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Stats: Markram, Bumrah and the shortest ever completed Test

Roshan Gede 
bumrah-now-has-three-five-wicket-hauls-in-south-africa
Bumrah now has three five-wicket hauls in South Africa ©AFP

The Cape Town Test lasted just 107 overs, making it the shortest ever Men's Test with a result, shattering a 92-year-old record.

Bowlers continued to dominate in Cape Town after a record-breaking opening day, with Aiden Markram's fighting hundred being the lone notable batting performance.

Here are all the key numbers from Day 2 of the second Test between South Africa and India at Newlands:

642 balls (107 overs) was all it took for this game to produce a result, making it the shortest ever completed Test, bettering a 92-year-old record set in Melbourne in 1932.

Shortest completed Test matches with a result (by balls bowled)

Balls bowledFixtureWinnerMarginVenue, Year
642Cape Town, 20247 wicketsSouth Africa vs IndiaIndia
656Melbourne, 1932Innings & 72 runsAustralia vs South AfricaAustralia
672Bridgetown, 19354 wicketsWest Indies vs EnglandEngland
788Manchester, 1888Innings & 21 runsEngland vs AustraliaEngland
792Lord's, 188861 runsEngland vs AustraliaAustralia

25 Tests have been completed within two days in the history of Men's Test cricket, three featuring India, all of which have come since 2018. Their previous two had comeagainst Afghanistan and England in Bengaluru (2018) and Ahmedabad (2021) respectively.

2 Tests won by India when none of their batters registered a 50-plus score, with Virat Kohli's 46 in the first innings being the highest in their most recent one. Their previous instance too, had come against South Africa - in Nagpur in 2015 - wherein Murali Vijay's 40 was the highest individual score.

464 is the lowest match aggregate for a Test between India and South Africa, well clear of the 652 runs aggregated in Nagpur in 2015. It also happens to be the second lowest aggregate for a completed Test featuring India, only behind the 387 runs totalled during their 10-wicket win against England in Ahmedabad in 2021.

Lowest match aggregates in India vs South Africa Tests

AggregateWicketsOversRun-rateVenue, Year
4641074.33Cape Town, 202433
652247.52.63Nagpur, 201540
660229.22.87Durban, 199640
678256.42.64Mumbai WS, 200036
694251.22.76Mohali, 201540

231 runs aggregated by South Africa across the two innings is the fifth lowest for any team against India in Tests. After having skittled out for 55 in the first innings - the lowest score against India in the format - the hosts responded with 176 in their second dig.

Lowest match aggregates against India (both innings all-out)

AggregateInnings 1Innings 2TeamVenue, Year
193Ahmedabad, 202181England112
212Bengaluru, 2018103Afghanistan109
229Mumbai WS, 2021167New Zealand62
230Leeds, 1986128England102
231Cape Town, 2024176South Africa55

231 was also South Africa's third lowest match aggregate in Tests since their readmission in 1992, only after 199 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2018 and 206 against New Zealand in Christchurch in 2022. Between their readmission and this Test, their lowest aggregate in a home Test was 292 against Australia in Johannesburg in 2002.

3 instances of India seamers bagging all 20 wickets in a Test match, all of which have come since 2018. Notably, Jasprit Bumrah was the chief contributor on all three occasions, collectively bagging 24 wickets (40%) in these three matches.

India seamers bagging all 20 wickets in a Test match

OpponentVenue, YearJasprit Bumrah's returns
South AfricaJohannesburg, 20185/54 & 2/57
EnglandNottingham, 20214/46 & 5/64
South AfricaCape Town, 20242/25 & 6/61

6 five-wicket hauls bagged by Jasprit Bumrah in SENA countries (South Africa, England, Australia and New Zealand) is the joint second-most by an India bowler in Tests, alongside Bhagwath Chandrasekhar and Zaheer Khan, only one fewer than Kapil Dev's seven. Bumrah now has three Test five-fors in South Africa, which is also the joint record for India alongside Javagal Srinath.

18 wickets bagged by Jasprit Bumrah at Cape Town have come across three Tests at an impressive average of 16.33 and a strike-rate of 30.8. It is the joint second most for an India quick at an overseas venue after Kapil Dev's 19 (three matches) at the Adelaide Oval, who also got 18 from the four Tests he played at Karachi's National Stadium.

Among visiting bowlers, only England's Colin Blythe has bagged more wickets (25) than Bumrah at Newlands, followed by Shane Warne (17) and James Anderson (16).

1 Fifty-plus score in the Cape Town Test. Aiden Markram stroked 106 off 103 in South Africa's second innings, which was the only 20-plus score for the hosts. It happened to be the first ever instance of a batter scoring a hundred in a Test when none of his other teammates crossed 20 across two completed innings.

60.22 percentage of runs were scored by Aiden Markram in South Africa's second innings (106 out of 176), making it the highest in a completed Test innings for his country, breaking a long-standing record set by Herbie Taylor vs England in 1913.

Highest percentage of runs in a completed Test innings for SA

PercentagePlayerScoreTeam totalOpponentVenue, Year
Aiden MarkramCape Town, 2024176India60.22106
Herbie TaylorDurban (Lord's), 1913182England59.89109
Jimmy SinclairCape Town, 1899177England59.88106
Graeme PollockCape Town, 1966353Australia59.2209
Trevor GoddardCape Town, 195799Australia56.5656*

231 runs aggregated by South Africa across the two innings is the second-lowest managed by a team in a Test match with an individual hundred. They hold the all-time record too, of 212 (177 & 35), which came at the same venue against England in April 1899, with Jimmy Sinclair (106) getting to three-figures in their first innings.

94 runs separated the scores of Aiden Markram (106) and Dean Elgar (12), the latter being the next highest scorer in South Africa's second innings. Only twice has the difference between the top-two individual scores been higher in a completed Test innings wherein 200 runs or fewer were scored.

Highest difference between top-two individual scores in a Test innings of < 200

DifferenceTop scorerForAgainstVenue, Year
AustraliaSydney, 1978/79Graham Yallop (121)England105
AustraliaSydney, 1998/99Michael Slater (123)England99
South AfricaCape Town, 2023/24Aiden Markram (106)India94
New ZealandDhaka, 1969/70Mark Burgess (119*)Pakistan93
South AfricaDurban (Lord's), 1913/14Herbie Taylor (109)England90

99 balls taken by Aiden Markram to reach his hundred, making it the sixth fastest for South Africa in Tests.

Fastest Test hundreds for South Africa (by balls taken)

ScoreBatterAgainstVenueYear
Centurion2010AB de VilliersIndia75
Perth2012Hashim AmlaAustralia87
Johannesburg1966Denis LindsayAustralia95
Centurion1999Jonty RhodesWest Indies95
Centurion2001Shaun PollockSri Lanka95
Cape Town2024Aiden MarkramIndia99
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