5 understated records broken during Karun Nair's epic knock in Chennai

It was a day full of records at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Riding on the back of Karun Nair’s monumental knock, India piled on a whopping 759 runs in the first-innings and continued to keep England under their stranglehold.

There were plenty of milestones that hogged the limelight such as the highest team total in Tests for India and Nair becoming only the second Indian batsman to register a triple ton. However, plenty of other landmarks (both personal as well as collective) have also been accomplished during the fourth day’s play.

Here are five such records which have gotten overlooked amidst all the euphoria.

---

#5 Reaching 100, 200, 300 on the same day

Karun Nair joined an exclusive club during the course of his epic knock

Nair joined an exclusive club of batsmen who have reached three major batting landmarks during a single day. Aside from the 25-year old, the likes of Sir Don Bradman, Wally Hammond, Brian Lara, and Virender Sehwag all brought up the 100, 200 and 300-run mark in the same day.

Resuming the fourth day on 71, the compact right-hander smashed 232 from just 245 balls to get to the milestone. However, only Bradman has managed to score more than 300 runs in a single day. The Australian great had amassed 309 runs during the opening day of the 1930 Leeds Test against England.

#4 Fewest Test innings taken to score a triple century

Hutton had taken 9 innings to score a Test triple

Nair made his Test debut in the third Test at Mohali after Rahul suffered a forearm injury on the eve of the match. But, the occasion turned sour for him when he paid the price for skipper Virat Kohli’s moment of indecision while running between the wickets. Following a 13 in Mumbai, the Jodhpur-born cricketer scored a triple century here in just the third innings of his career.

He broke Sir Len Hutton’s 78-year old record for taking the least number of innings to register a maiden triple ton. The legendary Yorkshireman had achieved the feat in a timeless Test at The Oval in 1938.

#3 Highest number of centurions for India in a Test series

Gavaskar led India’s charge in the 1978/79 series against West Indies

Including Nair, as many as six Indian batsmen have now scored hundreds in the series. This is the joint-highest number of centurions for India in a single series with the previous instance coming way back in the late 70s against the visiting West Indies team.

Murali Vijay (2), Cheteshwar Pujara (2), Virat Kohli (2), Jayant Yadav (1), KL Rahul (1) and Nair (1) are the hosts’ century-makers in this series. They emulated the combined efforts of Sunil Gavaskar (4), Gundappa Viswanath (2), Dilip Vengsarkar (2), Kapil Dev (1), Mohinder Amarnath (1) and Anshuman Gaekwad (1) in the 1978/1979 series.

#2 Most runs scored on day 4 of a Test in India

Karthik swelled India’s lead in the 2005 Kolkata Test against Pakistan

The fourth day’s action saw both teams pile on a combined 380 runs which has now become the highest ever witnessed on the fourth day of any Test in India. While the home side accumulated 368 runs during the fourth day, England added 12 more to the tally.

The previous record of 369 runs had come in the 2005 Eden Gardens Test. India registered 274 of those with Dinesh Karthik doing the bulk of the scoring and set a formidable target for Pakistan. The mercurial Shahid Afridi hammered a run-a-ball 59 to help the visitors end the fourth day at 95/1. But, they were bowled out for 226 on the final day to hand Sourav Ganguly’s team a 195-run victory.

#1 Most 400-plus first-innings totals in a series after losing the toss

Nair is congratulated by Vijay who himself has scored two centuries in the series

The toss is always regarded as a highly influential factor in Tests in the subcontinent. Several former England cricketers often spoke about the importance of calling correctly in this part of the world. However, Alastair Cook’s team have continued to struggle despite winning all but one toss in this series.

Despite amassing scores of 537, 283, 400 and 477, they have not been able to emerge victorious even once thus far. The major reason behind it is the ability of the Indian batsmen to absorb scoreboard pressure and respond with totals of 488, 417, 631 and 759/7. No other team in the game’s history has managed to register four 400-plus first-innings totals in a series after losing the toss.