New Delhi. Adam Gilchrist and Travis Head of Australia and Virender Sehwag of India… all three were recognized as explosive batsmen. All three played as openers in shorter format cricket and ruled the hearts of fans with their fours and sixes. These three batsmen, who became a synonym for fear for the opposition bowlers, changed the course of many matches with their rapid shots. Sehwag (Virender Sehwag) and Head (Travis Head) have made Test cricket exciting with their bold batting. Both of them also played as openers in red ball cricket and kept the opposition team under pressure by attacking from the beginning. Wicketkeeper batsman Adam Gilchrist opened in ODIs and T20s but batted in the middle order in Tests.
The explosive batting of ‘Gilly’ and ‘Viru’ played an important role in bringing fans back to the stadiums in Test cricket which was once getting boring due to continuous draws. Gilchrist (81.95) and Sehwag (82.23) are among the few batsmen of their era whose strike rate in Test cricket is above 80. Head, who is still active in international cricket, may have an overall strike rate of 64.71 in Tests but after being promoted as an opener like Sehwag, it has improved (82.00 as a number 1 batsman and 69.46 as a number 2 batsman).
3 cricketers with the same surname, all three fast bowlers, played only 1 test despite a brilliant debut, one is included in the selection committee
An unwanted record is also registered in the name of these three brilliant batsmen. All three of them have made ‘King Pair’ in both innings of the Test. In cricket terminology, a batsman getting out on ‘zero’ (0) in both innings is called ‘Pair’, while a batsman getting out on a score of 0 in his first ball in both innings is called ‘King Pair’. Gilchrist, who made his international debut first among the three cricketers, made this record against India in the historic Kolkata Test. This Test match held in 2001 is remembered for India’s Test win despite playing follow-on, VVS Laxman’s 281-run innings in adverse conditions and off-spinner Harbhajan Singh’s hat-trick.
Batsmen who scored 240+ runs in an innings but still could not become the top scorer of the match
Gilchrist was LBW on the very first ball in both innings
Gilchrist was out LBW in both innings of the Kolkata Test in March 2001. In the first innings, he was out to Harbhajan on his very first ball. In this match, Harbhajan completed a hat-trick by getting out Ponting on the second ball of the 72nd over of the innings, Gilchrist on the third ball and Shane Warne on the fourth ball. Gilchrist was out again on his very first ball in the second innings. This time he was out LBW by Sachin Tendulkar.
Cricketers whose Test fifty had neither a four nor a six, include two batsmen from India
Sehwag had formed a ‘King Pair’ against England
In the test match played at Edgbaston in August 2011, Virender Sehwag too was out on ‘King Pair’ like Gilchrist. In the first innings of the test, fast bowler Chris Broad got Sehwag caught by wicketkeeper Matt Prior on his very first ball. In the second innings too, ‘Viru’ had the same fate as in the first innings. He was again out on his very first ball. This time his catch was taken by captain Andrew Strauss on the ball of James Anderson. This test is remembered for the double century (294 runs) of England’s Alastair Cook. India had to face defeat by an innings margin in the test.
143 runs in 143.1 overs, when India made the visiting team crave for every run
Head became a victim of ‘King Pair’ this year
Left handed batsman like Gilchrist travis head In January this year, Head made a ‘King Pair’ against West Indies. In this match, he batted in the middle order and was caught by wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva on his very first ball off Kemar Roach’s bowling in the first innings. In the second innings, Head was bowled by fast bowler Alzari Joseph on the very first ball. In the thrilling Test, West Indies won by 8 runs.
The cricketer who scored a fifty and took 3 wickets in a single T20I match 4 times, has been suspended due to his action
All three batsmen have an average of 40+ in Tests
Gilchrist, Sehwag and Head have an average of over 40 in Test cricket. Gilchrist scored 5570 runs (17 centuries) in 96 Tests at an average of 47.60, his highest score during this period was 204 not out. Sehwag is one of the few batsmen in the world to score two triple centuries in Tests. In his international career from 1999 to 2013, he scored 8586 runs in 104 Tests at an average of 49.34, which included 23 centuries. Head, who made his debut in 2016, has so far scored 3173 runs (7 centuries, highest 175) in 49 Tests at an average of 41.75.
Tags: Adam gilchrist, Number Game, Test cricket, Travis Head, Virender Sehwag
FIRST PUBLISHED : September 13, 2024, 08:27 IST