The adage, “Records are intended to be broken,” is a constant reminder that nothing is unachievable in sports. In 1932, India competed in its first-ever International Cricket competition. Numerous players have donned the national jersey or Whites since then, helping to shape the game. In the history of cricket, India’s players have set and shattered several records in recent decades. Many milestones have fallen throughout the decades in all three game formats, from Yuvraj Singh’s six ‘sixes’ in a six-ball over to Virat Kohli’s quickest 10,000 One-Day International runs.
The classic adage, “Records are made to be broken,” serves as motivation by suggesting that athletes can achieve the seemingly unattainable. However, some records set by Indian players appear to be untouchable for all time. That said, here are five unbreakable cricket records set by Indian players arranged in a countdown fashion.
5. Bapu Nadkarni’s 21 consecutive maidens-Overs in a Test innings
In the 1960s, however, Nadkarni was well recognised as one of the spinners best known for his economy with the ball. Nadkarni’s left-arm spin made life difficult for the batters of his era, who had very little chance of scoring runs against him.
During the first Cricket match against England in Madras on January 12, 1964, he set a record by bowling a streak of twenty-one consecutive maiden overs. He is considered one of India’s most frugal bowlers in Test cricket. Despite not taking any wickets, his final numbers were 32-27-5-0, which resulted in an economy rate of 0.15, the lowest of all time (minimum 60 balls). Due to the extremely low probability of ever seeing this happen again, this record is virtually unbreakable.
Throughout his 41 Test appearances between the years1955 and 1968, Nadkarni amassed 88 scalps at an astonishing economy rate of 1.67. He was not only a good bowler but also a solid batsman, accumulating 1,414 runs at an average of 25.70 from the bottom order.
4. Most Deliveries played in Test cricket by Rahul Dravid
Among India’s Test batters, Rahul Dravid stands out as the most consistent and traditional option. Dravid has been called “The Wall of cricket” for his remarkable longevity at the crease and the number of balls he has faced throughout his 16-year lengthy Test career. So it’s fair to say that most of the bowlers had their hands full trying to get through to Dravid.
Dravid is the only player in Test history with 31,258 deliveries, which the former Indian captain faced. It took him only 164 matches to reach this benchmark. Only the great Sachin Tendulkar, who has made 29,437 deliveries, is behind him. Dravid, meanwhile, holds the record for the greatest time spent at the crease in a Test match with 44,152 minutes (or about 736 hours).
Dravid made a name for himself as an aggressive batsman who could let deliveries outside the off-stump and thus remain in the crease for longer. The right-hander scored 13,288 runs between 1996 and 2012, averaging 52.31 and 36 centuries.
3. Rohit Sharma’s highest ODI score
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of the Indian cricket team, has had a phenomenal run with the bat since he began opening in the white-ball format. He is widely recognised as one of the top devastating batters in the cricketing world. However, there aren’t many cricketers with his easy hard-hitting ability, especially in the shorter format of limited-overs cricket.
The 35-year-old opener’s record-breaking batting performance in one-day internationals underlined why he is considered a rare talent. Eight years have passed since he scored 264 runs off of 173 balls against Sri Lanka, and that score still stands as the unsurpassable benchmark. The batsman from Mumbai has now scored three double tons in ODIs, and he stands alone with that record.
Watching Rohit Sharma smash 33 fours and nine sixes on his way to a record-setting 264 runs was a treat. Unfortunately for the opposition, the ‘Hitman’ was dropped initially, proving to be a costly error as he scored 260 runs. He took strike when the innings began and was out to the final ball of the same innings, caught by Nuwan Kulasekara. Nevertheless, there is little doubt that this may be an ODI record that no other cricketer may surpass.
2. A Ton -of -Ton for Sachin Tendulkar
In addition to being one of the best players in cricket history, Sachin Tendulkar is often considered the best batter. Tendulkar has had a 24-year career in which he has been hailed as the sport’s highest honour and during which he has broken numerous records and scored an incredible number of runs.
In his international career, Tendulkar has scored 100 centuries, 51 in Tests and 49 in One-Day Internationals. In second place is former Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who has 71 hundred, and in third is India’s run-machine Virat Kohli, widely expected to beat Tendulkar’s record of 100 centuries. The RCB hitter was once thought to overtake Tendulkar, but Kohli has stuck to 70 hundred over the previous three years.
While playing Bangladesh in the Sher-e Bangla Stadium in Dhaka for the 2012 Asia Cup, Tendulkar accomplished this remarkable milestone. With 12 fours and a six, he scored 114 runs off his over. Though it was his 49th ODI century, it was his first ever against Bangladesh. However, modern players face a never-ending stream of fitness problems and inconsistency in squad selection, making it unlikely that none will ever break this record.
1. MS Dhoni – Maximum stumping in international cricket
MS. Dhoni has led India to more victories than any other skipper in cricket history, and he is often considered the most secure behind wickets. He achieved many firsts during his illustrious career, among which was the milestone for the highest stumpings in world cricket across all three variants.
In his 15 years as a professional cricketer, he has 195 stumpings and an innings dismissal rate of 1.363. His record has a total of 138 Tests, 123 ODIs, and 34 T20Is. In terms of wicketkeepers, no one can compare to Dhoni. Kumar Sangakkara, a former wicketkeeper for Sri Lanka, has the second-most stumpings of any player across all three formats (139).
Dhoni’s wicket-keeping talents, due to his unorthodox style, were not highly appreciated to begin with. But, later on, it became one of his biggest strengths over time. On countless occasions, the 41-year-lightning-fast wicket-keeping has swung the game in his team’s favour.
