Weird facts down the road to Cricket

New Delhi: Since the time the very first all ball was bowled and batsman came onto the crease to bat in International Cricket, the record books with weird facts have been changing thier pages to write down yet another fact.For cricket fans around the world, who worships the game of Cricket, these interesting and weird facts would be a sheer delight to read:1. India is the only country to win the 60-Over, 50-Over and 20-Over World CupBe it 60-Over, 50-Over and 20-Over game of Cricket World Cup, India has won it all. In cricket record books India has got its name registered as the only cricket playing nation who has lifted the World Cup trophy in all formats of the game. 2. All four innings of a test on the same dayThe 2000 Lord's Test between England and West Indies saw all the four innings being played on the same day. This feat was repeated 11 years later in the famous Cape Town Test where South Africa bowled out Australia for 47.3. Peter Siddle is the only bowler to take a hat-trick on his birthdayPeter Siddle remains the only bowler in international cricket to take a hat-trick on his birthday. This happened during the Brisbane Test against England on November 25, 2010.Certainly, nobody can ask for a better gift that this to make his day and get the name into record books.4. Chris Gayle, the only batsman to hit a six off the first ball of a Test matchCricket and long hit boundaries go hand in hand. Records have been named for hitting most sixes but nobody would have thought that a batsman would get his name into record books for hitting six off the first ball of a test match. Chris Gayle, the only batsman to hit a six off the first ball of a Test match.In the 137 years of Test cricket no cricketer has ever hit a six off the first ball of a Test match.Audacious Chris Gayle achieved this feat against Bangladesh in 2012 off debutant Sohag Gazi.5. Shahid Afridi used Sachin Tendulkar's bat to hit the fastest ever ODI centuryShahid Afridi was flown in to play for the Pakistan team from West Indies to Nairobi in 1996 and didn't have a proper bat. That's when Waqar Younis gave ‘Young Afridi' Sachin Tendulkar's bat.Afridi hit 11 sixes and six boundaries with the bat and scored a 37-ball century against Sri Lanka which was the then fastest ODI century. The record now belongs to New Zealand's Corey Anderson.6. Abbas Ali Baig was the first Indian cricketer to be kissed during a Test matchAbbas Ali Baig is a former Indian cricketer who played in 10 Tests from 1959 to 1966.When Abbas Ali Baig reached a half-century in the third Test match against Australia at the Brabourne Stadium in 1960, a pretty young girl ran all the way from the North Stand to greet the batsman. She kissed Baig on his cheek.7. Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before IndiaDid you know Sachin Tendulkar played for Pakistan before India? This happened during a practice match between India and Pakistan at the Brabourne Stadium in 1987. Tendulkar came as a substitute fielder for Pakistan.8. Richard Stokes, the only person who witnessed Jim Laker and Anil Kumble taking 10 wickets in an inningsAs a 10-year-old Richard Stokes witnessed Jim Laker taking all 10 wickets in the 1956 Old Trafford Test against Australia. Forty-three years later he was in India watching the India vs Pakistan Test and saw Anil Kumble taking all the 10 wickets in an innings.These were the only two Tests Stokes has watched in his life.Now thats what you call, watching history being made. 9. Leslie Hylton is the only cricketer to be hanged for murderWest Indies' Leslie Hylton is the only cricketer to be hanged for murder. He was a fast bowler.He's mainly known for his execution. Leslie Hylton murdered his wife and was sentenced to death by judiciary. 10. Sunil Gavaskar was out off the first ball of a Test match thrice in his careerSunil Gavaskar was the first batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs and he ended his career scoring 34 Test centuries. But did you know he was out three times off the first ball of a Test? The bowlers to dismiss him were: Geoff Arnold (Edgbaston, 1974), Malcolm Marshall (Kolkata, 1984) and Imran Khan (Jaipur, 1987).11. There's an uncanny similarity between the Indo-Pak match at the Australasia Cup of 1986 and Asia Cup 201412. On the morning of 11/11/11 South Africa needed 111 runs to win at 11:11Now this is called numerological coincidence. At 11:11, on 11/11/11, South Africa were 125 for 1 needing a further 111 runs for a win. This coincidence occurred during the first Test between South Africa and Australia at Cape Town. It is one of the numerological coincident that occur rarely.13. Alec Stewart was born on 8-4-63 and he scored 8463 Test runsAlec Stewart, was a wicketkeeper-batsman and a former English skipper. He is the most capped English cricketer of all time in Test matches and 3rd most capped in One Day Internationals, having played in 133 Tests and 170 ODIs.Apart from the above mentioned fact, there's another weird fact about, Alec Stewart was born on 8-4-63 and he scored 8463 Test runs.This is another example of numerological coincidence.14. Asif Karim of Kenya has played International cricket and Davis Cup (Tennis) for his countryAsif Karim holds a unique distinction of captaincy. Asif captained his country in Cricket (ODI's) and Tennis (Davis cup). He took retirement twice in his career. First, during 1999 World Cup but being an experience holder he was forced to take his retirement back and was again included in the squad for the 2003 World Cup, in which he performed extremely well and finally retired from all formats international cricket after that.Karim represented Kenya in a Davis Cup tie against Egypt in 1988. He played two singles matches and one doubles rubber.15. Wilfred Rhodes of England played Test cricket till he was 52!16. Allan Border played 153 consecutive Test matchesAllan Border, former Australian cricketer and skipper who palyed 153 consecutive Test matches. Border also holds the world record for the most number of Tests captained by an Australian player.17. India's Mohinder Amarnath is the only cricketer to be dismissed for handling the ball and obstructing the field18. Two Robin Singhs have played test cricket for India and both are one-Test wondersRobin Singh - India's one-day specialist played one Test match in his career against Zimbabwe in 1998. His namesake Robin Singh junior was a fast bowler who played his only Test against New Zealand in 1999.