Stats Analysis

A hat-trick, a six-for and 21 wickets

Stats highlights from the Test between Sri Lanka and Australia in Galle where 21 wickets fell on the second day

Shiva Jayaraman
05-Aug-2016
ESPNcricinfo Ltd

ESPNcricinfo Ltd

1 Number of Sri Lanka bowlers to take a hat-trick in Tests before Rangana Herath. Nuwan Zoysa had taken wickets off his first three deliveries in a Test against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1999-2000. Click here for a list of hat-tricks in Tests.
1892 The only time before Herath a left-arm orthodox bowler took a hat-trick in Tests. England's Johnny Briggs had ended Australia's second innings with a hat-trick on that occasion. Australia chinaman bowler Lindsay Kline is the only other left-arm spinner to take a hat-trick in Tests - he dismissed South Africa's last three batsmen in their second innings in the Cape Town Test in 1957-58.
1985 The last time, before Mitchell Starc, an overseas fast bowler took two five-fors in a Test in Asia. Neil Foster had taken 6 for 104 and 5 for 59 in the Chennai Test in 1984-85. Overall, Starc's is the 20th instance of a pacer taking two five-fors in a Test in Asia.
8/209 Mitchell Starc's previous best figures in a match in Tests, which had come against South Africa in Perth in 2012-13. Starc's figures are also the best by an Australia pacer in a Test in Sri Lanka. The previous best were Craig McDermott's 6 for 85 in Colombo in 1992.
120 Australia's previous lowest total in Tests against Sri Lanka, which had come in the first innings in Kandy in 2004. However, on that occasion they had fought back through Adam Gilchrist and Damien Martyn in their second innings to win the Test. This is Australia's second-lowest total in a Test innings in Asia in the last 50 years. They were dismissed for just 93 runs in their second innings of the Mumbai Test in 2004-05, which is their lowest.
21 Wickets that fell on the second day in Galle - the second-highest in a day's play in Tests in Asia. As many as 22 wickets fell on the third day at the SSC between the hosts and England in 2000-01. Overall, there are only ten instances when more wickets have fallen in a day in Tests.
33 Wickets that have fallen in this Test so far - the highest on the first two days of any Test in Asia. The previous highest was 32 wickets that fell in the Nagpur Test between India and South Africa last year. Overall, there are only five other instances when more wickets have fallen on the first two days of a Test.
12 Number of previous instances of an overseas fast bowler taking a ten-wicket haul for the match in Tests in Asia. The last one to do it before Starc was Dale Steyn, who took 10 for 108 against India in Nagpur in 2009-10. Starc's is only the second such instance in the last 25 years.
1979 Last time an Australia fast bowler returned better figures in a Test in Asia than Starc's 11 for 94. Geoff Dymock had taken 12 for 166 in the Kanpur Test. Alan Davidson's 12 for 124 is the only other better haul than Starc's. His 6 for 50 in Sri Lanka's second innings are the fifth-best figures by an Australia pacer in a Test innings in Asia.
1 Number of visiting pacers that have taken a better match haul in Tests in Sri Lanka than Starc. Mohammad Asif had returned figures of 11 for 71 in Kandy in 2006. Waqar Younis and Richard Hadlee are the only other overseas fast bowlers to take a ten-wicket haul in a match in Sri Lanka.
1956 The only time Australia were bowled out for a lower total in the first innings of a Test in Asia. Pakistan had dismissed them for just 80 in Karachi. This is also their seventh-lowest total against any opposition in Tests since 2000.
1 Number of times Australia have lost their last eight wickets for fewer runs from a score of 50 or more runs in a Test innings since 1950. They had collapsed from 152 for 2 to 199 all out in their second innings against the ICC XI at the SCG in 2005-06. Australia were on 54 when they lost the wicket of David Warner in their first innings in this Test.
307 The highest target Australia have chased in a Test in Asia, against Bangladesh in Fatullah in 2006. That is the only instance out of nine when they successfully chased targets of 300 or more in Asia. Sri Lanka have set them a target of 413 in this Test. Australia have lost on all the ten occasions when they have been set targets of 400 or more in Tests in the last ten years.

Shiva Jayaraman is a senior sub-editor (stats) at ESPNcricinfo.com. @shiva_cricinfo