The Arun Jaitley Stadium is an international cricket venue located at the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi, India.

Established in 1883, the stadium was earlier known as the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium and is the second oldest international cricket stadium in India after the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Located near the Kotla Fort, the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium was renamed to Arun Jaitley Stadium in September 2019 in memory of former Finance Minister of India and former Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) President Arun Jaitley. 

The stadium hosted its first international match, a Test between India and West Indies, in November 1948. Since then, the venue has staged 34 Tests, 26 ODIs and seven T20Is. It has also hosted several Indian T20 League matches since the inception of the league in 2008.

The Arun Jaitley Stadium is the home ground of the Delhi cricket team and Delhi franchise in the Indian T20 League.

Here, we look at the ODI records at this venue.

Arun Jaitley Stadium ODI records and stats

Highest total: South Africa holds the record for the highest total in ODIs at this venue. In the fourth match of the 2023 World Cup in India, the Proteas were asked to bat by Sri Lanka at the toss. South Africa would make the Lankans regret their decision as they powered to a total of 428/5 - the highest on this ground in ODIs. Centuries from Quinton de Kock (100), Rassie van der Dussen (108), and Aiden Markram (106) powered the Proteas to such a mammoth total and helped set up a 102-run win.  

Lowest total: South Africa’s 99 against hosts India is the lowest ODI total at this venue. Put into bat, South Africa lost wickets at regular intervals as they were bundled out for a disappointing score. Kuldeep Yadav was the wrecker-in-chief for India as he picked four wickets for just 18 runs in his 4.1 overs. Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj and Shahbaz Ahmed bagged two wickets each. For South Africa, Heinrich Klaasen top scored with 34 off 42 balls.

Highest individual score: Australia’s Ricky Ponting holds the record for the highest individual ODI score at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. Ponting smashed 145 off 158 balls against Zimbabwe during a triangular series encounter in 1998. Ponting’s incredible innings was laced with 18 fours and one six. Sachin Tendulkar’s run-a-ball 137 against Sri Lanka in 1996 is second on the list.

Best bowling figures: West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach has the best bowling figures at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in ODI cricket. During an ICC Cricket World Cup encounter in 2011, the right-arm pacer picked six wickets for just 27 runs in his 8.3 overs to bundle out Netherlands for 115 in 31.3 overs. Earlier, Chris Gayle (80) and Kieron Pollard (60) helped West Indies post 330/8 in their 50 overs. Interestingly, Viv Richards also claimed six wickets for 41 runs against India in an ODI at this venue in 1989.

Most runs: Former India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has scored the most runs at this venue in the ODI format. The right-handed batter amassed 300 runs in eight matches at an average of 37.50 and a strike rate of 94.33. Tendulkar smashed one hundred and one fifty at this ground in Delhi. Ex-India captain Mohammad Azharuddin is second on the list with 267 runs in seven games.

Most wickets: Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja has bagged the most wickets at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in ODI cricket. The left-arm spinner has picked nine wickets in seven ODIs at an economy of just 4.24 and an average of 25. His best figures in the 50-over format at this venue is 3/44. West Indies pacer Kemar Roach features second on the list with seven dismissals in just two matches.

Highest partnership: Australian duo of Mark Waugh and Ricky Ponting hold the record for the highest partnership at this venue in the ODI format. Playing against Zimbabwe in a triangular series fixture in April 1998, Waugh and Ponting put together a brilliant 219-run partnership for the second wicket. The scintillating partnership powered Australia to 294/3 in their 50 overs before restricting Zimbabwe to 278/9 in their run-chase. 

Featured photo: PRAKASH SINGH / AFP

Hailing from the fast bowling haven of Barbados, Kemar Roach’s tale is an interesting one. He made his international debut when the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) went on strike over wage issues in 2009, and the selectors chose a B team for the Test debut against Bangladesh. But he really made his name in the Australia tour in 2009 when he announced himself to the world.

Despite his short stature, he creates remarkable speed with a swift arm motion. Roach has got a nasty yorker.

Perseverance

In the first four years of his Test career, Roach had a strong start, taking 82 wickets in 21 games. He claimed five five-fors while averaging 27.69. However, in the 16 Tests he played between 2013 and 2016, he averaged 35.45 and only grabbed 40 wickets. When Roach visited England in August 2017, he finished the trip with the most wickets for his team. In 35 Tests since his comeback in 2017, Roach has taken 127 wickets at an average of 23.33.

Top Order Hunter

In this style, the top four batters account for around half of his career total (125 out of 249). A total of 102 of the players batting in the top three were taken out by Roach, who stands on his career with 249 Test wickets at present, accounting for 42.16 percent of his total. Only Zaheer Khan has a higher percentage of top-three batters claimed than the other bowlers with 200+ wickets.

New Ball Master

Since 2017, Roach has had success creating breakthroughs with the new ball, taking 44 wickets in the opening 15 overs of the innings. Only Stuart Broad (53) and James Anderson (44), both in the same spell, had more wickets than Roach in the first 15 overs. Among bowlers who have taken more than 15 wickets, Roach's 17.81 average is second only to R Ashwin's 17.80.

No sign of slowing down

Roach has surpassed Michael Holding and has become only the sixth bowler for the West Indies to reach 250 Test wickets.

"I am more impressed in the fact that he has been playing for so long as fast bowlers don't usually extend their careers as long as he has," Michael Holding said in a video posted by Cricket West Indies. "He has been going for 13 years now and has quite a few more years in front of him if he so wishes."

Roach's strike rate of 52.6 is also better than West Indies greats Courtney Walsh (54.5) and Curtly Ambrose's (54.5), despite the fact that his average (26.71) is on the higher side compared to the other bowlers in the 250-wicket club (57.8).

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Featured photo: Randy Brooks / AFP

Kemar Roach set his sights on yet more success after the fast bowler became just the ninth West Indian - and first since 1994 - to take 200 Test wickets.

Barbados fast bowler Roach reached the landmark when he had England's Chris Woakes playing-on during the second day of the third Test at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Despite Roach's eventual return of 4-72, England still made 369 in their first innings, thanks mainly to tailender Stuart Broad's dashing 62.

And at stumps, the West Indies had slumped to 137-6, a deficit of 232 runs, to give England the edge in the deciding match of a three-Test series currently all square at 1-1.

But the 32-year-old Roach was understandably proud of his achievement in becoming the first West Indies bowler since Curtly Ambrose 26 years ago to take 200 Test wickets.

• Read | Stuart Broad revives England in West Indies finale

"I guess I had that landmark on my mind a little bit too much, I had a few restless nights," Roach, who amazingly went wicketless when the West Indies beat England in the opening match of this series, told the BBC.

"It's good to get past that barrier now and see how many more I can get. 300 would be great.

"I'll work hard to get there and we'll see how many I can go past 300," added Roach, now in his 59th Test following a debut in 2009.

Roach was initially an express quick, capable of 90 mph bouncers.

But his career started to take a different direction in 2014 when he was involved in a car crash in Barbados after suffering shoulder and ankle injuries either side of that incident. 

Struggling to regain speed, Roach became increasingly expensive and was dropped by the West Indies for 18 months. 

But he was recalled for the last tour of England three years ago, and since then he has become an effective performer, with his use of the crease and greater movement through the air and off the seam compensating for a decline in raw speed.

Since 2017, he has taken 79 wickets in 22 Tests at a miserly average of under 23 apiece.

- 'Relentless' England -

But whereas the likes of Ambrose found themselves operating on helpful home surfaces in attacks featuring fellow great fast bowlers such as Malcolm Marshall and Courtney Walsh, Roach has had nothing like the same quality of support at a time when Caribbean pitches increasingly favouring spin.

Another sign of changing times is that when the West Indies last won a Test at Old Trafford 32 years ago, in a crushing innings and 156-run success that featured Marshall's second-innings 7-22, they had a four-man pace attack while England fielded two spinners.

Fast forward to 2020 and roles are reversed, with England fielding a seam bowling quartet of James Anderson, Broad, Jofra Archer and Woakes, while the West Indies play two spinners in Rahkeem Cornwall and Roston Chase.

At stumps on Saturday both Anderson and Broad, with over 1,000 Test wickets between them, had each taken 2-17.

And whereas the West Indies once enjoyed an enviable depth of seam bowling, England now have the likes of Mark Wood and Sam Curran waiting in the wings

"I think what you want to try and avoid is four seamers that all do exactly the same thing," said Broad. 

"Whereas this seam attack really does have a difference in line of attack, seam and swing and wobble. 

"It's quite relentless."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Micahel Steele

England recalled fast bowler Jofra Archer as West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss, elected to field and his side drew first blood in the deciding third Test at Old Trafford on Friday.

The visitors made a lively start as Kemar Roach had Dom Sibley plumb lbw for a duck after just five deliveries. 

Archer, left out of England's 113-run win in the second Test at the Manchester ground for breaching the bio-secure regulations after making an unauthorised trip home, returned as one of two changes.

James Anderson, England's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, was recalled after being rested following the West Indies' four-wicket win in the first Test at Southampton.

With doubts over the bowling fitness of star all-rounder Ben Stokes, England dropped top-order batsman Zak Crawley to play an extra seamer, with left-arm paceman Sam Curran also left out from the side that levelled this three-match series at 1-1.

'Jofra ready'

"Jofra is ready to play. Over the last couple of days, he's got his smile back, he's bowled with real pace in the nets and he knows he's got the full support of the dressing room and the guys around him," England captain Joe Root told Sky Sports at the toss.

Crawley's omission saw Root move up to number three in the order and Stokes to four.

England's changes meant the veteran new-ball ball duo of Anderson and Stuart Broad were paired together for the first time this series.

Broad was retained after marking his England recall with six wickets in the second Test. 

All-rounder Chris Woakes and off-spinner Dom Bess also kept their places.

Root had previously insisted that Stokes, who scored 176 and 78 not out, as well as taking three wickets, while climbing to the top of the Test all-rounder rankings in the second match of this series, would be fit to bat.

"We balance the side out as well we can," Root added Friday. "I'm not worried about (having one fewer batsman) at all. 

"Woakesy as an all-rounder sort of replaces Ben as a like-for-like in many ways and the way we set up is very similar."

Holder, explaining his decision to field first, said: "We're going to bowl first, with the overhead conditions and we think there is a little bit of moisture in the surface so we're just going to try and make use of it."

West Indies made one change, with giant off-spinner Rahkeem Cornwall selected for the first time this series in place of paceman Alzarri Joseph.

"It is just horses for courses," said all-rounder Holder. 

"We felt in the last game, there was enough there for the spinner so we decided to go for the frontline spinner. We think Rahkeem is a match-winner."

Victory for the West Indies, the Wisden Trophy holders, would see them secure a first Test series win in England for 32 years.

This series, played without spectators, marks international cricket's return from the lockdown.

Teams

England: Rory Burns, Dom Sibley, Joe Root (capt), Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope, Jos Buttler (wkt), Chris Woakes, Dom Bess, Jofra Archer, Stuart Broad, James Anderson

West Indies: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder (capt), Shane Dowrich (wkt), Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel

Umpires: Michael Gough (ENG), Richard Kettleborough (ENG)

TV umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)

Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Michael Steele

International cricket finally returns after months of suspension, with West Indies taking on England in the first of three Tests, before Pakistan travel to England for another series. While many ICC regulated protocols have been put in place, fans will still be excited to look at the development of the sport post the global pandemic.

The contest will see a first for many of those players, with West Indies bringing their youngest Test team ever for the tour of England. The team will be buoyed by the prospects of their challenge, having beaten England back at home in 2019. The onus of retaining the trophy for the first time since 1998 lies on the young guns as well as the following players:

Shai Hope

Shai Hope has been one of the most dependable batsmen for West Indies on many occasions. During his last tour of England in 2017, Hope scored a century in both innings against England as the Windies went on to seal an important five-wicket victory in the second Test to level the series.

The Windies batsmen looked shaky during the practice matches and Hope will need to be at his usual best from the get-go against the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad in order to ensure his side gets a favourable result in the series.

Alzarri Joseph

Alzarri Joseph is a rising star in the West Indian bowling line-up and has complemented the senior bowlers quite well.  In the nine Tests that he has played, he has picked up 25 wickets at an economy rate of 3.23 runs per over. He was part of the squad that last beat England in the Wisden Trophy, picking up crucial wickets for the Windies.

He has played four of his nine Tests against England but bowled less than 90 overs across seven innings, which makes the Windies pacer somewhat of a mystery factor to the English batsmen. 

Kemar Roach

One of the most dependable bowlers for West Indies, Kemar Roach has been a mainstay in the side for the last few years. In 56 Tests for the Windies, he has picked up 193 wickets at an economy rate of 3.13. He will need to be at his best on England's slow pitches as well, and his partnership with Shannon Gabriel will be crucial to the Windies' bowling line-up.

Meanwhile, Joe Root is not a part of the first Test, with the captaincy falling into the lap of Ben Stokes. England played their last Test back in January and will be buoyed by the return of a few of their injured players. They have a bag of experience in their squad, with the likes of Rory Burns and Dominic Sibley, as well as young talents like Sam Curran and Zak Crawley. However, the onus for their first victory since the global pandemic will fall on the following players:

Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes has established himself as a leader in the English dressing room since his heroics in the 2019 ICC Men’s World Cup on home soil. He will be raring to prove his mettle as a skipper against the Windies, and the onus to command the batting lineup in case of a collapse falls on the English all-rounder. Moreover, he will have to do the same for the bowling unit on Anderson and Broad and hope to churn out a victory for his side in the absence of Joe Root.

Ollie Pope          

Ollie Pope is one of the youngsters in the squad, and although he has just seven Tests under his belt, his prowess against short bowling makes him a dangerous unit in the English batting line-up. His record against short balls stands at 67 runs off the 54 while being dismissed only once. He also faced the likes of Ben Stokes and Jamie Overton on the final day of their warm-up match but came out unscathed.

Jofra Archer

Still only 25, Jofra Archer is already a world-cup winner with England. Although it seems like he has been around the scene for a while, he has made only seven Test appearances for England. However, during this time, he has picked up 30 wickets and commands a strong economy-rate of 3 RPO. He will be key to the England bowling unit, having already established himself as the best alternative to Anderson and Broad should the senior pair fail to perform.

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Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author's and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SportsAdda.

West Indies are set to field their latest fast-bowling quartet during this week's first Test against England in Southampton, with the likes of Shannon Gabriel, Kemar Roach, captain Jason Holder and Alzarri Joseph all vying to make an impact.

The Caribbean has a long and proud history of producing top-class fast bowlers.

We look back at some previous West Indies pace attacks in England:

1980: Andy Roberts, Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft

-- The original 'fearsome foursome' revolutionised world cricket under the captaincy of Clive Lloyd by ensuring there was no respite for batsmen even when the shine had gone off the ball.

Although all capable of being genuinely quick, the guile of Roberts, the speed through the air of Holding, the steepling bounce and crushing yorkers of the 6ft 8in Garner and the awkwardness of Croft, from wide of the crease or around the wicket, meant they each posed different problems for batsmen.

Meanwhile this series also saw Malcolm Marshall, arguably the greatest West Indies fast bowler of them all, start to establish himself in the side.

Even so, the West Indies only won the series 1-0, with Roberts taking eight wickets in a two-wicket win in the opener at Trent Bridge before the other four matches were all drawn largely due to weather interruptions.

1984: Marshall, Garner, Holding, Eldine Baptiste

-- The 'Blackwash' team hammered England 5-0. The writing was on the wall for the hosts when Marshall struck debutant Andy Lloyd on the head with a bouncer in the series opener, with the batsman never playing another Test.

Marshall's mastery was evident when he took seven for 53 in the third Test at Headingley despite a broken thumb an he finished the series with 24 wickets at 18.20 despite missing a match through injury. Barbados team-mate Garner took 29 wickets at 18.62.

1988: Marshall, Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Winston Benjamin/Patrick Patterson

-- West Indies won 4-0 in a series where England's disarray was summed up by the fact they got through four captains.

Marshall, capable of both sheer pace and late movement, led the way with 35 wickets at a staggeringly low average of 12.65 apiece, with Ambrose -- soon to become the leader of the attack -- and Walsh offering excellent support.

1995: Ambrose, Walsh, Kenny Benjamin, Ian Bishop

-- With the likes of batting greats Gordon Greenidge and Vivian Richards having now both retired, the West Indies found themselves held to a 2-2 draw in a six-Test series.

But all four frontline bowlers still took more than 21 wickets each.

Nevertheless there were signs the West Indies were not the force they had been and in 2000 England beat them in a series for the first time in 31 years.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

The West Indies are showing signs that they are developing a pace attack that could stand comparison with the great Caribbean sides of the past, assistant coach Roddy Estwick said on Monday.

The West Indies were world cricket's dominant team from the mid-1970s to the 1990s when they could call on a succession of superb fast bowlers including Michael Holding, Malcolm Marshall, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh.

Their quicks also played a key role when the West Indies beat England 2-1 in the Caribbean last year.

Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Alzarri Joseph and captain Jason Holder are all in the Caribbean tour party for the Test series in England.

The squad are quarantining in Manchester because of the global pandemic as they prepare for the three-match series, which starts next month.

Read | Holder urges West Indies to 'grasp' England chance

Estwick said the West Indies were 'beginning to get blessed with fast bowlers again' but urged against premature comparisons with earlier generations.

"We've got four fast bowlers we think can challenge any team in the world," he said in a conference call.

"I don't know about living up to the greats, they've got to forge their own identity."

"We've (also) got a group of youngsters coming through," he added, citing Chemar Holder and Oshane Thomas.

Estwick, a former Barbados paceman, said the new crop of were showing the stamina displayed by previous generations.

"What we've done is improve our fitness," he said. "Now you can sustain pressure. If you look back at the eighties, that's one thing the fast bowlers had."

The West Indies also had formidable strength in depth in their golden era.

"When I played first-class cricket in the 80s, we had six outstanding fast bowlers," recalled Estwick.

Read | West Indies to debate taking the knee, says captain Holder

"But the likes of Wayne Daniel and Sylvester Clarke only played 10 and 11 Tests and yet they both had about 900 first-class wickets each."

Next month's series will be played behind closed doors as a precaution against the global pandemic but Estwick said England new-ball veterans Stuart Broad and James Anderson would be just as dangerous without home support.

"The '12th man' isn't going to be there but I don't think experienced bowlers like Broad and Anderson will be too fazed by the crowd not being there," he said.

Estwick said there had been some benefits to the quarantine restrictions.

"It's a different situation but we've spent a bit more time as a group together. The spirit has been good. We've got no complaints with the way things have gone so far. The excuses stop now."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

West Indies fast bowler Kemar Roach says it would be 'good' to be back in England, indicating that the Caribbean side's tour would go ahead despite the global pandemic.

The Cricket West Indies board was due to meet on Thursday in the hope of signing off on the three-Test trip, originally meant to take place in June but delayed by the pandemic.

The England and Wales Cricket Board remains confident the matches can be played behind closed doors at 'bio-secure' venues, with the fixtures now provisionally scheduled to start on July 8, 16 and 24 at Hampshire's Ageas Bowl and Lancashire's Old Trafford.

Barbados-born Roach, 31, returned to training this week and the paceman made it clear he expects to be heading towards England soon.

Read | West Indies 'flexible' over England tour as ECB weigh overseas offers

"Going to England will bring back some good memories. I love playing in England, very good facilities and a wonderful atmosphere," he told windiescricket.com.

"Even though we won't be playing in front of the fans this time, it will still be quite good. I had a good series last time.

"My goal is (to reach) 200 wickets when we go to England -- that's the personal goal. The team goal is to win the series."
Roach was a key member of the West Indies side that enjoyed a 2-1 series win at home to England in 2019.
He has 42 wickets in 10 Tests against England, at an average of 26.59.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Rohit Umrao

Virat Kohli recorded his ninth Test duck at Sabina Park in the second innings of the second Test against West Indies, something quite unheard of when it comes to the Indian cricket team captain. Though India went on to win the Test series 2-0, Kohli would be fuming at the miss.

However, even the best are allowed to have off days, and here we take a look at all the instances where he was dismissed on a duck and what led to it.

0(2) vs WEST INDIES

Venue: Bridgetown, 2011

Bowler: Ravi Rampaul

In the first innings of the second Test of the series, Kohli was undone by a sharp back of a length delivery from Ravi Rampaul. The middle-order batsman shuffled across but couldn't get his glove out of the way and lobbed a catch to the slips.

0(1) vs AUSTRALIA

Venue: Melbourne, 2011

Bowler: Ben Hilfenhaus

His first golden duck in Tests came at Melbourne in the first Test of the 2011 series. Having fallen to Hilfenhaus for 11 in the first innings, Kohli was caught in the middle of a sensational spell from the Aussie quicks in the second innings. Hilfenhaus nipped back a length delivery to trap Kohli in front for a first-ball duck.

0(1) vs ENGLAND

Venue: Lord's, 2014

Bowler: Liam Plunkett

A horrendous series for Kohli the batsman as James Anderson and Stuart Broad worked him over. In the first innings, he was dismissed for 25 by Anderson, but in the second he fell for a golden duck to England's third seamer - Liam Plunkett. Dismissing Pujara in the 44th over, Plunkett went on to clean up Kohli first ball with a delivery that nipped back in extravagantly. Kohli shouldered his arms only to watch the stumps take a beating.

0(2) vs ENGLAND

Venue: Manchester, 2014

Bowler: James Anderson

Anderson had a wood over Kohli the entire series and at Manchester, he teased him with an away swinger just outside off-stump, a channel that had troubled Kohli the entire series. The Indian batsman went for a defensive push and nicked to first slip for a two-ball duck as India plummeted to 8/3 in the first innings. They would go on to lose the Test by an innings and 54 runs.

0(2) vs AUSTRALIA

Venue: Pune, 2017

Bowler: Mitchell Starc

In the midst of a stupendous home season, Kohli had a rare blip at Pune as Mitchell Starc tempted him with a wide delivery outside off-stump in his second ball. Kohli went for an expansive drive only to edge to the cordon for a duck, his first in three years in Test cricket. He was dismissed for 13 in the second innings as Australia went on to win the Test by a whopping 333 runs.

0(11) vs SRI LANKA

Venue: Kolkata, 2017

Bowler: Suranga Lakmal

On a green top at Kolkata, Sri Lanka made India sweat in the first Test of the 2017 series. Having dismissed KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan, Suranga Lakmal went on to trap Kohli in front with one that came into the batsman. Kohli reviewed the on-field decision which was out but replays showed umpire's call which meant that he had to walk back leaving India at 17/3.

0(1) vs ENGLAND

Venue: The Oval, 2018

Bowler: Stuart Broad

Chasing a massive fourth innings target, India were reduced to 2 for 3 as Anderson and Broad ripped through them. The third victim and Broad's first was Kohli who went for a golden duck, edging behind to Jonny Bairstow off a fourth stump line delivery. The match is remembered for India's outrageous comeback through KL Rahul's and Rishabh Pant's centuries later in the innings.

0(4) vs AUSTRALIA

Venue: Melbourne, 2018

Bowler: Pat Cummins

After making 82 in India's total of 443/7 (dec) in the first innings, Kohli was caught in the midst of a superb spell from the relentless Pat Cummins. Bowling with a predominantly leg-side field, Cummins had Kohli working the ball off his pads with a loose flick shot. The ball went to leg gully as Kohli was dismissed after four balls without troubling the scorers.  

0(1) vs WEST INDIES

Venue: Sabina Park, 2019

Bowler: Kemar Roach 

Roach had troubled Kohli earlier in the series too and in the second Test at Sabina Park, he sent the Indian skipper back for a golden duck. Out of the game after Jasprit Bumrah's hat-trick and searing spell, Roach turned up and delivered a menacing spell where he almost took the second hat-trick of the game. After having KL Rahul caught behind off the first ball of the over, Roach bowled a full ball at Kohli that straightened enough to catch an edge.

Read: 68 international centuries, 11 years, 1 Virat Kohli

Feature Image Courtesy: AFP / Randy Brooks

After threatening to be swallowed by the limited-overs format, T20 cricket, in particular, Test cricket is back with a bang. Quite a few tense, exciting finishes in the last couple of years added to the rejuvenation of the oldest format of the game.

Quintessential to this has been fast bowling, an art that had apparently died a slow death through the 2000s after the retirements of Curtly Ambrose, Allan Donald, Glenn McGrath, Courtney Walsh, Chaminda Vaas, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar, Javagal Srinath and the likes.

With T20 taking centre stage, the pitches across the globe flattened out and batting got much easier in the period when T20 leagues were on the rise. The run rates in Test cricket started soaring too. It points towards a trend of teams taking a cue from T20 cricket to score quicker in Test cricket. When 30s and 40s were acceptable strike rates in Test cricket in the 1900s, the trend was quickly turning towards a 50-plus strike rate since the 2000s. Anything below that was slow.

But taking a massive u-turn, 2019 is setting an example with exceptional pitches contributing to exciting Test cricket. Pivotal to this has been the rekindling of the art of fast bowling. If there were 39 five-wicket hauls by pacers in 2018, in 2019, a year where limited-overs cricket including the World Cup is the focus, it is already 18 till August and we have a lot of Test cricket coming our way.

From Pat Cummins and Stuart Broad to Kemar Roach, Jofra Archer, Jasprit Bumrah and Kagiso Rabada, fast bowling has been in focus in 2019. In fact, the fast bowling strike rate in 2019 so far is the best since 1896, a good century and more ago.

In 2019, the fast bowling strike rate is a healthy 47.1. This is equal to that in 1890 and way better than the fast bowling strike rates in the past decade. The year that does come close is 2018, suggesting that the resurgence had begun last year. In 2018, the fast bowling strike rate was 51.8. The only year since 1922 that has seen a less than 50 bowling strike rate for fast bowlers is 2019, a remarkable feat considering that we have moved from T20s to T10s recently.

In the quest for quick runs, the art of defence seems to be on the decline among batsmen. The batting strike rate in 2019 is the highest since 1907 in Test cricket.

While fast bowling, as the strike rates signified, plays a role as does the batting strike rate, the pitches too, have been a factor. The pressure to produce result-oriented wickets which garner interest from viewers has seen matches finish in quick time. In the last week alone, Tests produced results despite being affected by rain. Since 2018, there have been 67 Test matches (five-day games) with 40 of them finishing inside four days.

Is that a compelling sign towards the resurgence of some terrorizing fast bowlers?

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Adrain Dennis