Number cruncher: Supreme Smith, Invincible Kohli and Stellar Lyon

Australia gave India another scare before drawing the fourth Test at Sydney on Saturday to complete a 2-0 series win, which saw the home off-spinner Nathan Lyon give his best performance in a series and also earning the dubious distinction of conceding 100 runs or more in a series six times. Here are stats from day five of the Sydney Test: - Nathan Lyon has claimed 23 wickets at an average of 34.82 - his career-best performance in a Test rubber, eclipsing the 19 (ave.29.36) in five Tests vs England in 2013-14. - Lyon’s above wickets’ tally is the highest by any bowler in the just concluded rubber. - Lyon has conceded 100 runs or more in the series six times. The last bowler to achieve this dubious distinction was India’s Subhash Gupte vs West Indies in 1958-59. [caption id=“attachment_2039815” align=“alignleft” width=“512”]  Steve Smith was brilliant. AP[/caption] - Steven Smith has got the Man of the Match for the third time in Tests - his second against India. - Smith has received his first Player of the Series award in Tests for top-scoring in the rubber - his tally being 769 (ave.128.16) - Murali Vijay has totalled 482 runs at an average of 60.25 in four Tests - his best performance in terms of runs’ tally in a Test series, outstripping the 430 (ave.61.42) in four Tests in India in 2012-13. - Vijay’s aforesaid aggregate is the highest by an Indian opening batsman in a Test series in Australia. - Vijay’s excellent innings of 80 is his tenth fifty in Tests - his fifth against Australia. He became the first Indian opener to post five innings of fifty-plus in a Test series in Australia - a century and four fifties. - Rohit Sharma has totalled 92 runs (53 + 39) - his best performance in a Test match away from home, surpassing the 91 (72 + 19) vs New Zealand at Auckland in February 2014 - Virat Kohli, as captain, enjoys a superb record in Tests - his aggregate being 449 in four innings at an average of 112.25, including three hundreds. - Kohli has amassed 193 runs (147 + 46) in the recently concluded Test - the most by an Indian skipper in a Test match at Sydney. - In drawn Tests, Kohli is averaging 70.53 - his tally being 1058 in nine Tests, including five centuries and four fifties. - Kohli’s fantastic tally of 692 (ave.86.50) is the highest by India’s number four batsman in a Test series - the fifth best in a Test rubber by any batsman - the top four being DCS Compton (753 vs SA in 1947), ED Weekes (716 vs India in 1952-53), JH Kallis (712 vs West Indies in 2003-04) and EH Hendren (693 vs WI in 1929-30). - In only eight Tests in Australia, Virat Kohli has aggregated 992 runs at an average of 62.00, including five hundreds and two fifties. His tally is the fourth highest by an Indian batsman in Tests vs Australia in Australia, joining Sachin Tendulkar - 1809 (ave.53.20) in 20 Tests, VVS Laxman - 1236 (ave.44.14) in 15 Tests and Rahul Dravid - 1143 (ave.43.96) in 15 Tests. - The series between India and Australia has witnessed 25 instances of bowlers conceding 100 runs or more in a Test innings - a new record for a Test rubber, surpassing the 23 in the 1924-25 series between Australia and England in Australia. - Suresh Raina has posted a PAIR vs Australia - his second PAIR in Tests. He had registered his first pair vs England at The Oval in 2011. He has not scored in his last three Test innings, registering a hat-trick of ducks. During his last seven innings, he has posted five ducks. Amongst the top Indian batsmen (No.1 to 7), only Mohinder Amarnath and Raina have got two pairs each to their credit. - Australia have won three consecutive Test series against India in Australia - the results being by 2-1 in 2007-08, by 4-0 in 2011-12 and by 2-0 in 2014-15. - Three thousand runs or more by a team in a four-Test series have been recorded for the first time - 3113 by Australia has eclipsed the 2962 by South Africa vs West Indies in 2003-04. 5870 runs recorded in the series is a record by both teams in a four-Test rubber. - Mitchell Starc has become the 72nd Australian bowler to complete 50 wickets or more in Tests. PTI