• This was the 1662nd Test match in cricket history.
• This was India’s 367th Test match and New Zealand’s 305th Test match.
• This was the 44th Test match between India and New Zealand.
• This was the 192nd Test match on Indian soil and fifth Test match on PCA Stadium, Mohali.
• Umpire David Shepherd was standing in his 75th Test match. Only Steve Bucknor (83) has officiated in more matches than him.
• Sachin Tendulkar was playing his 200th first class match. He became 31st Indian to appear in 200 or more matches.
• Yuvraj Singh was making his Test debut for India. He became 247th player to represent India in a Test match.
• Yuvraj’s father Yograj Singh had represented India in a solitary Test match against New Zealand at Wellington in 1980-81. They thus provided the eighth instance of a father-son combination representing India in Test cricket. Other father-son combinations to represent India in Test cricket are : Nawab Iftikhar Ali Khan and Nawab Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Vinoo and Ashok Mankad, Lala Amarnath and his two sons – Mohinder and Surinder, Dattu and Anshuman Gaekwad, Pankaj and Pranab Roy, Vijay and Sanjay Manjrekar, and Hemant and Hrishikesh Kanitkar
• Yuvraj was making his Test debut after having appeared in 73 ODIs – a new Indian record. The previous record was on the name of Robin Singh who made his Test debut after appearing in 60 ODIs. Yuvraj infact missed the opportunity to beat Australia’s Adam Gilchrist’s world record. Gilchrist had made his Test debut after 76 ODI appearances.
• Rahul Dravid was captaining India for the first time in a Test match. He became 28th player to captain India in a Test match.
• This was Dravid’s 71st Test match. Only Dilip Vengsarkar has led India after more matches than Dravid. Vengsarkar captained India for the first time while playing in his 96th Test match.
• The opening wicket partnership of 231 runs between Mark Richardson and Lou Vincent was New Zealand’s best for any wicket against India.This obliterated the 222 run unbroken partnership between Bert Sutcliffe and John Reid at Delhi in 1955-56.
• The above partnership was obviously the highest for first wicket for New Zealand against India. The pair obliterated the 149 run-partnership between Trevor Franklin and John Right at Napier in 1989-90.
• The above partnership was also the best for any wicket by any side on this ground beating the 229 run-partnership between India’s Rahul Dravid and Sachin Tendulkar for the third wicket against the Kiwis in 1999-00.
• Incidentally the previous highest opening wicket partnership at this ground was 137 between Devang Gandhi and Sadagoppan Ramesh for India also against the Kiwis in 1999-00.
• Both Kiwi openers scored centuries in the first innings. This provided the sixth instance of two openers scoring a century each in the same innings against India. The accompanying table lists all such instances :

  Batsmen             Stand  For  Venue       Season    Result
  AF Rae (109)         239   WI   Chennai     1948-49   WI
  JB Stollmeyer (160)
   
  CG Greenidge (154*)  296   WI   St.John's   1982-83   Drawn
  DL Haynes (136)
   
  RB Simpson (109)     191   Aus  Melbourne   1967-68   Aus
  WM Lawry (100)
   
  GA Gooch (116)       225   Eng  Manchester  1990      Drawn
  MA Atherton (131)
   
  HH Gibbs (147)       236   SA   Calcutta    1996-97   SA
  G Kirsten (102)
   
  MH Richardson (145)  231   NZ   Mohali      2003-04   Drawn
  L Vincent (106)
  

• Richardson and Vincent also provided the fourth instance of both openers scoring hundreds in same innings for New Zealand in Test cricket.
• The wicket of Nathan Astle was 150th for Harbhajan Singh in his 35th Test. He became 10th Indian and 70th bowler overall to reach this milestone. Only Erapally Prasanna and Anil Kumble have taken 150 wickets in lesser Tests (34 each) for India.
• New Zealand’s total of 630-6 (decl.) was the fourth highest by any side against India in India after 652-7 (decl.) by England at Madras in 1984-85, 644-8 (decl.) by West Indies at Delhi in 1958-59 and 631 also by West Indies at Delhi in 1948-49.
• The above total was New Zealand’s second best in all Tests after their 671 for four against Sri Lanka at Wellington in 1990-91 and highest in an away Test. New Zealand’s previous highest total abroad was 553 for seven (decl.) against Australia at Brisbane in 1985-86.
• New Zealand also provided the 19th instance of a team scoring 600 or more runs in an innings against India. The break-up : Seven times by West Indies, five times by England, thrice by Pakistan, twice by Sri Lanka and once each by Australia and New Zealand.
• This was the seventh time a visiting side was posting 600-plus score in an innings against India in India. New Zealand’s total was also the fourth highest by a visiting side on Indian soil after 652 for seven (decl.) by England at Madras in 1984-85, 644 for eight (decl.) by West Indies at Delhi in 1958-59 and 631 also by West Indies at Delhi in 1948-49.
• Four batsmen – Mark Richardson (145), Lou Vincent (106), Scott Styris (119) and Craig McMillan (100*)- scored hundreds in New Zealand’s first innings. This provided the tenth such instance in Test history and fifth against India.
• New Zealand also provided the sixth instance in Test cricket of first three batsmen scoring hundred in the same innings. This was the first time New Zealand batsmen performed this feat.
• Virender Sehwag (130) completed his 1000 runs in Test cricket when his score reached 82. He became 48th Indian to achieve this landmark. By taking 24 innings for his 1000 runs, Sehwag became sixth quickest amongst the Indians to do so after Vinod Kambli (14), Sunil Gavaskar (21), Rahul Dravid (23), Sanjay Manjrekar (23) and Saurav Ganguly (23).
• The hundred was fourth for Sehwag in his 16th Test. This was also his highest score against New Zealand.
• Sachin Tendulkar surpassed Pakistan’s Javed Miandad’s tally of 8832 runs to become the fifth leading run-scorer in Test history when his score reached 7 in the first innings. At the end of this Test Tendulkar has aggregated 8882 runs in 107 Tests. Now only Australia’s Allan Border (11174) and Steve Waugh (10660), India’s Sunil Gavaskar (10122) and England’s Graham Gooch (8900) are ahead of Tendulkar.
• The wicket of Yuvraj Singh was 50th for Daryl Tuffey in his 16th Test. He became 24th New Zealander to reach this landmark.
• When Stephen Fleming enforced the follow-on on India, it was the fourth time that India had to suffer this ignominy against New Zealand. The other three occasions were at Bombay in 1964-65 (drawn), at Christchurch in 1967-68 (won) and at Christchurch in 1989-90 (won).
• New Zealand also provided the 23rd instance when India were forced to face follow-on in Test cricket. Interestingly the last time an opposition enforced the follow-on on India was by Australia at Calcutta in 2000-01. India went on to win that Test !
• Rahul Dravid completed his 1000 runs against New Zealand when his score reached one in the second innings. He became second Indian after Sachin Tendulkar (who achieved this distinction in the Ahmedabad Test) to do so.
• Dravid, by taking nine Tests to reach this landmark, became the second quickest (alongwith England’s Wally Hammond) to complete 1000 runs against New Zealand after Pakistan’s Javed Miandad who did so in his eighth Test . In terms of innings, Dravid is fourth quickest with 18 innings after England’s Wally Hammond (11), Pakistan’s Javed Miandad (14) and England’s Mike Atherton (15).
• The last time New Zealand did not lose a Test series in India was way back in 1969-70 when Graham Dowling led Kiwi side drew the three match series 1-1.
• The last visiting side not to lose a Test series in India was South Africa. South Africa, infact, went on to win the two match Test series 2-0.
• At the end of the series : India’s overall Test record : played 367, won 74, lost 122, drawn 170 and tied one.
  New Zealand’s overall Test record : played 305, won 53, lost 119 and drawn 133.
  Saurav Ganguly’s captaincy record : played 33, won 13, lost 10 and drawn 10.
  Rahul Dravid’s captaincy record : played one, drawn one.
  Stephen Fleming’s captaincy record : played 53, won 19, lost 15 and drawn 19.

(Article: Copyright © 2003 Rajneesh Gupta)