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What does Boxing Day of a Test mean? Rajneesh Gupta | December 29, 2005 Name: Naresh Barot Rajneesh Gupta: Upto the end of the just-concluded series against Sri Lanka, Tendulkar has batted in the fourth innings of a Test on 35 occasions. Out of these 7 ended in draw. This is how he performed in the remaining 28 result-oriented Tests:
Name: Pawan Rajneesh Gupta: There have been 19 Tests in which a result was achieved in two days -- the most recent being New Zealand v Zimbabwe at Harare in August this year. In terms of least number of balls bowled in a decided match, the Melbourne Test between Australia and South Africa in February 1932 heads the list. This was a timeless Test but ended on the third day itself (with play washed off on the second day) as Australia thrashed South Africa by an innings and 72 runs despite scoring only 153 runs in their only innings. The match lasted for only 656 balls. Man of the match is a recent phenomenon and no such award was in place at that time. Name: Shalabh Rajneesh Gupta: Vaas' performance surely is the best, one has seen in recent times, but it is nowhere near the world record in this category. India's Bapoo Nadkarni bowled 21 consecutive maidens (six-ball overs) against England at Madras in 1963-64. In terms of eight-ball overs, the record is held by South Africa's Hugh Tayfield with 16 consecutive maidens against England at Durban in 1956-57. Name: Bhuvnesh Rajneesh Gupta: 'Chinaman' is an unorthodox delivery for a left-arm spinner. The bowler uses his wrist to spin the ball so that when it pitches it turns from off to leg for a right-handed batsman, i.e. from left to right from the bowler's perspective. The action and direction of turn exactly mirror those of a leg spin bowler (who bowls right-handed). This style of bowling is very uncommon, as not only is it difficult to master, but the "turn" into the right-handed batsman is usually less dangerous than the turn away from the batsman generated by a left-arm orthodox spin bowler. Very few specialist bowlers of this type have played at Test level: the South African Paul Adams is perhaps the best-known recent practitioner, although his technique is highly unorthodox in every sense of the word. In recent times, Michael Bevan, Brad Hogg and Simon Katich have also bowled Chinaman as all-rounders for the Australian team. In 2004, Dave Mohammed of the West Indies bowled this style in Tests against England. Perhaps the most famous practitioner of the art was West Indian all-rounder Garfield Sobers, although he performed it as a third bowling style. Previously, "Chuck" Fleetwood-Smith bowled in this fashion for Australia in the 1930s. The term "Chinaman" to describe this particular style of bowling is believed to relate to former West Indian spin bowler Ellis "Puss" Achong. Achong, a left-arm orthodox spinner and the first Test cricketer of Chinese ancestry, bowled a delivery turning from off to leg and had the English batsman Walter Robins stumped as a result. Legend has it that Robins, as he walked back to the pavilion, remarked to the umpire, "Fancy being done by a bloody Chinaman." Name: Sagar Rajneesh Gupta: The word 'Boxing' has nothing to do with the sport; it has to do with boxes in which you put things. During the Christmas season a lot of people attend church and while they are there, they donate money and other goodies to the poor. The money and gifts are put in a box, and this is called a Christmas box. A priest opens the boxes the day after Christmas and he, in turn distributes the contents to the needy. This is why 26 December is called Boxing Day. The first Test to start on Boxing Day was between Australia and West Indies in 1968-69 at Melbourne. But it was not until 1981-82 that the tradition really took off. Since then there has usually been a Test starting on Boxing Day at Melbourne. Name: Murali Madhavan Rajneesh Gupta: Sunil Gavaskar missed only four Tests throughout his career -- three against West Indies in 1974-75 and one against Pakistan in 1986-87. This is how Viswanath performed in the three matches missed by Gavaskar in 1974-75: Delhi 32 & 39 (WI won by an innings & 17 runs) Kolkata 52 & 139 (Top scored in both innings as India won by 85 runs) Madras 97* & 46 (India won by 100 runs) Viswanath did not appear in Kolkata Test in 1986-87 as he had already retired by that time. A comparative summary of Viswanath's batting:
Name: Satish Rajneesh Gupta: In Test cricket Steve Waugh is on the top with 64 century partnerships, followed by former teammate Allan Border (63). In One-Day Internationals, India's Sachin Tendulkar with 68 century partnerships heads the tally, with Sourav Ganguly (54) a distant second. Name: John Name: Vinayak Rajneesh Gupta: In a two innings match of 5 days or more, the side which bats first and leads by at least 200 runs shall have the option of requiring the other side to follow their innings. The same option shall be available in two innings matches of shorter duration with the minimum-required leads as follows: (ii) 100 runs in a 2-day match; (iii) 75 runs in a 1-day match. If no play takes place on the first day of a match of more than one day's duration, the first part of the above paragraph shall apply in accordance with the number of days remaining from the actual start of the match. The day on which play first commences shall count as a whole day for this purpose, irrespective of the time at which play starts. Name: Samuel Rajneesh Gupta:
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