Mumbai, Dec 4 (IANS) Riding on Virender Sehwag’s 293 and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s unbeaten 100, India have posted 726 for nine, their highest ever Test total, in the third and the final cricket Test here Friday.
India bettered their 705 for seven wickets declared against Australia at Sydney in January 2004.

India’s total of 726 for nine wickets declared is the highest at Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, surpassing the 629 for six wickets declared by West Indies against India in 1948-49.

The other statistical highlights of the day are:

Six batsmen have posted fifty or more for India - Vijay (87), Sehwag (293), Dravid (74), Tendulkar (53), Laxman (62) and Dhoni (100 not out) - a feat performed for the fifth time in Tests.

India, for the third time in Tests have registered two totals of 600-plus in successive Tests. 642 at Kanpur and 726 for nine wickets declared.

An unwanted feat has been registered by Rangana Herath by conceding most runs (240) in an innings against India, outstripping Australia’s Jason Krejza’s tally of 215 in the 2008-09 Nagpur Test.

With Sehwag’s dismissal as caught and bowled, Muralitharan has emulated the feat of Anil Kumble. Both now share a record for most caught and bowled dismissals (35).

Dhoni (100 not out), with his third hundred, his second against Sri Lanka, for the first time has made two hundreds in a Test series. In the Ahmedabad Test, he had posted 110.

Dhoni became the ninth Indian player to complete a hundred with a six, joining Polly Umrigar, Kapil Dev, Sachin Tendulkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, Irfan Pathan and Gautam Gambhir. Tendulkar is the only Indian to register the feat four times.

Muttiah Muralitharan, with 97 wickets (ave.33.34) in 21 Tests against India, has established a record for taking most wickets against India, eclipsing Imran Khan’s tally of 94 wickets at an average of 24.04 in 23 Tests.

V.V.S. Laxman (62) has recorded his sixth fifty against Sri Lanka - his 42nd fifty in Tests.

Sachin has posted his 54th Test fifty - his fourth against Sri Lanka. The said innings is his 100th first-class fifty.

Sachin has extended his record for most runs in India-Sri Lanka Tests, aggregating 1605 (ave.57.32) in 31 innings (22 Tests), including eight hundreds.

Virender Sehwag, with his run-aggregate of 491 at an average of 122.75 in four innings, including two hundreds and one fifty, has established a series record for India against Sri Lanka in a Test rubber.

Virender Sehwag (293) is the fifth player after Don Bradman (not out), Vivian Richards, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Martin Crowe to miss a triple hundred between 1 to 9 runs.

Sehwag’s beautiful knock of 293 is the third highest against Sri Lanka. The only batsman to make a triple hundred against Sri Lanka is Pakistan’s Younis Khan - 313 at Karachi in 2008-09. New Zealand’s Martin Crowe had missed the feat by one run - 299 at Wellington in 1990-91

The 237-run partnership for the second wicket by Rahul Dravid and Virender Sehwag is India’s highest against Sri Lanka, bettering the 232 between Dravid and Sadagoppan Ramesh at Colombo SSC in 1998-99.