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INTERESTING numbers from Colombo Test, Day 1

August 03, 2017 20:24 IST

Cheteshwar Pujara set a few records during his unbeaten ton.
Rajneesh Gupta has all the interesting numbers from Day 1 of the second Test.

Cheteshwar Pujara

IMAGE: Cheteshwar Pujara celebrates his century. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

84 Number of innings Cheteshwar Pujara took to complete 4,000 runs in Test cricket.

Only two batsmen have reached this mark for India in fewer innings -- Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag (81 each).

Rahul Dravid also took 84 innings to accomplish this feat.

3 Number of consecutive Tests in which Pujara has scored a hundred against Sri Lanka.

He made an unbeaten 145 at Galle in 2015, followed it up with 153 again at Galle in the first Test of this series and an unbeaten 128 in this match.

Only one Indian player has scored hundreds in more consecutive games than Pujara -- Mohammad Azharuddin (four) between 1994 and 1997.

Incidentally Sachin Tendulkar is the only other visiting batsman to score hundreds in three consecutive Tests in Sri Lanka.

7 Number of Indian batsmen to score a hundred in their 50th Test.

Pujara joined Polly Umrigar, Gundappa Viswanath, Sunil Gavaskar, Kapil Dev, V V S Laxman and Virat Kohli.

147 Pujara's batting average in Sri Lanka at the end of the day -- the highest for any visiting batsman.

England's David Gower had an average of 131 (from one Test).

Cheteshwar Pujara

IMAGE: Centurions Pujara, left, and Ajinkya Rahane take a quick run. Photograph: Dinuka Liyanawatte/Reuters

1 India became the first visiting team to score 300 or more runs on the first day of a Test in consecutive games in the same series in Sri Lanka.

India scored 399/3 at Galle before scoring 344/3 at the SSC.

10 Number of consecutive tosses Sri Lankan captains had won at the SSC before Dinesh Chandimal lost one.

The last time Sri Lanka lost a toss here was in 2007 against England when Michael Vaughan called correctly.

99 Number of first class matches Malinda Pushpakumara had played before he finally made his Test debut.

This is nowhere near the Sri Lankan record. Team-mate Dilruwan Perera made his Test debut after appearing in 140 first class matches.

The record is held by England's Ewart Astill who made his Test debut after playing 423 first class matches!

4 Number of times a Sri Lankan spinner has opened the bowling on the first day of a Test.

The last spinner to do so before Rangana Herath was Kumar Dharmasena against Australia at Galle in 2004.

6 Number of consecutive fifties K L Rahul has scored.

He had scores of 90, 51, 67, 60 and 51* in his last five innings (against Australia).

Rahul has now equalled the existing Indian record of most consecutive fifties.

Gundappa Viswanath (between 1977 and 1978) and Rahul Dravid (between 1997 and 1998) also scored six fifties in a row.

Rajneesh Gupta