Cricket Records and T-20 Rules

Brian Lara broke Sir Garfield Sobers' record of 365 runs by scoring 375 in 1994, then bettered it with 400 not out in 2004. Both records stood as the highest individual Test innings for their time.

Englishman Andy Sandham (A Sandham) was the first to score a Test triple century (325 vs West Indies, 1930). Bradman and Ponsford later achieved this feat, but Sandham was the pioneer.

Sanath Jayasuriya scored 340 against India in 1997, then part of Sri Lanka's record 952/6 declared. This was the highest individual Test score at the time and first triple century for Sri Lanka.

Don Bradman (DG Bradman) scored two Test triple centuries: 334 vs England (1930) and 304 vs England (1934). He remains one of the few batsmen with multiple 300+ scores in Test cricket history.

VVS Laxman's legendary 281 at Eden Gardens in 2001 is one of the greatest test innings ever played. It surpassed Sunil Gavaskar's previous Indian record of 236. The innings was instrumental in India's famous comeback victory after being forced to follow on, turning the test match on its head.

Martin Crowe's 299 came against Sri Lanka at Wellington in 1991. He was unfortunate to miss out on a triple century when he was run out. It remains one of the highest individual scores in New Zealand test history, falling just one run short of a milestone.

Len Hutton's monumental 364 at The Oval in 1938 set a new world record for the highest individual test score. This stood for nearly 20 years until Garfield Sobers surpassed it. The innings lasted over 13 hours and remains England's highest individual test score.

Graham Gooch achieved this rare feat against India at Lord's in 1990. His first innings of 333 was then the highest individual test score by an Englishman. Following it with 123 in the second innings, his combined match total of 456 runs remains a test record.

Mark Taylor equalled Sir Don Bradman's long-standing Australian record of 334 against Pakistan at Kingston in 1998. In a sporting gesture, Taylor declared immediately upon reaching the mark rather than attempting to surpass it, showing respect for Bradman's legendary achievement.

Bob Simpson (311), Bob Cowper (307), and Hanif Mohammad (337) all scored triple centuries in test cricket. Charles Bannerman, while scoring the first ever test century (165 retired hurt), never reached 300. He played only 3 tests before his career was cut short by injury.

In T20 cricket, each bowler can bowl a maximum of 4 overs in an innings. This rule ensures that teams use multiple bowlers and prevents one bowler from dominating, maintaining the strategic balance unique to the shortest format.

The bowl-out was used as a tie-breaker in early T20 cricket, inspired by football's penalty shootout. Bowlers from each team alternated deliveries aiming at unguarded stumps. This method was eventually replaced by the Super Over, which is more aligned with cricket's batting-focused nature.

A free hit is awarded only when a bowler bowls a front-foot no ball. The batsman cannot be dismissed except by run out. Wide balls and beamers (no ball for dangerous delivery) do not result in a free hit, making the front-foot fault the key condition.