And it is none of the big three in the middle order, neither of the openers, and of course it’s not Dhoni as he’s having a break enforced by the beak. But before we get to the fifth Indian batsman to make his first test century since 2010, we need to go further down under to get to the 11th century maker…. and his innings is not complete.
Century #11 – 122 retired hurt by Ross Taylor v Zimbabwe at Napier – This is Ross Taylor’s 6th test century, his 2nd at Napier and his 1st against Zimbabwe. For reference his career best is 154 v England, his Napier best is 151 v India and the McLean Park record score is Jesse Ryder’s 201 against India in 2009. This score currently ranks as the 14th highest made at Napier, which has hosted test cricket since 1979.
UPDATE – It is complete as Ross Taylor has torn his calf muscle and is out of the series. He finishes with a red ink 122, his 4th highest score in tests. He has three scores against Zimbabwe, the lowest of which is 76. Taylor has two tons at Napier, to join two at Hamilton and one at Wellington. He is the first man to score two test tons at Napier.
This was the 56th score of 122, the first was by Tom Hayward in 1896, the last by Younis Khan in Sharjah against Sri Lanka. Sachin Tendulkar has three scores of 122, one not out and two out.
Taylor’s century took 154 balls and contained 2 sixes.
Century #12 – 116 by Virat Kohli v Australia at Adelaide – Virat Kohli becomes the first maiden test centurion this year with his innings in a forlorn cause at Adelaide. His previous best score was 75. This is the first century by an Indian in this series, and the first outside India for the nation since Rahul Dravid’s carrying of his bat at The Oval.
This is the 112th largest score at Adelaide Oval, and there have been 163 centuries at the famous old ground. It is the joint 9th highest score made by an Indian batsman at Adelaide, where the Indians have made 11 test tons (the highest being Rahul Dravid’s 233). He is the third Indian to make a century at Adelaide batting in the #6 position. The best is 174 by the enigmatic Sandeep Patil (a real flamboyant player) who leads all number 6 batsmen in that category (not just India – Steve Waugh is second with 164 – only one English #6 has made a ton; Jack Russell in 1921. No, he really isn’t that old).
This was the 59th instance of a batsman making 116. It was the 6th at Adelaide Oval, the ground with the most 116s in test cricket, moving one clear of Headingley.
Virat Kohli’s century came up in 199 balls, and contained one six.
Kohli joins Suresh Rainia, Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay and Harbhajan Singh as maiden century scorers since 2010.
