Nine half-centuries in an innings!

With nine of their batters scoring half-centuries in India's Ranji Trophy quarterfinal against Jharkhand in Bengaluru, the Bengal cricket team set a new world record in first-class cricket.

Bengal declared on 773/7 on the third day of the knock-out stage game after all their batters, who got time in the middle, hit at least a half-century each. No. 3 batter Sudip Gharami and No. 4 Anustup Majumdar even reached the triple figures. This is the first time in the history of cricket that nine batters have scored a half-century each in a first-class innings.

The earlier record, set in 1893, was that of eight batters of a team scoring half-centuries in a first-class innings. In that match in Portsmouth, eight members of the visiting Australian team scored at least a half-century each against Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Prior to the quarterfinal match between Bengal and Jharkhand, on 27 occasions seven 50-plus scores had been recorded in a first-class innings. Three of those came in the Ranji Trophy: for Maharashtra against Northern India in 1940-41, for Holkar against Mysore in 1945-46, and for Bengal against Bihar in 1996-97.