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This article was first published 10 years ago

Clarke is 2013's top Test batsman, Pujara India's No 1

January 06, 2014 08:57 IST

Image: Cheteshwar Pujara
Photographs: BCCI Rajneesh Gupta

2013 was the year of home rule as the major Test nations, including the likes of South Africa, India, England and Australia, dominated in their backyards. World champions India underlined their superiority in the 50-over version as they captured the ICC Champions Trophy to complete a grand double. For India, Cheteshwar Pujara was the most consistent batsmen in Tests, while Virat Kohli continued his scoring spree in ODIs.

A look at the top performers in Tests and ODIs in 2013.

Cheteshwar Pujara continued his impressive start in Test cricket with another superlative showing with the bat in 2013. The youngster amassed 829 runs in eight Tests at an average of 75, hitting three centuries and three half-centuries, and was one of India's top performers in South Africa.

Murali Vijay was another top performer, with 647 runs, while Virat Kohli continued to make rapid strides in Test cricket, with 616 runs.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni failed to make an impression with the bat in South Africa but was dominant in home Tests to finish, scoring a creditable 459 runs, at an average of 45.

The young Rohit Sharma started off his Test career by hitting two centuries in his first two games, before he faded out in South Africa for 333 runs, while Shikhar Dhawan also followed the same script, starting his career with a blazing innings of 187 on debut but failing to sustain the momentum.

Sachin Tendulkar also failed in his last year of his international career, scoring 276 runs in six games, at an average of 34, before calling it quits after the two-Test series against the West Indies in November.

A look at how Indian batsmen fared in Tests in 2013:

 

Mts

Runs

Hs

Avg

SR

100

50

0

4s

6s

Cheteshwar Pujara

8

829

204

75.36

56.24

3

3

0

107

1

Murali Vijay

8

647

167

49.76

46.95

2

2

0

94

6

Virat Kohli

8

616

119

56.00

54.65

2

3

0

73

2

MS Dhoni

8

459

224

45.90

72.39

1

0

0

56

6

Rohit Sharma

4

333

177

66.60

62.83

2

0

1

38

5

Shikhar Dhawan

5

319

187

45.57

75.95

1

0

0

53

2

Sachin Tendulkar

6

276

81

34.50

56.55

0

2

0

34

2

Ajinkya Rahane

3

217

96

43.40

46.56

0

2

0

30

2

R Ashwin

7

192

124

27.42

59.07

1

0

0

19

1

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

6

96

38

19.20

43.43

0

0

0

13

0

Ravindra Jadeja

5

93

43

15.50

72.09

0

0

1

13

2

Zaheer Khan

2

32

29*

10.66

42.66

0

0

2

3

2

Virender Sehwag

2

27

19

9.00

50.94

0

0

0

4

0

Mohammed Shami

4

18

11

3.60

35.29

0

0

1

3

0

Ishant Sharma

6

15

4*

2.50

21.42

0

0

3

1

0

Harbhajan Singh

2

11

11

5.50

29.72

0

0

1

0

1

Pragyan Ojha

4

3

2*

1.00

30.00

0

0

2

0

0

Shami was India's best bowler in 2013 with top performances at home and abroad

Image: Mohammed Shami
Photographs: BCCI Rajneesh Gupta

Ravichandran Ashwin made most of playing at home as he took 41 wickets in six Tests in India but failed to pick a single wicket in the first Test in South Africa.

Ravindra Jadeja emerged as the frontline candidate as India's No. 1 spinner overseas after his six-wicket haul in the second Test against South Africa.

Mohammed Shami was India's best bowler of the year after excellent performances, both at home and overseas, finishing with a creditable haul of 17 wickets, while the inconsistent Ishant Sharma claimed 12 wickets in six games.

A look at how Indian bowlers fared in Tests in 2013:

 

Mts

Inns

Overs

Mdns

Runs

Wkts

Best

Avg

RPO

5WI

10WM

R Ashwin

7

14

355.2

96

923

41

7-103

22.51

2.59

4

1

Ravindra Jadeja

5

10

255.4

68

573

30

6-138

19.10

2.24

2

0

Pragyan Ojha

4

8

152.3

36

416

18

5-40

23.11

2.72

2

1

Mohammed Shami

4

8

124.1

15

445

17

5-47

26.17

3.58

1

0

Ishant Sharma

6

12

187

40

578

12

4-79

48.16

3.09

0

0

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

6

11

104

18

341

9

3-31

37.88

3.27

0

0

Zaheer Khan

2

3

88.3

11

320

7

4-88

45.71

3.61

0

0

Harbhajan Singh

2

4

84

17

204

5

2-52

40.80

2.42

0

0

Sachin Tendulkar

6

4

9

1

33

1

1-5

33.00

3.66

0

0

Murali Vijay

8

1

1

0

3

0

-

-

3.00

0

0

MS Dhoni

8

1

2

0

4

0

-

-

2.00

0

0

Virat Kohli

8

1

6

0

18

0

-

-

3.00

0

0

Rohit Sharma

4

2

11.4

1

39

0

-

-

3.34

0

0

Kohli dominated with the bat in ODIs

Image: Virat Kohli
Rajneesh Gupta

Virat Kohli emerged as one of the leading batsmen in One-Day Internationals in 2013, hitting four centuries and seven fifties for 1268 runs in 34 matches, at an average of 52 and an impressive strike rate of 97.

Rohit Sharma (1196 runs in 28 games) and Shikhar Dhawan (1162 runs in 26 games) were the other two Indian batsmen who breached the 1000-run mark in the year.

A look at how Indian batsmen fared in ODIs in 2013:

 

Mts

Inns

NO

Runs

Hs

Avg

SR

100

50

0

4s

6s

Virat Kohli

34

30

6

1268

115*

52.83

97.53

4

7

3

137

20

Rohit Sharma

28

27

4

1196

209

52.00

80.81

2

8

0

119

30

Shikhar Dhawan

26

25

2

1162

119

50.52

97.89

5

4

1

146

9

Suresh Raina

34

27

5

770

89*

35.00

84.52

0

5

2

66

10

MS Dhoni

26

20

8

753

139*

62.75

96.04

1

5

1

67

24

Ravindra Jadeja

34

21

8

462

61*

35.53

80.91

0

1

0

39

13

Yuvraj Singh

18

15

1

276

61

19.71

78.40

0

2

4

35

4

Dinesh Karthik

15

12

4

255

69

31.87

70.44

0

2

0

27

2

R Ashwin

29

16

3

167

28

12.84

80.67

0

0

2

17

2

Gautam Gambhir

7

7

0

153

52

21.85

67.10

0

1

0

21

0

Ajinkya Rahane

6

6

0

113

50

18.83

66.86

0

1

1

12

1

Ambati Rayudu

4

3

1

101

63*

50.50

61.96

0

1

0

6

0

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

25

12

5

94

31

13.42

72.86

0

0

3

10

1

Murali Vijay

3

2

0

57

30

28.50

89.06

0

0

0

7

0

R Vinay Kumar

9

4

1

43

27*

14.33

89.58

0

0

1

3

2

Virender Sehwag

1

1

0

31

31

31.00

72.09

0

0

0

3

0

Ishant Sharma

22

9

6

19

7*

6.33

37.25

0

0

0

2

0

Mohammed Shami

20

6

2

15

8

3.75

48.38

0

0

2

0

1

Cheteshwar Pujara

2

2

0

13

13

6.50

46.42

0

0

1

2

0

Amit Mishra

6

1

0

9

9

9.00

128.57

0

0

0

1

0

Ashok Dinda

2

2

0

3

3

1.50

50.00

0

0

1

0

0

Umesh Yadav

11

2

0

1

1

0.50

9.09

0

0

1

0

0

Mohit Sharma

5

1

1

0

0*

-

0.00

0

0

0

0

0

Jaydev Unadkat

7

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Jadeja finished as the highest wicket taker for India in ODIs in 2013

Image: Ravindra Jadeja
Rajneesh Gupta

Ravindra Jadeja proved his versatility as he finished as the leading Indian bowler in ODIs with a rich haul of 52 wickets in 34 games, while Ashwin was second with 40 wickets in 29 ODIs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar came up with impressive performances for 28 wickets from 25 games, but Vinay Kumar and Umesh Yadav struggled in the batting-friendly pitches over the country.

A look at how the Indian bowlers fared in ODIs in 2013:

 

Mts

Overs

Mdns

Runs

Wkts

Best

Avg

RPO

4W

Ravindra Jadeja

34

303.3

22

1321

52

5-36

25.40

4.35

2

R Ashwin

29

259.5

6

1353

40

3-39

33.82

5.20

0

Ishant Sharma

22

176.2

14

993

35

4-40

28.37

5.63

1

Mohammed Shami

20

167.1

13

902

30

3-42

30.06

5.39

0

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

25

203

25

948

28

4-8

33.85

4.66

1

Amit Mishra

6

57.3

2

287

18

6-48

15.94

4.99

2

Umesh Yadav

11

81

5

467

12

3-32

38.91

5.76

0

R Vinay Kumar

9

74.3

5

498

10

2-50

49.80

6.68

0

Suresh Raina

34

77

2

371

8

3-34

46.37

4.81

0

Jaydev Unadkat

7

52

5

209

8

4-41

26.12

4.01

1

Mohit Sharma

5

39.3

3

228

4

2-26

57.00

5.77

0

Ashok Dinda

2

15

0

95

2

2-53

47.50

6.33

0

Yuvraj Singh

18

21

0

145

2

2-34

72.50

6.90

0

Virat Kohli

34

25

0

178

1

1-15

178.00

7.12

0

MS Dhoni

26

4

0

17

0

-

-

4.25

0

Rohit Sharma

28

2

0

4

0

-

-

2.00

0

Australia captain Clarke was the highest run scorer in Tests in 2013

Image: Michael Clarke
Photographs: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Rajneesh Gupta

Australia captain Michael Clarke continued his good run with the bat in Test cricket as he finished as the highest run scorer in Tests in 2013 with a tally of 1093 runs in 13 Tests, with four centuries and three half-centuries.

England's Ian Bell was the only other batsman in the 1000-run club for the year, scoring 1005 runs in 14 Tests, followed by South Africa's AB de Villiers (933 runs).

Cheteshwar Pujara was the only Indian in the top-10 with 829 runs in eight games, ahead of Shane Watson (810) and Jonathan Trott (793).

The top 10 batsmen in Tests in 2013:

 

Mts

Runs

Hs

Avg

SR

100

50

0

4s

6s

Michael Clarke (Aus)

13

1093

187

47.52

56.39

4

3

2

116

6

Ian Bell (Eng)

14

1005

113

41.87

42.62

3

5

1

130

6

AB de Villiers (SA)

9

933

164

77.75

58.42

4

5

0

102

2

Alastair Cook (Eng)

14

916

130

33.92

42.54

2

6

2

106

0

David Warner (Aus)

12

909

124

39.52

66.78

2

6

2

112

7

Ross Taylor (NZ)

10

866

217*

72.16

57.23

3

4

2

103

4

Joe Root (Eng)

14

862

180

34.48

40.64

2

3

1

94

2

Cheteshwar Pujara (Ind)

8

829

204

75.36

56.24

3

3

0

107

1

Shane Watson (Aus)

12

810

176

35.21

60.00

2

3

1

105

10

Jonathan Trott (Eng)

11

793

121

37.76

49.93

1

5

2

104

0

Broad the standout performer for England with the ball

Image: Stuart Broad
Photographs: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Rajneesh Gupta

England may have faced the heat in the Ashes battle in Australia but all-rounder Stuart Broad was the stand-out performer with the ball in 2013 with a mighty return of 62 wickets in 14 games, including five five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul.

His fellow-countryman James Anderson was a distant second with 52 scalps, while Dale Steyn continued to haunt batsmen with a magical tally of 51 wickets in nine games at an average of 17, the best among the top wicket-takers in the year by quite a distance.

Ravichandran Ashwin sizzled in the comforts of home pitches to take 41 wickets in seven games and was the only Indian in the top 10, which also features recently-retired Graeme Swann, who took 43 wickets in 10 games.

The top 10 bowlers in Tests in 2013:

 

Mts

Overs

Mdns

Runs

Wkts

Best

Avg

RPO

5WI

10WM

Stuart Broad (Eng)

14

478.1

87

1600

62

7-44

25.80

3.34

5

1

James Anderson (Eng)

14

531.5

125

1655

52

5-47

31.82

3.11

3

1

Dale Steyn (SA)

9

357.4

101

901

51

6-8

17.66

2.51

4

1

Trent Boult (NZ)

12

429.5

110

1154

46

6-40

25.08

2.68

3

1

Graeme Swann (Eng)

10

440

75

1466

43

6-90

34.09

3.33

3

1

Nathan Lyon (Aus)

11

431.4

81

1429

42

7-94

34.02

3.31

2

0

Peter Siddle (Aus)

14

472.1

129

1269

42

5-50

30.21

2.68

2

0

R Ashwin (Ind)

7

355.2

96

923

41

7-103

22.51

2.59

4

1

Saeed Ajmal (Pak)

8

373

71

977

39

7-95

25.05

2.61

3

2

Ryan Harris (Aus)

8

304.5

78

834

38

7-117

21.94

2.73

2

0

Vernon Philander (SA)

8

278

82

686

38

5-7

18.05

2.46

2

0

Veteran Misbah scored the most runs in ODIs in 2013

Image: Misbah-ul-Haq
Photographs: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Rajneesh Gupta

It was no surprise to see the batsmen from the sub-continent dominate the batting charts in 2013, the top five coming from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka.

Pakistan's batsmen dominated in One-Day Internationals in 2013, with captain Misbah-ul-Haq outshining the younger lot as he amassed the highest aggregate of 1373 runs in 34 matches, with the help of 15 half-centuries, but unable to convert any of those to hundreds.

Mohammed Hafeez was a close second with 1301 runs, including five centuries and four fifties, while India's Kohli was third with 1268 runs.

The top 10 batsmen in ODIs in 2013:

 

Mts

Runs

Hs

Avg

SR

100

50

0

4s

6s

Misbah-ul-Haq (Pak)

34

1373

96*

54.92

73.54

0

15

1

87

28

Mohammad Hafeez (Pak)

33

1301

140*

46.46

84.37

5

4

1

122

25

Virat Kohli (Ind)

34

1268

115*

52.83

97.53

4

7

3

137

20

Kumar Sangakkara (SL)

25

1201

169

63.21

89.56

2

10

3

116

14

Rohit Sharma (Ind)

28

1196

209

52.00

80.81

2

8

0

119

30

AB de Villiers (SA)

27

1163

128

50.56

97.07

3

7

1

94

21

Shikhar Dhawan (Ind)

26

1162

119

50.52

97.89

5

4

1

146

9

Tillakaratne Dilshan (SL)

25

1160

125

61.05

81.06

3

7

0

126

1

George Bailey (Aus)

22

1098

156

64.58

100.00

2

8

1

88

30

Hashim Amla (SA)

23

838

122

38.09

84.56

2

4

1

85

2

Ahmed Shehzad (Pak)

21

809

124

38.52

71.91

2

5

1

74

7

Ajmal was top wicket taker in ODIs in 2013

Image: Saeed Ajmal
Photographs: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images Rajneesh Gupta

Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal finished with the most wickets in 2013, 62 scalps in 33 games, at an average of 20, while India's Jadeja was second with 52 wickets and Pakistan pacer Junaid Khan with the same number of dismissals.

Ryan McLaren emerged South Africa's most successful bowler in the year with 45 wickets from 27 games followed by Kiwi Mitchell McClenaghan, who took 42 wickets in 16 games at 18.28.

The top 10 bowlers in ODIs in 2013:

 

Mts

Overs

Mdns

Runs

Wkts

Best

Avg

RPO

4W

Saeed Ajmal (Pak)

33

306.3

15

1268

62

5-24

20.45

4.13

3

Ravindra Jadeja (Ind)

34

303.3

22

1321

52

5-36

25.40

4.35

2

Junaid Khan (Pak)

28

228.3

17

1116

52

4-15

21.46

4.88

1

Ryan McLaren (SA)

27

208.3

6

1070

45

4-19

23.77

5.13

4

Mitchell McClenaghan (NZ)

16

135.3

3

768

42

5-58

18.28

5.66

5

R Ashwin (Ind)

29

259.5

6

1353

40

3-39

33.82

5.20

0

Lasith Malinga (SL)

29

218.1

16

1176

39

4-34

30.15

5.39

2

Mohammad Irfan (Pak)

24

205.2

12

923

38

4-33

24.28

4.49

1

Ishant Sharma (Ind)

22

176.2

14

993

35

4-40

28.37

5.63

1

Lonwabo Tsotsobe (SA)

26

215.5

23

1046

35

4-22

29.88

4.84

3