Virat Kohli in action for India against New Zealand© AFP
India scripted history by becoming the first team ever to slam 100 sixes in Test cricket in a calendar year. The Rohit Sharma-led side achieved the sensational feat on Day 3 of the first Test match against New Zealand in Bengaluru on Friday. This was the first time in the 147-year history of Test cricket that any team was able to achieve to reach this milestone. Earlier, the record for hitting the highest number of sixes in a calendar year belonged to England who slammed 89 sixes in 2022. Yashasvi Jaiswal has slammed 29 sixes in Test this year while Shubman Gill has scored 16 sixes for India.
Teams to hit most Test sixes in a year
102* – India (2024)
89 – England (2022)
87 – India (2021)
81 – New Zealand (2014)
71 – New Zealand (2013)
A counter-attacking India kept alive the hopes of a miracle turnaround through free-flowing fifties from the troika of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Sarfaraz Khan, reaching 231 for three in their second innings on the third day of the first Test against New Zealand on Friday.
Kohli (70), who completed 9,000 Test runs during the course of his knock, got out to Glenn Phillips off the last ball of the day, edging him to Tom Blundell, leaving Sarfaraz (70) at the crease at close. The deficit at the end of an overcast day was a less intimidating 125.
Kohli and Sarfaraz added 136 runs for the third wicket after skipper Rohit did the early running with a fluent 52.
This was after New Zealand posted a total of 402 all out to gain a massive lead of 356 runs thanks to Rachin Ravindra (134) and Tim Southee (63), who added precious 134 runs for a flowing eighth wicket stand.
The largest deficit India has overturned to win a Test in their cricketing history is 274 during the iconic Kolkata Test against Australia in 2001.
(With PTI inputs)