Cricket History and Facts

Yuvraj Singh wore jersey number 12 in ODI cricket for India throughout his career. This number became synonymous with his identity as a cricketer.

Yuvraj Singh made his Test debut against South Africa at Bangalore in 2003 but scored 84 runs in the first innings, falling short of a century. A Test debut century (100 runs) is a significant milestone, and while Yuvraj had many notable achievements including 6 sixes in an over, a debut century was not one of them. He scored his maiden Test century later in his career.

In the 2007 T20 World Cup semifinal against Australia, Yuvraj Singh scored 70 runs off 30 balls including 5 sixes and was indeed awarded Man of the Match for his match-winning performance. India won this match and progressed to the final where they defeated Pakistan. Yuvraj's explosive batting was crucial to India's victory in this crucial semifinal.

The first ever T20I match was played on February 17, 2005, between Australia and New Zealand. This historic match at Auckland launched the T20I format, with New Zealand winning.

India's only tied Test was against Australia in Chennai (1986), with Kapil Dev as captain. Azharuddin and Gavaskar were captains in different eras, while Pataudi Jr. captained in the 1960s.

Sunil Gavaskar captained India in 47 Test matches with 19 draws - the most by any Indian captain. Azharuddin had more matches but fewer draws, Ganguly had fewer draws overall, and Pataudi Jr. captained in a different era with fewer matches.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Jr. lost 19 of his 40 Tests as captain (47.5% loss rate) - the highest losses for an Indian captain. This reflects the challenging era of Indian cricket in the 1960s-70s. Gavaskar, Ganguly, and Azharuddin all had better loss percentages.

Sourav Ganguly led India to 21 Test victories - the most by an Indian captain when he retired. Dhoni later surpassed this record. Azharuddin had fewer wins, and Gavaskar had even fewer during his captaincy.

Sachin Tendulkar has the highest batting average (51.35) while captaining India in Test matches among all Indian captains. Dhoni averages around 38, Azharuddin around 44, and Gavaskar around 42 - all lower than Tendulkar's exceptional average despite the pressure of captaincy.

Sunil Gavaskar scored 11 centuries while captaining India - the most by any Indian captain. Tendulkar had fewer (6), Dhoni had only 1, and Azharuddin had fewer than Gavaskar. This record stood for decades and reflects Gavaskar's consistency.

Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi Jr. led India to its first overseas Test victory against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1968. Amarnath, Mankad, and Hazare were earlier captains but didn't achieve this feat. This victory was significant as it came 19 years after India's first Test.

C.K. Nayudu led India in its first-ever Test match against England at Lord's in 1932. Amarnath, Mankad, and Hazare were later players. Nayudu was India's first Test captain and a legendary figure in early Indian cricket history.

Bowled is when the ball hits the stumps and dislodges at least one bail. Stumped requires the wicketkeeper, LBW is when ball would hit wickets but hits pad first, Hit Wicket is when batsman breaks own wicket.