Australia extend MCG dominance

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India

29-Dec-2007

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the Boxing Day Test between Australia and India.

Rahul Dravid's 5 and 16 were among the slowest innings of his career © Getty Images

Australia are one victory away from equaling their own record of the highest number of successive Test wins. Under Steve Waugh, they won 16 in a row between 1999 and 2001 and their 337-run demolition of India extended their current streak to 15 victories in a row. This victory was also their ninth straight win at the MCG , second only to West Indies' 12 consecutive wins in Barbados between 1978 and 1993.

India's margin of defeat - 337 runs - was their third highest in terms of runs (excluding innings defeats). The two losses by greater margins were 342 runs against Australia in Nagpur in 2004-05, and 341 against Pakistan in Karachi in 2006. It was also India's largest defeat in Australia .

India's capitulation for 196 and 161 was the first time they had been dismissed for less than 200 twice in a Test since 2002. The last time was in Hamilton, when New Zealand bowled India out for 99 and 154.

Adam Gilchrist's catch to dismiss Wasim Jaffer in the second innings was his 396th dismissal in Tests, beating Ian Healy's Australian record of 395. Gilchrist finished the match with 399 dismissals and is closing in on Mark Boucher who currently holds the world record with 406 dismissals. Gilchrist also took his tally of dismissals against India to 58 with only Jeff Dujon (60 dismissals) ahead of him.

Brett Lee's 2 for 43 in the second innings ended a run of five consecutive four-wicket hauls. Lee had taken four wickets in each innings during the two Tests against Sri Lanka and also picked up 4 for 46 in the first innings against India in Melbourne.

Australia's bowlers bowled 26 maidens - 35% - out of the 74 overs that they bowled at India in the second innings. It was an improvement on their impressive first-innings performance when they bowled 19 maiden overs out of 72.

Rahul Dravid struggled monumentally in his role as makeshift opener. His 5 off 66 balls at a strike-rate of 7.57 was his third slowest innings in which he has scored a run. And it barely got better in the second innings; his 16 off 114 balls was also his third slowest among innings where he's scored more than 10.

Dravid has opened 15 times in Tests and, apart from two centuries on flat pitches in Pakistan, has just one score of more than 30. Dravid averages 30 overall as an opener, compared to his 57.27 in 89 innings at No 3, but without those two hundreds his average drops to 13.25.

Matthew Hayden's 124 and 47 in the first Test took him past the 8000-run mark in Tests. He did it in his 92nd Test at an average of 53. Hayden is the 18th batsman, the fifth Australian and only the third opening batsman to pass 8000 runs; the other two being Geoffrey Boycott and Sunil Gavaskar.

Rahul Dravid Brett Lee Matthew Hayden Adam Gilchrist India Australia Australia vs India India tour of Australia

George Binoy is a staff writer at Cricinfo