8 Most Interesting Co-Incidences In Cricket History: Cricket is a funny sport. At times, it tends to defy all logic with what unfolds on a cricket field. A game that is highly unpredictable can at times turn back the history pages in repeating the incidences from the past. It is unusual how an incident can form a resemblance to a cricketing episode in the past.
Co-incidences find minimal space in cricket books, however, when they do occur, it tends to bring back memories of the past. A game which is more than 150 years old, has seldom witnessed co-incidences.
Here, we take a look at 8 most interesting co0incidences in cricket history:
1. India’s winning margin when Sachin, Sehwag, and Rohit scored their ODI double hundreds
It might often occur that teams tend to win games where winning margins draw resemblance to other matches. However, it was a bare co-incidence when both Sachin Tendulkar in 2010 and Virender Sehwag in 2011 scored their maiden ODI double hundred. On both the occasions, Team India registered wins by a margin of 153 runs.
The incident repeated itself when Rohit Sharma recorded his second ODI double hundred in 2014 against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. Even then the ‘Men in Blue’ emerged victorious by 153 runs.
2. Dennis Lillee and Ravichandran Ashwin picked their 300th Test scalp on the same date
Dennis Lillee, who was fastest to 300 Test wickets during his time, saw his record broken by the Indian off-spinner in November 2017. However, there’s more to this stat about both the players picking their 300th scalp on the same date. Lillee registered his 300th victim on November 27, 1981, while 36 years later, R Ashwin repeated the same feat on November 27 in 2017. However, the Indian off-spinner claimed the landmark in 54 Tests, two less than what it took Dennis to reach the same figure in his career.
3. Dhoni’s first Test and ODI centuries came against Pakistan with a score of 148
MS Dhoni, who made an awful start to his ODI career with a duck against Bangladesh, scored his maiden ODI ton against Pakistan at Vizag in 2005. He scored a brilliant 148 after he was promoted to bat at No.3. Incidentally, Dhoni also scored his first Test century against Pakistan in Faislabad. However, what was even more surprising that he registered the same score of 148 as his maiden ton which was exactly what he scored as his maiden ODI ton.
4. Royal Challengers Bangalore on two ends of the spectrum in four years time
Royal Challengers Bangalore registered the highest-ever team total in IPL 2013. They managed to score 263 for 5 against the now-defunct Pune Warriors India to create history on April 23, 2013. However, four years later, the Virat Kohli-led yet again created an unwanted piece of history when they collapsed for the lowest-ever team total recorded in IPL history. The Bengaluru boys folded out for 49 against KKR in Kolkata on the same date in 2017.
5. Ganguly, Dhoni and Kohli, each has the highest ODI score of 183
It is a mere coincidence that each among the three, Sourav Ganguly, MS Dhoni, and Virat Kohli, have their highest ODI score as 183. However, what is even more interesting is that all three of them later went onto captain India in each of the three formats. As of now, three of them rank among India’s top-3 captains as per the no. of matches won for ‘Men in Blue’ as skipper of the team.
6. A dramatic figure of Nelson
Nelson is referred to as a mathematical figure of ‘111’. While it is quite common on a cricket scorecard, a peculiar incident occurred during South Africa vs Australia first Test at Newlands in Capetown. On day three of the Test match, the hosts had a deficit of ‘111’ runs to claim victory in the Test match. However, South Africa needed 111 runs exactly when the clock struck 11:11 AM on the 11th day of the 11th year in 2011 (the date was 11/11/11). It was a co-incident that was unheard of.
7. Alastair Cook + Michael Clarke = Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar, arguably one of the greatest batsmen to have ever held a bat, finished his Test career with an unimaginable tally of 15, 921 runs including 21 centuries. In December 2013, a month after Sachin’s retirement, there occurred a weird coincidence after the first innings of the Perth Ashes Test.
Both Michael Clarke and Alastair Cook were playing their 100th Test for their respective nations in Perth. After the first innings, Cook managed to take his tally of runs to 7955 with 25 hundred, while Clarke registered 7964 runs including 26 Test tons. If both of their tally of runs were added, it added to result in 15, 919 runs with 51 Test centuries, which was just two short of Sachin’s tally of runs in 200 Tests. So, it was virtually, Alastair Cook + Michael Clarke = Sachin Tendulkar
8. First and Centenary Test: Same result
The first Test match was played in 1877 between England and Australia. The game was won by Australia by a margin of 45 runs. However, exactly 100 Tests later, it was both Australia and England which marked the centenary Test match. It was rather co-incidence that the result of the centenary Test also went in Australia’s favor with a margin of 45 runs.
