“A game of glorious uncertainties” – This is how cricket is famously described. But for its standards, there were many instances which happened beyond reason and reality. From the underdogs beating the greatest team in the world in the 1983 World Cup final to a World Cup trophy decided on boundary count in 2019, we cannot begin to shortlist all these amazing moments.
All these crazy moments provide us some unbelievable numbers, some of which continue to mesmerize no matter how old they are. While a few numbers bring on a smile on our face, some will make us break our heads as to how that even transpired.
Here are 10 such scorecards in cricket history, which certainly will raise your eyebrows and drop your jaws:
1. Rajshahi division vs Chittagong Division, 2014

What is the maximum score a team can muster when their first six batsmen failed to score anything over 25? Maybe 150 or a great effort from the lower order could fetch them something close to 250. But something astonishing happened in Bangladesh‘s National Cricket League game between Rajshahi and Chittagong in 2014.
After ending the first session on day 1 at 77/6, a sensational fightback followed from Farhad Reza and Sunzamul Islam. The duo added a staggering 347 runs for the 7th wicket, which ended with Islam getting out for 172 off 196 balls. Farhad Reza then went on to complete his double century in the game.
But the best part of the innings was Muktar Ali’s 148-ball 168, which included a whopping 16 sixes. He added 224 runs for the 8th wicket with Farhad Reza as they registered a staggering 675/9 before declaring. Rajshahi won the game by 403 runs courtesy a remarkable effort from their lower order.
2. South Africa Women vs Bermuda Women, 2008

In a World Cup qualifying game in 2008, Bermuda Women took on South Africa Women in Stellenbosch. It was always going to be a tough ask for the Bermuda women to match up with the quality of their opponents, but what transpired was completely unexpected.
Bermuda batted first and only three batswomen got off the mark in the whole innings, all of them scoring 1 run each. Courtesy 10 generous extras from the bowling unit, Bermuda could manage double digits in the game and got bowled out for 13 runs in 18 overs. Skipper Linda Menzer batted 48 deliveries for her one run.
It took just 4 deliveries for South Africa to achieve the target, winning the game by a whopping 10 wickets and 296 balls remaining. International cricket history would perhaps not see anything of sorts again.
3. Warwickshire vs Hampshire, 1922

Of the many different comebacks we have witnessed in International and domestic cricket, very few can match up to the herculean effort from Hampshire to have won the game despite getting bowled for just 15 runs in their first innings. Warwickshire had batted first and registered 223 runs.
In reply, Harry Howell’s breathtaking five-fer supported by skipper Freddie Calthorpe’s 4-fer saw Hampshire get bundled out for just 15 runs. Hampshire were made to follow-on and what happened next was beyond reason and reality. George Brown’s breathtaking 172 saw Hampshire register 521 runs in the second innings, setting a target of 314 runs for their opponents.
The target was too huge for Worcestershire on the final day and Jack Newman’s 5/53 saw them get bowled out for 158 runs, handing an unbelievable 155-run win for Hampshire. It’s almost a century since this remarkable game happened and it still is revered as one of the finest in county cricket.
4. Glenn Turner’s solo brilliance

We might have seen many knocks which single-handedly saved teams out of major predicaments, but this knock from Glenn Turner will raise a lot of eyebrows. One of New Zealand‘s greatest cricketers of all time, Turner was a part of Warwickshire in county cricket for a good 15 years.
During this incredible run, he played an unforgettable knock in a game against Glamorgan in 1977. He scored 83.43% of the runs scored by Warwickshire, remaining unbeaten on 141 whilst the team could only score 169 runs. None of the other 10 batters scored more than 7 runs individually.
Glamorgan couldn’t cash in on their amazing bowling performance as the match finished in a draw. Turner is also one of the four non-English cricketers to have registered the century of centuries in First-class cricket, an elite list which includes Zaheer Abbas, Sir Donald Bradman and Sir Vivian Richards.
5. Pranav Dhanawade’s remarkable effort

This is a name which definitely strikes a chord for many Indian fans. A few years ago, Pranav Dhanwade registered the highest individual score in recognized cricket history, becoming the only individual to have scored more than 1000 runs in an innings. The youngster remained away from the limelight since then.
Dhanwade’s KC Gandhi English School was taking on Arya Gurukul in a Bhandari Cup game in Mumbai, where Arya Gurukul were bowled out for 31 runs in 17 overs. In reply, KC Gandhi school hammered 1465 runs for the loss of 3 wickets at 15.58 runs an over. Dhanwade remained unbeaten on 1009 off 327 balls with Aakash Singh and Siddesh Patil scoring centuries.
In reply, 8 batsmen from Arya Gurukul were dismissed for a duck as they could muster only 52 runs in 14.5 overs. KC Gandhi school won by an innings and 1382 runs, a pretty eye-popping result in any cricket game we have witnessed.
6. Three 100s and Five ducks

In the Ranji Trophy quarterfinal fixture between Karnataka and Uttar Pradesh in 2014, a very strange incident took place which made people stare at the scorecard in disbelief. Karnataka batted first and piled up 349 runs in 100.5 overs, with Robin Uthappa, Karun Nair and CM Gautham scoring centuries.
Interestingly, all the three batters who scored a century got out exactly on 100 and there were five batsmen in the Karnataka line up who registered a duck. KL Rahul, Ravikumar Samarth, Shreyas Gopal, Manish Pandey and Abhimanyu Mithun walked back without troubling the scorers at all.
Uttar Pradesh gave a tough fight to the powerhouse side, but Karnataka eventually sailed through with a 94-run win. They also went on to win the Ranji Trophy, beating Maharashtra in the final.
7. A First-class debut to forget for Dera Ismail Khan

Pakistan’s domestic team Dera Ismail Khan were making their debut in First-class cricket in the Ayub Trophy in Lahore, 1964. They were unfortunately up against one of the top sides in Pakistan’s domestic cricket, the Pakistan Railways, which had some pretty big names like Bashir Haider, Pervez Akthar, Ijaz Hussain and others.
Batting first, Pakistan Railways hammered the Ismail Khan bowlers to all parts, scoring 910 runs in 172 overs at 5.29 runs an over. Pervez Akhtar chipped in with 337 runs whilst Javed Babar notched a double ton. Number 11 batsman Mohammad Sharif scored a hundred as well for the Railways unit.
In reply, Ismail Khan got bowled for 32 runs in their first innings and when they were made to follow on, they could muster only 27 runs this time. Ahad Khan picked up 9 wickets in the second innings and gave just 7 runs for the bowling unit as Pakistan Railways won by an innings and 851 runs.
8. Deepak Chahar’s dream debut dooms Hyderabad

Not many can have a debut as memorable as Deepak Chahar in First-class cricket. The 18-year-old young sensation announced his arrival at the highest level in a grandiose way, which made everyone glance at him with awe. It did take some time for him to get to the next level, but he seems a great prospect still for Indian cricket.
In 2010, while Hyderabad decided to bat first against Rajasthan, debutant Chahar picked up 8 wickets in just 7.3 overs as Hyderabad got bowled out for just 21 runs. Skipper Hrishikesh Kanitkar chipped in with a 193 for Rajasthan as they posted 403 runs in reply.
Rajasthan were handed a mighty innings and 256-run victory after Hyderabad were bowled out for 126 runs in their second innings. Deepak Chahar picked up 4 wickets in the second innings as well, registering match figures of 12/64. Hyderabad, who held the record for the highest team score (944/6) in Ranji Cricket, also bagged the record for the lowest score after this game.
9. 10 ducks in an innings, a team score of 3

In a game played between Haslington and Wirral Cricket Club in the Cheshire League Third Division, some rather strange and peculiar incidents took place. Haslington scored 108 runs batting first, setting a 109-run target for their opponents in this T20 fixture.
Wirral CC in reply got hammered by the Haslington side as their first 10 batsmen were dismissed for a duck, with Istead and Gledhill picking 6 and 4 wickets each. Only the number 11 batsmen Hobson got off the mark and courtesy a couple of leg byes, Wirral scored 3 runs before getting bowled out.
Wirral CC saw the funny side of it and tweeted former English cricketers like Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff and David Lloyd for some coaching tips, using the hashtag “We Need It”.
10. A strange and unforgettable batting performance from India

In the first-ever game played in World Cup history, England took on India at the Lord’s. It was a special moment for the game and the hosts got off to a sensational start, scoring 334 runs for the loss of 4 wickets in their 60 overs, with Dennis Amiss scoring a century for the English.
One of the strangest things happened in ODI history when the Indian batsmen went into all-out defensive mode in this run chase. The target was pretty out of reach going by the standards those days, but India scored just 132 runs in their 60 overs, losing just 3 wickets.
The strangest sight in this scorecard was Sunil Gavaskar‘s run tally and the number of balls he faced. He played 174 deliveries for the 36 runs he scored and remained unbeaten till the end. He and Brijesh Patel batted for more than 20 overs and saw out the game without losing further wickets.
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