Toss no advantage for Australia

Stats highlights of the fourth Test and the series, which India wrapped up comfortably 4-0

24-Mar-2013

Cheteshwar Pujara drives down the ground, India v Australia, 4th Test, Delhi, 2nd day, March 23, 2013

This is the first time India have won four Tests in a series. They've won three in a series on three occasions, two of which were clean sweeps at home - against England in 1992-93, and against Sri Lanka the following season.

For Australia, this is only their second clean-sweep defeat in a series, after their 4-0 rout in South Africa in 1969-70. This is the sixth time they've lost four or more Tests in a series, and the first such instance since the Ashes at home in 1978-79, when an Australian team depleted by the Kerry Packer exodus lost 5-1.

This is only the second time in Test history that a team has won four or more tosses in a series, and lost four or more Tests in the same series. The only previous such instance was in the Ashes series of 1978-79 mentioned above, when Australia won the toss in five out of six Tests, but lost the series 5-1.

India have won 12 Tests at the Feroz Shah Kotla, which is next only to the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, where they've won 13. Of their last ten Tests here, India have won nine and drawn one. Their last defeat at this venue was in 1987, against West Indies.

Cheteshwar Pujara was not only one of the Indian heroes for the match and the series, but also for the entire season: he scored 857 runs in eight Tests 85.70, which puts him in 15th place in the all-time list for runs scored in a season for India. With a 600-run cut-off for a season, Pujara's average of 85.70 puts him in seventh place.

Pujara's unbeaten 82 in the fourth innings came off only 92 balls. His strike rate of 89.13 is the third-best for India in fourth-innings knocks of 75 or more.

The 104-run stand between Pujara and Virat Kohli is the tenth century stand for India for the second wicket in the fourth innings of a Test match.

R Ashwin's series haul of 29 wickets is the seventh-best for India in a Test series, and the best since Harbhajan Singh's 32 against Australia in 2001. The only Indian bowlers who've taken more wickets in a series are BS Chandrasekhar, Vinoo Mankad, Subhash Gupte, Kapil Dev, Harbhajan and Bishan Singh Bedi.

There were five five-fors for India in the series; only three times have there been more five-fors in a series for India.

Peter Siddle became the first No. 9 in Test history to score at least a half-century in each innings of a Test.* He scored 51 in the first innings and 50 in the second, top-scoring for Australia in each innings.

Glenn Maxwell became the first Australian to open the batting and bowling in the same Test since Percy Hornibrook in 1929. Hornibrook, a left-arm bowler who bowled some medium-pace and spin, opened the batting and bowling at the MCG Test against England. (Click here for the full list of players who've opened the batting and bowling in the same Test.)

For only the third time in their entire Test history, Australia opened the attack with two spinners. The last such instance for Australia was in Georgetown in 2003 against West Indies, when Stuart MacGill and Brad Hogg opened the bowling in West Indies' second innings.

*6:09pm, March 24: The piece had initially stated that Peter Siddle was the first batsman to score at least a half-century in each innings of a Test. This has been corrected.

Glenn Maxwell Cheteshwar Pujara Ravichandran Ashwin Peter Siddle India Australia India vs Australia Australia tour of India

S Rajesh is stats editor of ESPNcricinfo. Follow him on Twitter