Sydney Test: Statistical highlights, Day 2

Sydney: Statistical highlights of the second day`s play in the second cricket Test between India and Australia on Wednesday.

• Michael Clarke (251 not out) has recorded a career-best in Tests, surpassing the 168 against New Zealand at Wellington in March 2009-10. • Clarke has recorded his 18th hundred in Tests – his fourth against India. • Clarke`s previous highest against India was 151 at Bangalore in 2004 on his Test debut. • Clarke`s aforesaid knock is the highest by an Australian batsman at SCG, eclipsing the 242 by Doug Walters against West Indies in 1968-69. • Clarke has become the fourth batsman to post an innings of 250 or more at SCG - the top three innings are 287 by England`s Tip Foster in December 1903, 277 by West Indian Brian Lara in January 1993 and 251 by England`s Wally Hammond in December 1928 - all three against Australia. • Clarke has posted ten centuries in 39 Tests in Australia. His overall tally at home is 2921 runs at an average of 55.11 in 39 Tests. • Clarke, as an Australian skipper, has managed 869 runs in ten Tests at an average of 54.31, including four hundreds. • Clarke`s marvellous knock is the highest by an Australian skipper against India and the second best by a captain in Tests against India, behind England`s Graham Gooch`s 333 at Lord`s in July 1990. • Clarke is one of the four Australian captains to have recorded 250 or more in Tests - the top three innings being Mike Taylor`s 334 not out against Pakistan at Peshawar in 1998-99; Bobby Simpson`s 311 against England at Old Trafford in 1964 and Don Bradman`s 270 against England at Melbourne in 1936-37. • Clarke became the third Australian skipper to post a double century against India. Don Bradman (201 at Adelaide in 1947-48) and Greg Chappell (204 at Sydney in 1980-81) were the first two double centurions as captain for Australia against India. • Don Bradman, Greg Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Graham Dowling, Graham Gooch, Carl Hooper, Kumar Sangakkara and Michael Clarke have posted double hundreds as skippers against India in Tests. • Ponting and Clarke had shared a stand of 288 for the fourth wicket - Australia`s highest against India, surpassing the 210 between the same pair at Adeaide in January 2008. • The aforesaid is the highest by any pair against India for the fourth wicket, bettering the 287 between Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas for Pakistan at Faisalabad in 1982-83. • Ricky Ponting (134) became the first Australian and the third batsman to register 40 Test centuries or more, joining Sachin Tendulkar (51) and Jacques Kallis (41). • Ponting`s above century is his first in two years – the last being 209 in the first innings against Pakistan at Hobart in January 2010. • Ponting, during the course of his hundred, has overtaken Javed Miandad`s tally of 2228 at an average of 67.51 in 28 Tests against India. • Ponting`s run tally of 2267 at an average of 50.37 in 27 Tests against India is exceeded only by Clive Lloyd (2344 at an average of 58.60 in 28 Tests). • Ponting has posted seven hundreds in 27 Tests against India. Only Vivian Richards (8) and Gary Sobers (8) have posted more hundreds than Ponting against India. • Ponting has emulated Sachin Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis` feats of 22 hundreds at home. The three batsmen now share a record for most hundreds at home. • Ponting`s tally at SCG is a record for most hundreds - two each against India and South Africa and one each against Pakistan and Zimbabwe. • Ponting`s Test record at SCG is marvellous, totaling 1480 runs at an average of 67.27 in 16 Tests, including 207 against Pakistan in January 2005 as his highest score. • Ponting`s above innings is his first century in six years at SCG. He had posted a hundred in each innings - 120 & 143 not out - against South Africa at SCG in January 2006. • Michael Hussey has posted his fifth fifty against India - his 28th in Tests. • Australia (482 for four) have recorded their second highest total against India at SCG, next only to the 552 for five declared in 1999-2000. • Ravichandran Ashwin (28-4-103-0), for the third time, has conceded 100 runs or more in a Test innings. For the first time he is wicketless in a Test innings even conceding 100 runs. • Australia took a first innings lead of 291 – their second highest against India at SCG, behind the 402 in 1999-2000. PTI