Sehwag smashes 22nd Test ton, Dravid 30th (Ahmedabad Test highlights)

AHMEDABAD - Virender Sehwag scored his 22nd Test ton while Rahul Dravid became the eighth batsman to score 30 Test centuries, surpassing Sir Donald Bradman’s record of 29, on the first day of the first cricket Test against New Zealand here Thursday.

The other highlights:

Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid, with their 237-run partnership, have established a second wicket record for India against New Zealand, bettering the 204-run stand between Surinder Amarnath and Sunil Gavaskar at Auckland in January 1976.

The aforesaid stand is the best for the second wicket at Motera, beating the 115 between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Kumar Sangakkara for Sri Lanka against India in November 2009.

Gautam Gambhir and Sehwag have recorded 60 for the first wicket - India’s highest against New Zealand at Sardar Patel Stadium, Motera.

Gambhir and Sehwag, with 3,026 runs (ave.57.09) in 55 innings, have overtaken the aggregate of 3,010 (ave.53.75) in 59 innings by Chetan Chauhan and Sunil Gavaskar - the previous highest for India for the first wicket.

Sehwag’s outstanding 173 off 199 balls is his best against New Zealand, surpassing the 130 at Mohali in October 2003.

Sehwag’s 22nd Test hundred is his second against New Zealand. He has registered twelve hundreds in India and ten on foreign soil.

India (329 for three) have posted their highest on the first day of a Test match against New Zealand at Motera

India’s aforesaid total is the second best on the first day of a Test match at Motera - the highest being the 385 for six against Sri Lanka in 2009.

Rahul Dravid became the first batsman to register five hundreds in India-New Zealand Tests. Sachin, with four centuries, has the next best record.

Dravid is the eighth player to register 30 or more hundreds. The world record is held by Sachin Tendulkar (49), followed by Ricky Ponting (39), Jacques Kallis (35), Gavaskar (34), Brian Lara (34), Steve Waugh (32) and Matthew Hayden (30).

Dravid, thanks to his aforesaid hundred, has managed to average 40.90 in 2010 - 450 in eight Tests, including two hundreds and one fifty, at a strike rate of 47.46.

Dravid has posted 13 centuries in India and 17 on foreign soil. Twenty-four of his hundreds have come at one-down, two each at number 2 and 4 and one each at 5 & 6.

Virender Sehwag (1077 at an average of 67.31 in 17 innings) has become the second batsman after Sachin Tendulkar (1283) to aggregate 1,000 runs or more in 2010. His aggregate includes five hundreds and four fifties.

For the third time in his career, Sehwag has amassed 1,000 runs or more in a calendar year - the first two instances being the 2004 (1141 at an average of 63.38 in 12 Tests) and 2008 (1462 at 56.23 in 14 Tests)

Sehwag’s aforesaid century is his first hundred at Motera.

The Indian batsmen with five centuries in a calendar year are - Sachin Tendulkar (6 in 2010 and 5 in 1999), Sunil Gavaskar (5 each in 1978 and 1983), Gundappa Viswanath (5 in 1979), Rahul Dravid (5 in 2002) and Virender Sehwag (5 in 2010)

Sehwag has equalled Mohammad Azharuddin’s tally of 22 Test centuries and only three batsmen have amassed more hundreds for India in Tests - Sachin Tendulkar (49), Sunil Gavaskar (34) and Rahul Dravid (30).

Dravid has emulated Sachin Tendulkar’s feat of three hundreds at Motera.