Amazing Cricket Facts That'll Blow Your Mind.

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Amazing Cricket Facts That'll Blow Your Mind.

It's impossible to live in India and not get affected by the love wave of cricket. I mean, as we once discussed, if we were to divide our nation in two, it would be done on the basis of those who love cricket and those who worship cricket.

Even non-interested people, who do not give a damn about any sport would be glued to the TV screen during every India- Pakistan or world cup where India is participating.

When making this list, the hardest part was leaving out so many wonderful moments that deserve to be here.

But after much deliberation and thought, we have come up with a few amazing cricket facts that speak about the game in all its glory.

1. Sachin Tendulkar's Debut.

For many people, the other name for 'Cricket' is Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.

It is not an unbelievable statement to say that he is the most idolized cricketer of all time. He has rewritten every batting record worth having.

And it all started in the middle of November 1989. Sachin a fresh-faced 16-year-old faced up to the might of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis with inspiring confidence.

He is the all-time highest run-scorer in both ODI and Test cricket with more than 18,000 runs and 15,000 runs, respectively.

He also holds the record for receiving the most man-of-the-match awards in international cricket. Sachin was a Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha by Nominated from 2012 to 2018.

Having retired from ODI cricket in 2012, he retired from all forms of cricket in November 2013 after playing his 200th Test match. Tendulkar played 664 international cricket matches in total, scoring 34,357 runs.

Tendulkar has received several awards from the government of India: the Arjuna Award (1994), the Khel Ratna Award (1997), the Padma Shri (1998), and the Padma Vibhushan (2008).

The game has never been the same ever since.

2. Kerry Packer's World Series Cricket.

This was the rebel league before people even knew the concept of such a tournament. The influence that the World Series Cricket left on the game is felt to this day.

If there is one legacy that this league left behind, it was the entertainment factor that people love. It also showed the business opportunities that the sport had to offer, and we get to see so much of it today in the T20 world.

Oh, and it was also the first tournament to really promote colored clothing for one-day games, and don't we all love the wonderful kits we get to see today?

3. Ravi Shastri is the first cricketer to hit 6 sixes in an over.

Yes, you heard that right! The former Indian coach was the first person in history to achieve this feat. In cricket, hitting a six is an energy booster. It could be the winning shot that not only saves your team but also demonstrates your abilities as an outstanding batsman. Ravi Shastri went on to get 200 in that game which till date is the fastest double century in the history of first-class cricket.

‍4. Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar's bat to hit the fastest-ever ODI century.

Shahid Afridi was flown in to play for the Pakistan team from West Indies to Nairobi in 1996 and didn't have a proper bat. That's when Waqar Younis gave 'Young Afridi' Sachin Tendulkar's bat. Afridi hit 11 sixes and six boundaries with the bat and scored a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka which was the then-fastest ODI century. The record, broken later by Corey Anderson (36 balls), now belongs to South Africa's AB de Villiers (31 balls).

5. Chris Gayle is the only batsman to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match.

In the 137 years of Test cricket no cricketer has ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test match. Audacious Chris Gayle achieved this feat against Bangladesh in 2012 off debutant Sohag Gazi.

6. Jonty Rhodes Runs Out Inzamam Ul-Haq.

For a game that always talks about batting and bowling, fielding was one department that wasn’t really given its due importance.

But one man perhaps unknowingly changed that perception within a few seconds on a fateful night in 1992. The stage was Pakistan vs South Africa with young Inzamam on strike.

A man that was known to get run out in comical style had every right to think that he was safe on this occasion. The ball had spun away to point and Inzy had set off. When he was sent back, little did he know that he would be out within 5 seconds. Jonty Rhodes ran from around 30 yards to send the stumps crashing and a million kids dreaming about pulling off something like that.

He made fielding cool and the game has truly never been the same since.

7. Shoaib Akhtar bowled the fastest delivery in the history of cricket.

Rawalpindi Express for a reason!

Shoaib Akhtar is regarded as one of the greatest ever to play this game. 161.3 km/h! Those were the numbers that shocked the world. His run-up, just before the boundary line, was enough to scare the batsman. This remarkable incident will go down as one of the best moment in the history of cricket. This happened in 2003 against England.

8. MS Dhoni has never scored an ODI century outside of Asia.

MS Dhoni has led the cricket franchise with numerous victories. But did you know he's never scored a century in an ODI outside of Asia? Dhoni has 10 ODI centuries and 6 test centuries, but he has only scored these centuries in Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India. One feat he failed to achieve.

‍9. The longest recorded cricket match lasted 14 days.

Cricket matches are usually quite long, especially when everyone is anticipating to see who will win. The longest-recorded cricket match was played between England and South Africa in Durban. It is also used for the timeless test. It lasted nearly 90 days and saw over 683 overs bowled.

10. The most Test runs are over 15,000 in total.

This isn't just a Cricket fact, this is a surreal moment!

Sachin Tendulkar, also known as the God of Cricket, is the only batsman to have scored over 15,000 runs in the format. He's the GOAT of cricket for a reason! He has scored 15971 runs in 329 innings.

11. Only the England Cricket team has played more than 1000 Test Matches.

A cricket test match normally lasts five days and has four innings played, an innings is the time when all players take turns to bat to score runs, while the opposition attempts to throw the wickets. The British cricket team has played over 1,000 cricket tests all over the globe. It happened during the 2018 Test against India in Edgbaston.

12. India had 7 captains in international cricket in 2022.

India broke all their previous records as they had as many as 7 captains in the year 2022. Because of the injury and rest to Rohit Sharma, the regular captain, India had to use other players as well at different times in different formats.

India started the year with Rohit Sharma as the white-ball captain and Virat Kohli as the Test skipper. Kohli stepped down and Rohit took over as all-format captain. Before that, KL Rahul also led the side for one Test in South Africa in January.

After that, because of injuries to both Rohit and KL Rahul, Pant captained the T20I series against South Africa at home and Jasprit Bumrah led the side in the Edgbaston Test. Shikhar Dhawan captained a few ODIs when Rohit was rested while Hardik Pandya was the newest interim T20I skipper in Rohit's absence.

13. Player with the most consecutive Test appearance.

Former English skipper, Alastair Cook is the only player, who has played the most number of consecutive Test matches. Cook has played 157 consecutive Tests and surpassed Allan Border, who previously held the record for playing the most number of consecutive Test matches, 153.

14. Player who got Hat-trick on his birthday.

Peter Siddle, the Australian pacer, is the only player who has taken a hat-trick on his 26th birthday, in the Ashes 2010. On the very first day of the series, Siddle dismissed Kevin Pietersen, Paul Collingwood, and Ian Bell in back-to-back three balls.

15. Player who scored Test runs equal to his date of birth.

Alec Stewart, an English cricketer, was born on 8th April 1963 (8-4-63) and scored 8463 Test runs during his Test career.

16. Player who played two different sports at the same time.

'Captain Cool' of Kenya, Aasif Karim has played both International cricket and Tennis (Davis Cup, 1988) for his country, Kenya.

17. An Unbelievable coincidence in World Cricket.

During the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town, this coincidence took place. On 11/11/11 at 11:11, South Africa were at 125 for 1, needing a further 111 runs to win.