The first Test of the four match Test Series between India and England is going to be a piece of history. First, it’s the 2000th match in the history of the game, second, it’s the 100th Test match between India and England. And to add an icing to the cake, Sachin Tendulkar is at the verge of scoring his 100th international century. The little master hasn’t scored a hundred at Lord’s before, and he would want to set that record straight by smashing his ton of tons at the Mecca of cricket.
The first Test was played in 1877 at Melbourne between Australia and England, Australia won that inaugural Test by 45 runs. It took 106 years to reach the 1000th Test, but the next 1000 Tests took just 26 years. The 1000th Test was again played at Melbourne between West Indies and Australia, the game ended in a draw. This time, Cricket comes back to its home, The Lord’s to celebrate its 2000th Test which is all set to be played between India and England.
It’s a great coincidence that the 2000th Test ever is also the 100th Test between India and England. Again the two teams played their first Test here itself 79 years ago from June 25-28, 1932. It was also India’s Test debut which they lost by 158 runs.
In the 99 Tests between England and India, the English team leads by 34 to 19 with 46 drawn. Playing at home, England’s record is even more impressive, leading 23 to 5 with 20 drawn out of 48 played. But beating India at home has never been easy, as the records confirm; 14 to 11 with 26 drawn out of 51.
For Sachin it couldn’t get better and bigger than this to score his 100th century. The occasion is huge and what better way to celebrate it than conquering the never achieved feat of a ton of tons. SRT has so far hit 51 in 177 Tests and 48 in 453 ODIs. Coincidently, Sachin scored his first century against England back in 1990 in his second Test appearance when he scored 119* at Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester.
Below is the list of landmark Tests:
First Test: Australia vs. England, Melbourne, March 15-19, 1877. Australia won by 45 runs.
Centenary Test (Test number 803): Australia vs. England, Melbourne, March 12-17, 1977. Australia won by 45 runs – What a coincidence!
100th Test: Australia vs. England, Sydney, February 21-27, 1908. Australia won by 49 runs.
500th Test: India vs. Pakistan, Madras (now Chennai), January 13-18, 1960. The match ended in a draw.
1000th Test: Australia vs. West Indies, Melbourne, December 22-27, 1984. The match ended in a draw.
2000th Test: England vs. India, Lord’s, London, from July 21 to 25, 2011.
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