The most unique quality about cricket is the uncertainty of playing conditions. This is because, the pitches in which the game is played varies according to different venues, making this game truly challenging. The teams and players need to adapt to different set of playing conditions different grounds offers and prepare accordingly to each of them.
Hence a player may take a liking to one venue more than the other and find it suited to him/her. In this article, we will discuss Test cricketers who have thrived at a single venue thanks to their all-round performances there in Tests.
List of All Amazing Cricket Facts Articles
ACF 6: When Jasprit Bumrah scored 35 runs off Stuart Broad’s Over in a Test Match
ACF 7: Glenn McGrath Dismissed 104 Batsmen on a Duck in Tests
ACF 8: Glenn McGrath took Wickets on his Last Balls in Test and T20I
ACF 9: The Timeless Test – The Longest Cricket Match that lasted 12 Days
ACF 10: When Mohammad Sami Bowled the Longest Over in Cricket
ACF 11: When Bangladesh Lost 21 Consecutive Test Matches
ACF 12: When Kumar Sangakkara Scored Four Consecutive Centuries in ODI
ACF 13: When Don Bran Scored 309 Runs in a Single Day of a Test Match
ACF 14: Graeme Smith Converted First 4 Test Centuries to 150+ Scores
ACF 15: When England Declared their Innings on 0/0!
ACF 16: Picking the First 50 ODI Wickets Within a Year of Debut
ACF-17: The Only 3 Players with a Double of 10000 and 500 Wickets in Cricket
ACF 18: When Pakistan Lost by an Innings After Scoring 500+ Runs
ACF 19: All-Rounders with More-than-one Centuries and Five-wicket Hauls at a Single Venue
ACF 20: India Scored 400-plus Totals in 6 Consecutive Test Innings
ACF 21: 4 Batters Who Scored 10000+ Test Runs in a Particular Batting Position
ACF 22: When Aravinda de Silva Scored 2 Unbeaten Centuries in a Test Match
ACF 23: When Vivian Richards became the fastest player to Score 2000 ODI Runs in Australia
ACF 24: Adam Gilchrist Scored All 16 ODI Centuries in Wins
ACF 25: Highest Partnerships by No. 10 and 11 Batters in Test Cricket
ACF 26: When Australia Won 15 Consecutive Matches in ICC Tournaments
Here are list of cricketers who have had legendary numbers at a single venue
Ravichandran Ashwin (Four 5-fors and Two centuries) – MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The latest to this elite list is India’s Ravichandran Ashwin courtesy of his sensational century at Chennai, which happens to be his home ground as well. He struck a invaluable 113 in the first innings of the Test match against Bangladesh, giving them the pole position in the game. This is second Test century at this venue with the previous one coming in a Test held in 2021. It was the 2nd game of the tour against England and Ashwin struck an important 106 in India’s second innings and this proved to be decisive. In all, Ashwin has amassed 342 runs at this venue in just 7 innings.
With the ball, the ace spinner has been put up a equally dominant show at Chennai. In his very first game here back in 2013 versus Australia, the offie had a terrific outing with the ball, taking 7/103 in the first innings and then picked another fifer (5/95) in the second. The other two wicket hauls came in the 2021 series against England where he took 6/61 & 5/43 in the first & second Test of the series respectively. Before this game versus Bangladesh, Ashwin has 30 wickets in four games at Chepauk at a great average of 23.60.
Achieving his 2nd Test century, Ashwin became just the 5th cricketer to have taken two or more five-wicket haul and struck two or more centuries at a single Test venue. Let us look at the other gentlemen who has achieved this feat before the Indian all-rounder did.
Sir Garfield Sobers (Two 5-fors and Two centuries) – Headingley, Leeds
The former legendary skipper of West Indies had made Leeds in Headingley his happy hunting ground. He played his first Test at this venue against host England in 1957 but had a lacklustre return with the bat, having 4 & 23 in the two innings he played. Sobers couldn’t do much with the ball in the only innings they bowled, taking 1/79 in the process.
However, six years later, Sobers and West Indies made a triumphant return to this venue as they won by 222 runs. The left-hander was the star of the show as he made fifty plus scores in both innings including a century in the first and captured three wickets in the second innings. His best Test match at Leeds came arguably in the year 1966 where he not just smashed 174 runs in the first innings but also picked a fifer in the first essay (5/41) and taking three more in the second. Under his captaincy, WI won by an innings and 55 runs.
Sobers’ fourth and final Test at Leeds came in a losing cause but he picked his second fifer here (5/42) to his wicket tally to 19 here. With the bat, the left-hander amassed 374 runs in just 7 innings and it came at an average of over 53.
Read: Players with 1000 Runs, 100 Wickets, and 100 Catches in Test
Kapil Dev (Two 5-fors and Two centuries)- MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai
The former Indian skipper Kapil Dev was the first to achieve this double at this historic venue in India. Being a fast bowler and taking a five-wicket haul isn’t that easy but Kapil was usually at his best at Chepauk. He played 11 Tests at Chennai and took a whopping 40 wickets at an average of 27.30 with the help of two five-wicket hauls. The first of which came against Pakistan where he took 11 wickets in the match in 1980, including 7/56 in the second innings.
