On This Day In Cricket - January 20

This day holds a unique place in cricket records, it’s defined by some extraordinary moments, notable wins and the birth of players who changed the game. From England's first Test hat-trick to India's series win against Pakistan after 27 years, this day reminds all. It is the day when Pakistan recorded the fastest Test chase on the birthdays of cricketing icons like Junior Murray and Axar Patel. This day has seen events that will be remembered for years to come. This article covers the key cricket events that took place on 20th January throughout history.

On This Day - January 20, 1883 - England’s First-ever Test Hat-Trick

On 20 January 1883 in a Test match between England and Australia at Melbourne Cricket Ground, England’s Billy Bates made history. He took England’s first-ever Test hat-trick by dismissing three Australian batsmen. He dismissed Percy McDonnell, George Giffen and George Bonnor in three consecutive deliveries.

Bates’s performance was not limited to the hat-trick. He took a total of 14 wickets in the match, 7 in the first innings for 28 runs and 7 in the second innings for 74 runs. He also scored 55 runs with the bat. He also missed a catch once before he got off the mark. Bates became the first player in Test history to score a half-century and take 10 or more wickets in a single Test match. England won by an innings and 27 runs, which was the first innings-margin victory in Test cricket history.

On This Day - January 20, 1968 - Junior Murray Was Born

Junior Randolph Murray was the first player from Grenada to play Test cricket for the West Indies. For his services to sport, he was awarded the MBE in 1994 and later a stand at the Grenada National Cricket Stadium was named in his honour. In his Test career, Murray scored 918 runs in 33 matches at an average of 22.39, with his highest score being an unbeaten 101 against New Zealand. As a wicketkeeper, he took 99 catches and made 3 stumpings in Tests. In 55 One Day Internationals, he scored 678 runs and had 53 dismissals, including 46 catches and 7 stumpings. During his long domestic career for the Windward Islands from 1986 to 2007, he scored 6,830 runs in 149 first-class matches at an average of 30.90, with a highest score of 218.

Born on 20 January 1968 in St George’s, Murray began his sporting career as a football goalkeeper, but later shifted his focus to cricket on the advice of a school teacher. He made his international debut in late 1992 and early 1993 and entered the team after Jeffrey Dujon. Due to his tall and heavy build, he was not considered as naturally smooth a wicketkeeper as Dujon. He completed over 100 dismissals in Test cricket and often opened the batting in ODIs because of his batting ability. His international career ended after the 1998-99 tour of South Africa, but he continued playing domestic cricket, where he also scored an unbeaten century in List A cricket against Bermuda.

On This Day - January 20, 1994 - Axar Patel Was Born

Axar Patel is a key all-rounder in Indian cricket, popular for his left-arm spinner and lower-order batting and was born on 20 January 1994. He played a key role in India's championship squads in the 2025 Champions Trophy and the 2024 T20 World Cup. In the T20 World Cup final, he scored strongly by scoring 47 runs off 31 balls. In terms of records, he became India’s ninth bowler to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut and only the second left-arm spinner to do so after Dilip Doshi. In 15 Test matches, he has taken 57 wickets and scored over 600 runs, while he has more than 75 wickets along with important runs in ODIs and T20Is. Axar is currently the captain of the IPL team Delhi Capitals and was also named Emerging Player of the Tournament in 2014.

Axar used to be called ‘Bapu’ by his teammates. His career took off when he was named the BCCI Under-19 Cricketer of the Year in 2014. He continued to impress and get a hat-trick in 2016 while playing for Kings XI Punjab. He made his ODI debut in 2014 but got his first chance in Test cricket in 2021 against England, creating history by taking 27 wickets in his debut series. Axar was appointed vice-captain of the Indian T20 team in 2016. In his personal life, he married Meha Patel in January 2023 and they had their son Haksh in December 2024.

On This Day - January 20, 2014 - Pakistan’s Fastest Test Chase Ever

On 20 January 2014 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Pakistan created a world record by completing the fastest successful chase of a target of more than 300 runs in a Test. Pakistan batted with a run rate of 5.25 per over when chasing 302 against Sri Lanka and reached the goal in 57.3 overs. This broke the previous record run rate of 5.19 set by West Indies against England in 1984. Azhar Ali led the chase with 103 runs off 137 balls, while skipper Misbah-ul-Haq hit an unbeaten 68 from 72 balls. Pakistan's victory drew the three-match series.

The final day was tough for Pakistan as Sri Lanka played defensively and gave them only 59 overs to chase the target. Pakistan changed their approach and placed Sarfaraz Ahmed at number five as the game was looking likely to draw. Sarfaraz came and scored 48 off 46 balls to change the direction of the game. Azhar Ali and Misbah then added 109 runs in 111 balls for the fifth wicket. Despite Sri Lanka’s attempts to waste time, Pakistan continued attacking and won the match by five wickets before the end of play.

On This Day - January 20, 1980 - India's Crucial 1980 Series Victory Over Pakistan

India defeated Pakistan on this day in 1980 by taking 10 wickets at Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium to make history. This win earned India its first Test series victory against Pakistan in 27 years. This win gave India its first Test series victory against Pakistan in 27 years. By winning the fifth Test, India took a 2-0 lead in the six-match series, marking only their second series win against Pakistan after the 1952-53 season. Pakistan captain Asif Iqbal chose to bat first, but strong bowling from Kapil Dev and Karsan Ghavri restricted Pakistan to 272. India replied with 430 runs, taking a lead of 158.

The match was decided by the performances of Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Gavaskar scored 166 runs, batting for nearly 10 hours, which was the longest innings by an Indian at the time and shared a century partnership with Yashpal Sharma. Kapil Dev scored 84 runs off 98 balls and then delivered his best bowling performance by taking 7 wickets for 56 runs in the second innings and 11 wickets in the match. Pakistan were bowled out for 233 and India chased the target of 76 without losing a wicket in just 18 overs.