Statistical highlights of the third day's play of the first cricket Test between India and South Africa in Chennai on Friday.
# Virender Sehwag and Wasim Jaffer were associated in a stand of 213 - India's third century partnership for the first wicket against South Africa. The partnership is the second best stand against South Africa - the best being 218 between Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir in the 2004-05 Kanpur Test.
# Since Graeme Smith and Neil McKenzie had put on 132 in South Africa's first innings of 540, for the first time in India-South Africa Tests, the opening pairs from both the countries recorded century partnerships.
# Jaffer and Sehwag registered their first double century partnership for the first wicket - their third 100-plus in Test cricket. During the 2006 tour to the West Indies, the pair had recorded 159 at Gros Islet followed by 109 at Basseterre.
# Their partnership of 213 is an Indian record for the opening wicket at Chennai, eclipsing the 200 between Sunil Gavaskar and K Srikkanth against Pakistan in 1986-87.
Sehwag triple century leads India run spree
# After failing to post even a score of 20 in his last eight innings, Jaffer's first fifty against South Africa is his 11th in Test cricket.
# Jaffer's 73 is his second best innings against South Africa - his highest being 116 at Cape Town in 2006-07.
# Sehwag and Rahul Dravid put on 255 (unfinished) - an Indian record for the second wicket against South Africa, eclipsing the 171 between Deep Dasgupta and Dravid in the 2001-02 Port Elizabeth Test.
# India, for the first time, have posted two stands of 200-plus for the first two wickets.
# Sehwag is now the only one to be associated in four partnerships of 200-plus for the first wicket out of eight recorded, eclipsing Sunil Gavaskar's tally of three double century stands.
# Virender Sehwag (309 not out) equalled his career-best score and became the third player in Test Cricket to record two triple centuries. He had first accomplished the distinction vs. Pakistan - 309 at Multan in April 2004.
# Australia's Sir Donald Bradman had become the first batsman to post two triple centuries in Test cricket - 334 vs. England at Leeds in 1934 and 304 vs. England at Leeds in 1930. West Indian, Brian Lara, became the second batsman to achieve the distinction with his 300-plus innings against England at St.John's - 375 in 1993-94 and 400 not out in 2003-04.
# Sehwag is now the only one to register two triple hundreds as an opener.
# He is also the only batsman to record two triple hundreds at two different venues - Multan and Chennai.
# Sehwag is now the first Indian batsman to post a double hundred against South Africa, bettering Sachin Tendulkar's 169 at Cape Town in 1996-97.
# His triple century off 278 balls is now the fastest in terms of balls faced in Test Cricket, surpassing Australia's Matthew Hayden's 362-ball triple hundred (380 vs. Zimbabwe at Perth in 2003-04).
# Sehwag is now the first Indian opener to post four innings of 200-plus, surpassing Sunil Gavaskar's feat of three double hundreds.
# Sehwag became the fourth Indian player to post four innings of 200-plus, joining Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. Dravid holds the record for registering 5 double hundreds. His previous three double hundreds were made against Pakistan.
# Registered the third fastest double hundred in terms of balls faced (194) in Test annals - the top two being New Zealand's Nathan Astle (153 balls) against England at Christchurch in 2001-02 and Sehwag (182-balls) against Pakistan at Lahore in 2005-06.
# His 194-ball double hundred is now the fastest by any batsman against South Africa, bettering Australia's Adam Gilchrist's 212-ball double century at Johannesburg in 2001-02.
# Sehwag posted the highest innings by any batsman at Chepauk, going past Sunil Gavaskar's unbeaten 236 against West Indies in 1983-84.
# Sehwag's outstanding innings is now the highest by any batsman on Indian soil, eclipsing VVS Laxman's 281 against Australia at Kolkata in 2000-01.
# Sehwag's 14th century in Tests is his third against South Africa - his previous two hundreds against South Africa being 105 at Bloemfontein in November 2001 on Test debut and 164 at Kanpur in November 2004.
# Sehwag posted hundreds in successive innings for the first time. In January 2008, in the second innings of the Adelaide Test against Australia, he had recorded 151.
# His tally of 257 runs in a day's play is the best by an Indian batsman, bettering his own record of 228 against Pakistan at Multan in 2003-04 and the fifth best in Test cricket.
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