Cheteshwar Pujara has had a phenomenal series so far against the Englishmen. It has pushed his career aggregate past 700 and his batting average has shot through the roof. This has placed him within striking distance of a couple of Indian records, writes Arunabha Sengupta.
Before the first Test at Ahmedabad, he had a tally of 323 runs in five Tests at an average just pushing past 40. The prolific run of 206 not out, 41 not out, and 135 – along with the six runs he managed in the last innings – has pushed his total collection of Test runs to 711 at a staggering average of 71.10. So far he has played just 12 Test innings.
Vinod Kambli took 14 innings to get to 1000 and is slotted at No 5 on the all-time list behind four colossal names – Herbert Sutcliffe, Everton Weekes, Don Bradman and Neil Harvey. Kambli remains the fastest Indian to get there in terms of number of innings.
This sets a target of 289 runs for Pujara in two innings to equal the record. Given the sort of nick he is in, one cannot put it beyond him.
1000 runs in less than 15 innings
However, he has a much more realistic chance of becoming the fastest Indian batsman to score 1000 runs in terms of the number of Tests played. While Kambli took 12 matches to get to the milestone, Sunil Gavaskar made it in one less, although the legendary opening batsman crossed 1000 in his 21st innings.
That gives Pujara four Tests to equal and three to break the record.
It is indeed surprising that Kambli played just five more Tests after arriving at that 1000 run milestone at a super-quick rate. One surely hopes that Pujara’s career traverses along the path traced by Gavaskar in this regard.
Curiously, the next two Indians on the list also lived up to their initial promise in diametrically different ways.Sadagoppan Ramesh finished with 1367 runs in 19 Tests while Rahul Dravid scored 13,288 from 164.
Fastest Indians to 1000 runs in terms of Tests
In terms of duration, Dravid was the fastest among Indians – mainly because of the frequency at which India played Test cricket in 1996 and 1997. He got there in just 301 days. Only 12 other batsmen have got their first 1000 runs in less than a year. This record is beyond Pujara, who made his debut in 2010 and will have already spent two years and 57 days in the Test arena by the time the two teams face off at the Eden Gardens.
Batsmen to 1000 runs in less than a year from debut (Source)
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| One surely hopes that Cheteshwar Pujara’s career traverses along the path traced by the great Sunil Gavaskar
Cheteshwar Pujara has been the one shining star in the otherwise beleaguered Indian batting line-up. He has amassed 388 runs in four innings in the series, two of which were unbeaten.
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Vinod Kambli took 14 innings to get to 1000 and is slotted at No 5 on the all-time list behind four colossal names – Herbert Sutcliffe, Everton Weekes, Don Bradman and Neil Harvey. Kambli remains the fastest Indian to get there in terms of number of innings.
This sets a target of 289 runs for Pujara in two innings to equal the record. Given the sort of nick he is in, one cannot put it beyond him.
1000 runs in less than 15 innings
| Batsman | 1000 runs on | Test debut | Duration | Tests | Innings |
| H Sutcliffe (Eng) | Feb 13, 1925 | June 14, 1924 | 0 year 244 days | 9 | 12 |
| ED Weekes (WI) | Feb 4, 1949 | Jan 21, 1948 | 1 year 14 days | 9 | 12 |
| DG Bradman (Aus) | July 11, 1930 | Nov 30, 1928 | 1 year 223 days | 7 | 13 |
| RN Harvey (Aus) | Dec 1, 1950 | Jan 23, 1948 | 2 year 312 days | 10 | 14 |
| VG Kambli (India) | Nov 18, 1994 | Jan 29, 1993 | 1 year 293 days | 12 | 14 |
However, he has a much more realistic chance of becoming the fastest Indian batsman to score 1000 runs in terms of the number of Tests played. While Kambli took 12 matches to get to the milestone, Sunil Gavaskar made it in one less, although the legendary opening batsman crossed 1000 in his 21st innings.
That gives Pujara four Tests to equal and three to break the record.
It is indeed surprising that Kambli played just five more Tests after arriving at that 1000 run milestone at a super-quick rate. One surely hopes that Pujara’s career traverses along the path traced by Gavaskar in this regard.
Curiously, the next two Indians on the list also lived up to their initial promise in diametrically different ways.Sadagoppan Ramesh finished with 1367 runs in 19 Tests while Rahul Dravid scored 13,288 from 164.
Fastest Indians to 1000 runs in terms of Tests
| Batsman | 1000 on | Test debut | Duration | Tests | Innings |
| SM Gavaskar | Jan 25, 1973 | March 6, 1971 | 1year 325 days | 11 | 21 |
| VG Kambli | Nov 18, 1994 | Jan 29, 1993 | 1 year 293 days | 12 | 14 |
| S Ramesh | Feb 27, 2001 | Jan 28, 1999 | 2 year 30 days | 13 | 25 |
| R Dravid | Apr 17, 1997 | June 20, 1996 | 0 year 301days | 14 | 23 |
| SV Manjrekar | Aug 9, 1990 | Nov 25, 1987 | 2 year 257 days | 14 | 23 |
In terms of duration, Dravid was the fastest among Indians – mainly because of the frequency at which India played Test cricket in 1996 and 1997. He got there in just 301 days. Only 12 other batsmen have got their first 1000 runs in less than a year. This record is beyond Pujara, who made his debut in 2010 and will have already spent two years and 57 days in the Test arena by the time the two teams face off at the Eden Gardens.
Batsmen to 1000 runs in less than a year from debut (Source)
| Batsman | 1000 runs on | Debut | Duration | Tests | Innings |
| MEK Hussey (Aus) | Apr 16, 2006 | Nov 3, 2005 | 0 year 164 days | 11 | 19 |
| AJ Strauss (Eng) | Jan 2, 2005 | May 20, 2004 | 0 year 227 days | 10 | 19 |
| H Sutcliffe (Eng) | Feb 13, 1925 | Jun 14, 1924 | 0 year 244 days | 9 | 12 |
| BW Luckhurst (Eng) | Aug 19, 1971 | Nov 27, 1970 | 0 year 265 days | 13 | 25 |
| MJ Slater (Aus) | Mar 17, 1994 | Jun 3, 1993 | 0 year 287days | 14 | 23 |
| KP Pietersen (Eng) | May 11, 2006 | Jul 21, 2005 | 0 year 294 days | 12 | 23 |
| AN Cook (Eng) | Dec 26, 2006 | March 1, 2006 | 0 year 300 days | 13 | 24 |
| R Dravid (India) | Apr 17, 1997 | Jun 20, 1996 | 0 year 301 days | 14 | 23 |
| MA Taylor (Aus) | Dec 8, 1989 | Jan 26, 1989 | 0 year 316 days | 10 | 18 |
| MJ Clarke (Aus) | Sep 8, 2005 | Oct 6, 2004 | 0 year 337 days | 17 | 26 |
| AR Border (Aus) | Dec 14, 1979 | Dec 19, 1978 | 0 year 350 days | 13 | 26 |
| AB de Villiers (SA) | Dec 16, 2005 | Dec 17, 2004 | 0 year 364 days | 12 | 20 |
| AW Greig (Eng) | Jun 7, 1973 | June 8, 1972 | 0 year 364 days | 14 | 24 |
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