Statistical highlights on day two of the third cricket Test between India and Australia in Melbourne on Saturday.
# Ryan Harris (74 off 88 balls) has posted his highest score in Tests, outstripping the 68 not out off 123 balls vs West Indies at Bridgetown in April 2012.
# Harris’ first fifty vs India is his third in Tests. He had scored an unbeaten 55 off 54 balls vs England at Adelaide in December 2013.
# Harris’ magnificent innings is the second highest by Australia’s number nine batsman against India behind the 99 by Mitchell Starc at Mohali in March 2013.
# Mohammed Shami (4/138) has recorded his best bowling figures vs Australia in Tests.
# For the fourth time, Shami has claimed four wickets or more in a Test innings.
# Murali Vijay has become the first Indian opener to register four fifties in a Test series in Australia.
# Australia (530), for the fourth time, has posted a total of 500 or more against India at Melbourne. They had scored 575 for eight wickets declared in February 1948 -- their highest.
# Six times this year, India has conceded 500 runs or more overseas -- three times to Australia in consecutive Tests, twice to New Zealand and once to England.
# Further, India has conceded 500 runs or more three times in a Test series on five occasions -- two times to the West Indies and once each to England, Pakistan and Australia.
# Steven Smith has posted his seventh Test century -- a career-best -- his third vs India.
# Smith’s outstanding knock is the highest by an Australian captain against India at Melbourne, bettering Allan Border’s 163 in December 1985.
# Dhoni, with Mitchell Johnson’s stumping, has equalled an Indian record for most stumpings (38), held by Syed Kirmani. With 134 stumpings in international cricket, he has set a record, eclipsing Kumar Sangakkara’s 133.
# In three Tests in a row against India, Smith has posted hundreds -- 162 not out at Adelaide; 133 at Brisbane and 192 at Melbourne. Matthew Hayden was the last Australian player to achieve the feat -- 124 & 47 at MCG, 13 & 123 at SCG and 103 at Adelaide vs India in 2007-08.
# Smith became the first Australian player to post hundreds in each of his first two Tests as skipper. H became the fifth batsman to register centuries in each of the first two Tests as captain. He has joined South Africa’s Jackie McGlew (104 not out at Old Trafford and 133 at Headingley, Leeds -- both against England in 1955), India’a Vijay Hazare (164 not out at Delhi and 155 & 6 at Mumbai (Brabourne Stadium) -- both against England in 1951-52), Sunil Gavaskar (116 & 35 not out against New Zealand at Auckland in January 1976 and 205 & 73 against West Indies at Mumbai in December 1978) and England’s Alastair Cook (173 at Chittagong and 109 not out at Dhaka -- both against Bangladesh in 2009-10.
# Smith’s aggregate of 353 (133 & 28 at Brisbane and 192 at Melbourne) at an average of 117.66 is the most by an Australian player in the first three innings as captain.
# Smith has amassed 1,000 runs in a calendar year for the first time in Tests -- his tally being 1132 (ave.87.07) in nine Tests.
# Smith’s superb aggregate of 567 (ave.189.00) is the highest by an Australian batsman in three Tests in a series against India. The said tally is the fourth highest by an Australian batsman vs India in Australia behind the 715 (ave.178.75) by Sir Donald Bradman in five Tests in 1947-48; 706 (ave.100.85) by Ricky Ponting in four Tests in 2003-04 and 626 (ave.125.20) by Michael Clarke in four Tests in 2011-12.
# Seven times in a Test innings, Mahendra Singh Dhoni has effected five dismissals or more -- his only instance of six dismissals is against New Zealand at Wellington in April 2009.
Mark Boucher (14), Rod Marsh (12), Ian Healy (11) and Adam Gilchrist (8) have effected five or more dismissals in a Test innings more times than the Indian skipper.
# Two captains have been dismissed in the 190s for the second time in a calendar year -- Brendon McCullum (195 vs Sri Lanka at Christchurch and Steven Smith (192 vs India at Melbourne -- both in December this year) -- the first occasion being Brian Lara (191 vs Zimbabwe at Bulawayo) and Stephen Fleming (192 vs Pakistan at Hamilton)in 2003.
