Stats: Gambhir hits fourth consecutive ton

New Delhi: Following are the statistical highlights of the first day's play in the Kanpur Test between India and Sri Lanka:

Gautam Gambhir (167) scored his fourth hundred in consecutive matches. The sequence started with 137 against New Zealand at Napier (second innings), 167 v NZ at Wellington (second innings), 114 v SL at Ahmedabad (second innings) and 167 in this match.

Gambhir thus became only the third Indian batsman after Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid to score hundreds in four consecutive Tests.

The hundred was also Gambhir’s seventh in the last nine Tests.

Gambhir and Sehwag provided only the sixth instance of both Indian openers scoring a hundred in the same innings.

India’s 417-2 is their highest total in a single day’s play in Test cricket, beating 386 for one against South Africa at Chennai in 2007-08 (on the third day). Incidentally India’s previous highest first-day total was 385 (for six) in the previous Test at Ahmedabad.

India have now posted 400-plus total in four consecutive innings. They made 434 for seven in the second innings of Wellington Test against New Zealand in April 2009. India followed it up with 426 in the first innings and 412 for four in the second innings of Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka and now 417 for two.

This is only the third time in India’s Test history when they posted four consecutive totals of 400 or more. Between October 1986 and February 1987 India had scored 400+ in six consecutive innings, which is a world record. Between August and October 2002, India had another sequence of four consecutive scores of 400 (or more).

Pragyan Ojha became 261st player to represent India in a Test match. Interestingly he replaced Amit Mishra, who was celebrating his 27th birthday today.

Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 21st Test against Sri Lanka - most for any player in India-Sri Lanka contests. He was earlier at level with Arjuna Ranatunga with 20 appearances.

Tendulkar’s tally of matches is also the highest by any player against Sri Lanka, surpassing Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq’s tally of 20 matches.

Virender Sehwag (131) scored his 16th hundred in 71st Test- his second against Sri Lanka. He raced to his hundred off just 97 balls, which is the third fastest hundred for India against Sri Lanka. Kapil Dev had taken 74 balls for his hundred at this same venue in 1986-87 and Sehwag himself took 87 balls to reach the three-figure mark at Galle in 2008.

This is the fourth time in his career that Sehwag scored a Test hundred off 100 or fewer balls. Sehwag now holds the Indian record of scoring most 100s in 100 balls or less. Before today, Sehwag was at level with Kapil Dev and Mohammad Azharuddin with three such hundreds.

In fact there is only one better performance than Sehwag in Test cricket. Australia's Adam Gilchrist scored six hundreds off 100 or fewer balls. West Indies' Brian Lara also had a tally of four such hundreds.

The first wicket partnership of 233 runs between Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag is India’s best for this wicket against Sri Lanka. The pair obliterated the 171-run partnership between Manoj Prabhakar and Navjot Sidhu at Colombo SSC in 1993-94.

The above partnership was the third highest for India for the opening wicket in all Tests, after 413-run partnership between Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy against New Zealand at Madras in 1955-56 and 410-run partnership between Sehwag and Rahul Dravid against Pakistan at Lahore in 2005-06.

The partnership was also the highest for this pair, bettering the 218-run partnership against South Africa at this venue in 2004-05. India have never lost a Test when Gambhir and Sehwag have notched up a century partnership.