6 Indian Records That Might Never Be Broken

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Indian Cricket Records

India’s stature in international cricket was on a steady incline ever since its independence but got its first international reckoning after winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup in England. The event also inspired a lot of generations to take up the sport – which has now transformed to be a religion. Over the last few years, Indians have been at the helm of many cricketing records – in both good and bad ways, a few of them almost unlikely to be ever broken. Here’s a look at 6 Indian Records that might never be broken in international cricket.

1Suryakumar Yadav: Three Golden Ducks in a single bilateral series

Suryakumar Yadav registered three golden ducks in as many ODIs against Australia this week

Every sportsperson goes through a patch where nothing seems to be going right. The sheer unpredictability and fickleness often define a sport, and cricket is no different. We’ve seen Virat score more than 12 centuries in a single year and also seen him go hundred-less for 3 years. Somedays are not just meant to be, the 2023 ODI series against Australia was one such phase for Suryakumar Yadav. He became the only Indian (possibly the only cricketer yet) to be dismissed on a Golden Duck in every game of a bilateral series.

A forgettable series, an even more forgettable record.

2Bapu Nadkarni: 21 Consecutive Maiden Overs

Bapu Nadkarni was known for his discipline and consistency

Perhaps, one of India’s most underrated World Records from its underrated champion. Bapu Nadkarni in the early 1960s was a force in the reckoning, known for his innate ability to hold a certain line accurately for the longest time – almost as if being operated by a computer system. In one of the Tests against England in 1964 at Chennai, Nadkarni bowled as many as 21 maiden overs on the trot. Spread across only two spells, the left-arm spinner kept challenging the English edges from one end. He finished with innings with final figures of 31-27-5-0.

I wonder if anyone in this age would even be close to bowling as many maidens in total, forget being on the trot.

3Rahul Dravid: 44,152 minutes spent on a Test pitch

Dravid mastered the grind in Tests, better than anyone else in the cricketing world

If you have seen Rahul Dravid bat, you’d know what it is like to watch a technical maestro at his imperious best. ‘The Wall’ as he was referred to, had infinite patience and one of the most impenetrable defenses. Batting through the most difficult of conditions, against the strongest bowling attacks, and at times in the most hostile conditions, Rahul Dravid batted a total of 44,152 minutes through 16-year long his international Test career, facing 31,258 balls in total. Head and shoulders above the trailing list, Dravid’s record is considered to be unbreakable in modern-day cricket.

“All this going around is not aggression. If you want to see aggression look into Rahul Dravid’s eyes”, said the Australian opener, Matthew Hayden, while explaining Dravid’s intent and passion towards the sport.

4MS Dhoni: Fastest to #1 in ODIs

The long-hair Dhoni had a thing or two about him. This pic, en route to his 183* vs Sri Lanka

A certain long-haired ‘unorthodox’ wicket-keeper from Jharkhand by the name Mahendra Singh Dhoni made his Indian debut against Bangladesh in 2004. He was run out for 0 with only a single ball faced in his first innings and a string of low scores (5, 12, 7*, 3) followed. And perhaps, as a last throw of dice, Ganguly decided to promote him to No. 3 and the rest was history. He scored 148 against Pakistan in that game and went on to score a lot more in the days to come. MS Dhoni raced to #1 in the ODI rankings after only 38 innings – a World Record even today, almost two decades later.

His score of 183* against Sri Lanka in 2005 is still the joint-highest by an Indian captain in ODIs, and perhaps one of the best innings in its history. Records continued to tumble every time he took guard, from there on.

5Virat Kohli:  Most ODI centuries chasing

The Chase Master: No one ever even gets close to Virat in chasing targets

Virat Kohli is the greatest chaser to have ever graced the sport, period. Across formats, his ability to take down the set target is unmatched. The sheet game sense, placements, timing, and importantly well-channeled aggression have seen him achieve some great heights. Out of the 46* ODI centuries, Virat has had 26 of them in a run-chase (most by any batter in ODIs). Even better – India’s won 22 of the 26 games – making it one of the most incredible records.

Hopefully, Virat has a few more in his kit bag before the boots hang. The next best is Sachin Tendulkar with 17. Needless to say, the record is unlikely to be even challenged.

6MS Dhoni: Most number of stumpings

Safe to say, MS Dhoni and stumping is one of international cricket’s most celebrated love-stories

Wicket-keeping was revolutionized in the early late 90s and early 2000s with the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Mark Boucher, and Kumar Sangakkara (among others) coming to the international fore. MS Dhoni, coming in perhaps a little later, took it a step further introducing sound unconventionality in the techniques. His insanely fast hands were difficult to escape from as he went on to catch batters out of their ground as many as 195 times – many of them with an inhuman reaction time.

Dhoni is largely regarded as a generational talent and this stumping record as immortal.

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