After losing the first Test match by 227 runs, India turned things around with resounding wins in the next two Test matches, by 317 runs and 10 wickets. In the process, they have also eliminated England from the ICC Test Championship. They need to draw (or win) the final Test match, at Motera, Ahmedabad, to qualify for the final against New Zealand at Lord’s later this year. If England win, Australia will qualify. Ahead of the Test match, here is a statistical preview. What is a good surface? Ashwin speaks out on the Motera pitch
0.583 India’s win-loss ratio against England (28 wins, 48 defeats) from 125 Test matches. This is India’s worst against record any side.
2 wickets needed by Stuart Broad (69) to go past Pat Cummins (70) and become the leading wicket-taker in the ongoing ICC Test Championship. R Ashwin (59) is next, and has the most among Indians.
3 teams have played 550 Test matches till date – England (1,033), Australia (834), and West Indies (552). India are set to be the fourth.
3 Test matches for England at Motera. They have lost 2 and drawn 1.
3 wickets needed by Broad (517) to go past Courtney Walsh (519) and become the sixth-highest wicket-taker of all time.
9 wickets needed by Ishant Sharma (303) to go past Zaheer Khan (311) and become the sixth-highest wicket-taker for India.
13 Test matches so far at Motera. India have won 5 here, lost 2, and drawn 6.
14 fifties for Root against India, the second-most among Englishmen. Alastair Cook has 16.
8 runs needed by Virat Kohli (1,015) to go past Gundappa Viswanath (1,022) and become the second-highest run-scorer for India against England at home. Only Sunil Gavaskar (1,331) has more.
22 wins for India at home under Kohli. He has a chance to go past Steve Waugh and secure third place on the list. Only Graeme Smith (30) and Ricky Ponting (29) have led their respective sides to more wins at home.
24 wickets for Ashwin in the ongoing series, already the most for any Indian in a series of four or fewer Test matches against England. He needs 12 here to beat Bhagwat Chandrasekhar’s tally of 35 wickets in 5 Tests in 1972/73.
43 runs needed by Ashwin (957) to become the second Indian to do the 1,000 run-50 wicket double against any opposition. He also has 80 wickets. Kapil Dev is the only Indian to have done this, and he has done this against three teams – Pakistan, England, and West Indies.
45 runs needed by Cheteshwar Pujara (955) to reach the 1,000-run mark against England on Indian soil. Among Indians, only Gavaskar (1,331), Viswanath (1,022), and Kohli (1,015) have done this. Pujara is also behind Sachin Tendulkar (960).
49 draws between India and England so far. They have a chance to become the fourth pair of teams to play 50 draws. With 95 draws against Australia, 55 against South Africa, and 51 against the West Indies, England occupy the top three spots.
51 runs needed by Root (1,625) to go past Marnus Labuschagne (1,675) and become the leading run-scorer in the ongoing ICC Test Championship. Ajinkya Rahane (1,068) has the most among Indians.
83 runs needed by Root (917) to reach the 1,000-run mark against India in India. Among Englishmen, only Cook (1,235) has done this.