148 years of international cricket! 10 unbreakable records! Woah!
International cricket has witnessed some of the best players creating unthinkable, unbreakable records, in its rich history of almost 150 years.
The game started with the Test cricket format before ODI and T20I formats were added subsequently. Despite much debate surrounding the decline of ODI cricket, all forms of the sport seem to have a healthy future. Over the years, numerous world records in cricket have been broken across formats.
In this article, we bring you 10 cricket records that will never be broken:
- Don Bradman’s batting average of 99.94
Arguably, the best player ever to play Test cricket, Don Bradman of Australia finished his career with an unreal average of 99.94 after 52 Tests (80 innings), amassing 6996 runs with 29 tons and 13 fifties.
The second best in this aspect is Adam Voges of the same country, who averaged 61.87 after 20 Tests. Among active players, Harry Brook is the closest with an average of 58.48 after 24 Test matches with 8 centuries and 10 fifties. No other player is likely to score runs at an average better than Bradman in Test cricket.
2. Sachin Tendulkar’s 34,357 International runs
There has always been a debate around the best cricketer between Sachin Tendulkar and Don Bradman and it still goes on. Tendulkar scored the most runs in international cricket during his illustrious 24-year career. He amassed 34,357 international runs after playing in 664 matches and to sustain an average of 48.52 is staggering. The second best active cricketer on this list is Virat Kohli with 27,301 runs and is at the fag end of his career too.
3. Murali’s 1,347 wickets in International cricket
Muttiah Muralitharan is the best spinner to have played international cricket. He finished his career with 800 Test, 534 ODI, and 13 T20I wickets, tallying a staggering 1,347 wickets at the highest level after playing 495 matches.
He picked up a massive 77 five-wicket hauls and 22 ten-wicket match hauls. Clearly, with so much cricket being played across formats these days, no other player is expected to go past him.
4. Maiden in T20 super over
Bowling a maiden over in T20 cricket is not easy, forget doing it in a super over. But only one bowler has managed to do it and he is none other than the mystery spinner, Sunil Narine. In the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) match in 2014, Narine delivered a magical super over while playing for Guyana Amazon Warriors defending 12 runs against Trinidad and Tobago.
5. Sri Lanka’s highest ever Test score – 952/6
Sri Lanka created history in August 1997, smashing a stunning 952 runs against India in the Colombo Test match. This is still the highest-ever score in the Test format even after 28 years and is unlikely to be broken ever given the way the format is being played these days. With the advent of T20 cricket and the emphasis on results, no team is looking to post such a huge score.
6. Highest partnership in Tests – 624 runs
Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene added 624 runs together against South Africa for third wicket in July 2006- which is the highest-ever partnership in Test cricket. This record is unbreakable for several reasons including the declining batting quality in the format in testing conditions.
7. Brian Lara’s highest Test score – 400*
Harry Brook scored a triple century- 317 to be precise, against Pakistan, last year. But it took an absolute flat pitch in Multan to see a player notch up a triple ton in Tests. With Test cricket also being played at a faster pace nowadays, Brian Lara’s record of highest individual score of 400* isn’t likely to be broken.
8. Sachin Tendulkar’s 100 international centuries
It simply isn’t a joke to score 100 centuries in international cricket. Sachin is the only player to do it and Virat Kohli is the closest active player with 81 tons. The latter is at the fag end of his year and it seems impossible for him to score 19 more centuries in the next 2-3 years.
9. Most consecutive maiden overs in Test cricket
Bapu Nadkarni of India bowled the most consecutive maiden overs, 21, in 1964 against England. With Test cricket becoming fast-paced nowadays, no other bowler is likely to have such a strong hold over the opposition batters in the format.
10. Most matches as ODI captain
Longevity is a problem for players these days with so much international cricket being played. Hence, to lead in most matches and that too in ODIs is close to impossible with questions being raised on the sustainability of the format as well. Ricky Ponting holds this record, having led Australia in 230 ODIs.
