On This Day In Cricket - December 19

19 December is an important date in cricket history, marked by significant events and memorable moments. It marks the birthday of Ricky Ponting, one of the game’s most successful captains. For India, the day includes highs like Karun Nair’s triple century and Sachin Tendulkar’s 50th Test hundred, and lows like the 36 all-out in Adelaide. Australia saw Steve Smith score a century in his first innings as captain, while Pakistan welcomed the return of Test cricket to Karachi after 10 years. The day also made headlines off the field when Mitchell Starc became the most expensive player in IPL auction history.

On This Day - December 19, 1974 - Most Successful Captains Ricky Ponting Was Born

Ricky Ponting, a former Australian cricketer, coach and commentator, widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen and most successful captains in international cricket history, was born this day in 1974. He holds the record for winning the most ICC tournaments as a men's team captain. He was a member of the 1999 World Cup-winning squad and led Australia to two consecutive unbeaten World Cup victories in 2003 and 2007.

Ricky Ponting was selected for the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year five times in the years 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2010. These are a testament to his consistent brilliance in One Day Internationals for Australia. In his cricket career, Ponting has scored a total of 13378 runs in 168 Test matches with 257 highest innings, a total of 13704 runs in 375 ODI matches with a high score of 164 and has played only 17 matches in T20I and scored 401 runs in an unbeaten innings of 98 runs.

On This Day - December 19, 2010 - Sachin Tendulkar's 50th Test Century

On 19 December 2010, Sachin Tendulkar became the first and only batsman in the world to score his 50th Test century, which is still the highest. Its occurred during the first Test match of India's tour of South Africa 2010-11 in Centurion, where he formed a crucial partnership with MS Dhoni. This was Sachin's 96th century across all formats. He later scored his 51st and final Test century in the third Test of the same series in Cape Town.

Sachin spent 289 minutes at the crease, hitting 13 fours and one six, scoring 111 runs off 241 balls. However, despite Sachin's brilliant innings, India lost the match by 25 runs. South Africa’s Hashim Amla 140 runs and Jacques Kallis’ unbeaten inning 201 runs lead their team to this victory. This match was played from December 16 to 20 where Indian left-arm medium-pacer Jaydev Unadkat made his Test debut for India.

On This Day - December 19, 2014 - Steve Smith’s Test Century

On this day in cricket at the Gabba in 2014, in the second Test match between Australia and India, Australian batsman Steve Smith scored his sixth Test century. This was a century scored in his first innings as Australia's Test captain. He became only the second Australian player after Greg Chappell to score a century in his first Test innings as captain. He faced the Indian bowlers, including Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron and R Ashwin, with great resilience and scored 133 runs off 191 balls. After scoring the century, he dedicated it to his recently deceased teammate, Phillip Hughes.

This century came when Australia was struggling at 247 for 6 wickets. Smith shared a crucial 148 run partnership for the 7th wicket with Mitchell Johnson’s 88 runs. There innings turned the match in Australia's favour and gave the team a 97 run first innings lead over India. This was his second century in the series after the one in Adelaide, where India scored a total of 408 runs in their first innings, thanks to Murali Vijay's 144 runs and were all out for 224 in their second innings. Australian bowler Mitchell Johnson took 4 wickets, while Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon took 2 wickets each, playing a crucial role in the team's victory.

On This Day - December 19, 2014 - Karun Nair’s Unbeaten 303 in Test

On this day in 2016, Karun Nair completed his first and only triple century, remaining unbeaten on 303 runs. He became only the second Indian batsman after Virender Sehwag to score a triple century in Test cricket. This was only his third Test match, making him the first batsman in the world to score a triple century in his first three Tests. Despite this outstanding performance for India, he did not get regular opportunities in the Indian team, and his last Test match was against Australia in Dharamshala in 2017. However, despite the lack of opportunities, Karun Nair continued to play for the Karnataka team in domestic cricket. He plays for the Karnataka team in domestic cricket, which shows how difficult it can be to secure a place in the national team despite excellent domestic performances. He also holds the world record for the highest score without being dismissed in List A cricket with 542*.

In this match, India defeated England by a massive margin of an innings and 75 runs, winning the five-match series 4-0. The match was played at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. England won the toss and elected to bat first, scoring a massive 477 runs thanks to a century from Moeen Ali (146). In reply, India scored 759 runs for 7 wickets in their first innings, which is their highest team score in Test cricket to date. Besides Karun Nair's unbeaten 303 runs, Lokesh Rahul also performed brilliantly in this match, scoring 199 runs. Ravindra Jadeja took 3 wickets in the first innings and 7 wickets in the second innings, leading to England being bowled out for just 207 runs, for which he was chosen as the Player of the Match. This was a significant series win for India under Virat Kohli's captaincy, and England captain Alastair Cook resigned from the captaincy after this defeat.

On This Day In Cricket - December 19, 2019 - Test Cricket Returns to Karachi

On this day, Test cricket returned to Pakistan's National Stadium in Karachi after 10 years long wait. The main reason for the suspension of international cricket at this venue was the security situation in Pakistan. Security concerns escalated after a suicide bomb blast occured near the New Zealand team's hotel in 2002. Teams like West Indies and Australia refused to tour Pakistan and played their series at neutral venues.

On 3 March 2009, 12 gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a large convoy, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play their second Test match on third day against the Pakistani. Six members of the Sri Lankan national cricket team were injured and six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. On 19 December 2019, once again the Sri Lankan team visited Pakistan and the second Test match was played in Karachi. Pakistan had not lost a single Test match on this ground in almost 44 years, a streak which was broken by England in 2000 when they defeated Pakistan by 6 wickets.

On This Day In Cricket - December 19, 2020 - India’s Lowest Test Score

On 19 December 2020, India witnessed its darkest hour in the day-night Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval. Even after having a lead of 53 run lead in the first innings, the Indian batting order collapsed like a house of cards in the second innings and bowled out for a mere 36 runs. This was India's lowest-ever score in Test history, surpassing the previous record of 42 runs set on 20 June 1974. The most shocking aspect of this innings was that no batsman managed to reach double figures, with Mayank Agarwal top-scoring with just 9 runs. Facing the lethal bowling of Josh Hazlewood 5 wickets and Pat Cummins 4 wickets, the Indian innings lasted only 21.2 overs. With Mohammed Shami retiring hurt due to injury, India suffered a crushing 8 wicket defeat.

Following that humiliating defeat in Adelaide and the absence of regular captain Virat Kohli, experts predicted a 4-0 clean sweep for Australia. However, this marked the beginning of one of the greatest comebacks in cricket history. Under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane, the Indian team equalized with a win in Melbourne and drew the match in Sydney due to the injury of of the players. The series reached its dramatic climax in The Gabba, where young stars like Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Mohammed Siraj dismantled Australia's 32 year old unbeaten streak and India won the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2–1. This series is remembered as one of the most inspiring comeback stories in the world of Test cricket.

On This Day In Cricket - December 19, 2023 - Starc Become Most Expensive IPL Player

Mitchell Starc made history on 19 December 2023 at the IPL 2024 auction in Dubai, when Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) acquired him for ₹24.75 crore. This made him the most expensive player in the 17 years history of the IPL. Interestingly, on the same day, shortly before him, Australian captain Pat Cummins was bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad for Rs 20.50 crore, making Cummins the first player to cross the Rs 20 crore mark, but Starc immediately broke his record. Starc was returning to the IPL for the first time since 2015 and his massive price tag significantly surpassed the previous record held by England's Sam Curran’s ₹18.50 crore auction record.

During the auction, a long and intense bidding war beagan between Gujarat Titans and Kolkata Knight Riders to secure Starc in their team, which ultimately increase his price above ₹24 crore. KKR's mentor, Gautam Gambhir placed such a huge bet on him due for his lethal yorkers and ability to ball swinging skills. This bid is still considered as one of the most memorable IPL auction and showed the value of a match winning fast bowler in T20 cricket.