India sets unique record for fast scoring
KANPUR:
Never has Indian cricket witnessed such brutal aggression with the bat on the Test arena as the Indian players demonstrated during the Test match held in Kanpur today and scored at a rate faster than the ACB team in the recently concluded one-day tournament in Nairobi.
India posted a mind boggling total of 383 runs for the lost of 312 balls, inclusive of both innings, making what is a remarkable run rate of 7.36 runs per over. This incredible feat can be described solely as unprecedented in Test cricket although it has been a narrow format for almost over a year and a half now.
This feat places India centre stage in world cricket and also shows its ability to respond to this suffix of modern cricket where fast running and aggressive cricket has become the order of the day much as the original formula five-day cricket might have been.
High records begin to tumble as news Ones are established:
India’s performance in Kanpur has not only established a record of quickest scoring rate in Test cricket, they have also ousted a record after South Africa for 10 long years. As early as in 2005, the bird rich South Africa had achieved a record when they made an average run rate of six and seventy- five runs per over in a test match against Zimbabwe. For nearly two decades, this was a record but India has made the twin of Pakistan look pretty ordinary and their show in Kanpur was stunning.
This team Indian thought from the onset as a more aggressive side and though they gained confidence from some of their individuals they achieved this as a team. The Indian batters always made sure of accurate shot making, nimble foot movement while running between the wickets and most importantly did not hesitate to hit the bowler all out when the situation demanded the team required to take the run rate to the next level. Such approach to the game shows that India has all the confidence it can overpower any side especially in the home conditions.
Fastest Fifty in Test Cricket:
What made the Indian performance even more gleaming was the fastest-ever team fifty in the Test cricket. India were 50 for loss of 1 wicket in 3 overs, this was the first time any cricket team had scored this fast in a World Cup match.
The unconquerable openers Rohit Sharma and Yashsavi Jaiswal led this sensational achievement. Quite brutally, the Indians romped off to 50 in only 18 balls; thus, breaking previous records of swift scoring in tests against Bangladesh. Such aggression, typically observed in power play in One Day Internationals and Twenty 20 is relatively new in the relatively formal and conservative Test cricket.
Rohit Sharma, with his attacking features and overall experience, claimed the right of being the first choice opener, while the young and fearless Yashasvi Jaiswal reinforced his style as the second choice opener at the top of the order. Guptill and Sehwag’s destructive openers gave momentum to India ‘s total and made sure the middle order batsman make most of it.
A New Era of Test Cricket?
The Bihar outfit’s remarkable performance at Kanpur might prove to be a turning point for India in Test cricket in the contemporary world. In the past, Test matches were longer and, so, batsmen played with an intent of constructing an innings which would span over the entire period of the match. However the, Indian strategy, somewhat copied from relatively faster forms of the game like One Day Internationals and T20s inform that there might well be more and more one-sided attempts to accelerate in the longer form of the game as Test cricket.
It could actually bring more entertainment into Test cricket, with more close calls for wins and fewer drawn matches. It also shows the strength and richness of Indian cricket, it is capable of producing good performance regardless of the type of the game.
Conclusion:
India’s great victory in the Kanpur Test match, especially, the way, the team set up a record at a run rate of 7.36 in an over has set a record which will remain in the annals of cricketing history for years to come. Their assertiveness and character in this new style of test match making statement have made the five-day format relevant and entertaining again.
This new chapter of the series by both Rohit Sharma and Yashsavi Jaiswal have given a message that future of test crickets are also that fast and dynamic like other formats.