Statistical highlights: 4th & final day at Bulawayo

Mohandas Menon

  India was playing its 340th Test match since its first in June 1932. This was India’s 66th Test match victory since its first in February 10, 1952 against England at Madras (by an innings and 8 runs).

  This was India 15th Test win abroad in 158 matches, since its first win on foreign soil against New Zealand at Dunedin (by 5 wickets) on February 20, 1968.

  India last Test win outside the sub-continent came against England at Headingley, Leeds on June 23, 1986. India had then won the Test by 279 runs. Since then India has appeared in 50 Test matches abroad (including 11 in the sub-continent). During this period they have won just two (in Sri Lanka in 1993 and Bangladesh in 2000) while losing 19, with rest of the 29 matches being drawn.

  If we are to remove the 11 matches played in the subcontinent since 1986, India’s dismal record outside the sub-continent before this Test win would read as: Played 39, lost 19 and drawn 20 - without a single win!

  The victory by eight wickets at Bulwayo equals India best outside the sub-continent, although its best abroad remains the nine-wicket win over Bangladesh in November 2000. India’s other eight wicket wins were against New Zealand - at Wellington on February 29, 1968 and at Auckland on January 24, 1976.

  This was the ninth Test match to be played at this venue since October 1994. Pakistan (in 1995) and New Zealand (in 2000) are the only other teams to defeat Zimbabwe at this venue. Zimbabwe in fact had won the previous Test against Bangladesh in April this year. Rest of the five Test matches played here have been drawn.

  India’s total of 184-2 was its fifth highest score attempted in the fourth innings to win a Test match. The full list: 406-4 against the West Indies at Port of Spain, 1975-76; 256-8 against Australia at Brabourne Stadium, Bombay, 1964-65; 200-5 against New Zealand at Dunedin, 1967-68 and 190-3 against Zimbabwe at Delhi, 2000-01. Just for the record, India (including the Bulawayo Test match) have attempted to chase scores over 183 runs on 39 occasions - of which they have won five (as listed above), lost 22, drawn 11 and tied one.

  This win was India's three in a row - they beat Australia at Kolkata and Chennai in March this year. However India's best performance is four in a row - in 1992-93 - against England (3) and Zimbabwe (1) - under Mohammad Azharuddin.

  By top-scoring in each innings of a Test match, Zimbabwe's Andy Flower (51 & 83) has set a new Test record by becoming the first batsman in history to do so on six separate occasions. He went past the tally of India's Sunil Gavaskar who has achieved this feat on five occasions. Interestingly Flower has achieved this on three occasions against India and on all the occasions his team has lost the Test match.

  Sachin Tendulkar’s unbeaten 36 was his second highest ‘not-out’ Test score in the fourth innings of a Test match, while taking his team to a victory. The only other occasion he had more runs was against New Zealand at Kanpur in October 25, 1999, when India won the Test by eight wickets. Tendulkar had then scored 44 not out in India's total of 83-2.