Cricket
Steven Lynch, Editor of the updated edition of Wisden on the Ashes 6y

Who has scored the most runs in one IPL season?

Cricket

Chris Gayle hit 11 sixes (and only one four) against Sunrisers Hyderabad - was this an IPL record? asked Raj Malhotra from India
Chris Gayle's unbeaten 104 for Kings XI Punjab against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mohali the other day was the 11th IPL innings to contain ten or more sixes. Three of the others were also by Gayle, including the record - he smashed 17 in his 175 not out (still the record score in any senior T20 match) for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in Bengaluru in 2013.

The only other IPL innings containing more than ten sixes but only a single four was Andre Russell's blistering 88 not out from 36 balls for Kolkata Knight Riders against Chennai Super Kings in Chennai earlier this month.

Against Pakistan in 1992-93, Desmond Haynes opened and scored 143 out of 382. Is that the lowest percentage of runs by someone carrying his bat in a Test? asked Vikas Vadgama from India
That innings by Desmond Haynes, in Port-of-Spain in 1992-93, represented 37.43% of West Indies' total of 382. It was the third time Haynes had carried his bat in a Test, a record recently equalled by South Africa's Dean Elgar.

There have been three lower percentages by bat-carriers. Nazar Mohammad's 124 not out was 37.46% of Pakistan's 331 against India in Lucknow in 1952-53; Mark Dekker (68 not out) contributed 36.36% of Zimbabwe's 187 against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in 1993-94, while the overall record is held by Glenn Turner, with 32.82% in scoring an unbeaten 43 out of 131 for New Zealand against England at Lord's in 1969.

The highest percentage of runs scored by someone achieving the feat is 61.11%, by Graham Gooch in making 154 in England's 252 against West Indies at Headingley in 1991. That's a tick ahead of Virender Sehwag, whose unbeaten 201 was 61.09% of India's 329 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2008. For the full list of batsmen who carried their bat in a Test, click here.

Who holds the record for the most runs in an IPL season? asked Pradeep Mukherjee from India
The leader here is India's captain Virat Kohli, who hit 973 runs for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2016. David Warner collected 868 runs that season for Sunrisers Hyderabad, so both he and Kohli smashed the old record of 733, set by Chris Gayle for RCB in 2012 and equalled by Mike Hussey for Chennai Super Kings the following year.

Hashim Amla was out for 31 in both innings against Australia recently. Is this close to the highest score for someone making the same score in both innings? asked Karger Mohammad from Pakistan via Facebook
It's not terribly close, no: Hashim Amla's double in Cape Town was actually the 51st time a batsman had made identical scores of 31 or more in the same Test (this includes some not-outs). The record is twin 105s, by Sri Lanka's Duleep Mendis against India in Madras (now Chennai) in 1982-83. Misbah-ul-Haq made 101 and 101 not out for Pakistan against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014-15. The record by someone who wasn't dismissed at all is held by Zaheer Khan, with 14 not out in both innings for India against England at Trent Bridge in 2002.

Which player figured in 350 one-day internationals without ever scoring a hundred or a fifty? asked Ibrahim Kamara from Sierra Leone
This is a nice, simple one to round off the week: Muttiah Muralitharan played 350 one-day internationals, with a highest score of 33 not out (against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2008-09, after Sri Lanka had plunged to 6 for 5).

It wasn't really much of a shock to find Murali's name at the top of this list. I was more surprised to find that Anil Kumble featured in 271 ODIs and never scored more than 26.

Murali did manage a Test fifty, with 67 against India in Kandy in 2001. But Courtney Walsh played 132 Tests without making a half-century (his highest score was 30 not out), and Makhaya Ntini 101.

Lasith Malinga and (rather surprisingly) Darren Sammy have both played 68 T20Is without a fifty; Morne Morkel appeared in 44 and never reached double figures.

Overall, Waqar Younis played 349 international matches without ever managing a half-century, just ahead of Walsh (337).

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