during a practice match between India and Pakistan at the Brabourne Stadium in 1987. Tendulkar came as a substitute fielder for Pakistan.

Source: IndiaTimes