Ajinkya Rahane first to take 8 catches in a Test match
The first Test at Galle has been a remarkable one for India in all three forms of the game. On the first day, Ravichandran Ashwin took a six-for to dismiss the hosts for 183. On the second day, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli scored centuries and shared a big partnership for the third wicket.
Ajinkya Rahane, on the third day, took five catches to help the bowlers get out Sri Lank367. On the fourth day if Indian batsmen chase down 176, it would be a perfect all-around victory for the team and if they don’t then all these achievements would be meaningless. Anyways, let’s see the achievement of Ajinkya Rahane – not as a batsman but as a fielder.
Rahane took three catches in the first innings on the first day and took five catches in the second innings on the third day of the Test. Thus, eight catches by a fielder and not a wicket-keeper.
Both are records – eight catches in a Test match and five catches in a Test innings by a fielder. The former is a great achievement as no one has done it in the history of 138 years of Test cricket history while the latter is a joint record shared by eight other players.
Five others have taken seven catches in a Test match in the past including an Indian. The table below lists the details.
Most catches in a Test match by a fielder
|
Catches |
Fielder |
1st inn |
2nd inn |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
8 |
Ajinkya Rahane |
3 |
5 |
India |
Sri Lanka |
Galle |
12-Aug-15 |
- |
|
7 |
Greg Chappell |
2 |
4 |
Australia |
England |
Perth |
13-Dec-74 |
Won |
|
Yajurvindra Singh |
5 |
2 |
India |
England |
Bangalore |
28-Jan-77 |
Won |
|
|
Hashan Tillakaratne |
3 |
4 |
Sri Lanka |
New Zealand |
Colombo (SSC) |
06-Dec-92 |
Won |
|
|
Stephen Fleming |
5 |
2 |
New Zealand |
Zimbabwe |
Harare |
18-Sep-97 |
Drawn |
|
|
Matthew Hayden |
3 |
4 |
Australia |
Sri Lanka |
Galle |
08-Mar-04 |
Wo |
Yajurvindra Singh was making his Test debut. He played only three more matches in his career taking four more catches.
Hashan Tillakaratne was awarded Man of the Match as he scored 93 in one of the innings.
Stephen Fleming was the skipper of his side.
Matthew Hayden was awarded Man of the Match as he scored 130 in one of the innings.
None of the previous instances of seven catches in the match by a fielder ended in his team losing the Test. Five catches by Rahane in an innings is the joint record in Test matches shared by eight other players.
The first to do this was Vic Richardson (the grandfather of Waugh brothers) in 1936 against South Africa at Durban in 1936 and it is not been surpassed yet. Anyways, eight other did this including Rahane. Two of those apart from Rahane are listed in the first table as they took two catches in the other innings to end up with seven catches in the match.
Most catches in a Test innings by a fielder
|
Catches |
Fielder |
Inning |
For |
Against |
Venue |
Date |
Result |
|
5 |
Vic Richardson |
3 |
Australia |
South Africa |
Durban |
28-Feb-36 |
Won |
|
Yajurvindra Singh |
2 |
India |
England |
Bangalore |
28-Jan-77 |
Won |
|
|
Mohammad Azharuddin |
1 |
India |
Pakistan |
Karachi |
15-Nov-89 |
Drawn |
|
|
Kris Srikkanth |
1 |
India |
Australia |
Perth |
01-Feb-92 |
Lost |
|
|
Stephen Fleming |
1 |
New Zealand |
Zimbabwe |
Harare |
18-Sep-97 |
Drawn |
|
|
Graeme Smith |
4 |
South Africa |
Australia |
Perth |
30-Nov-12 |
Won |
|
|
Darren Sammy |
2 |
West Indies |
India |
Mumbai WS |
14-Nov-13 |
Lost |
|
|
Darren Bravo |
2 |
West Indies |
Bangladesh |
Kingstown |
05-Sep-14 |
Won |
|
|
Ajinkya Rahane |
3 |
India |
Sri Lanka |
Galle |
12-Aug-15 |
- |
No one could emulate Vic Richardson for 40 years before Yajurvindra Singh did it on his debut. Interestingly, the next two instances were also by the Indian fielders.
Graeme Smith is the only one to take five catches in the fourth innings of a Test match.
Kris Srikkanth’s and Darren Sammy’s instances were the only two which resulted in a loss for their team.
In Ricky Ponting and Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test match, the opposition captains took five wickets in an innings (Graeme Smith and Darren Sammy).
There was a fielder who had taken five wickets in an innings in Sachin Tendulkar’s debut Test as well (Mohammad Azharuddin). No player is repeated in the above tables. Let’s see which fielder has taken five or more catches in a test match the most number of times.
Five or more catches in a Test match taken most number of times by a fielder
|
Fielder |
Number of times |
Matches |
|
Mahela Jayawardene |
5 |
149 |
|
Stephen Fleming |
4 |
111 |
|
Brian Lara |
4 |
131 |
|
Garry Sobers |
4 |
93 |
|
Carl Hooper |
3 |
102 |
|
Eknath Solkar |
3 |
27 |
|
Hashan Tillakaratne |
3 |
83 |
Most catches in a first-class cricket match and an innings by a fielder
The record in first-class cricket is held by Wally Hammond who took 10 catches playing for Gloucestershire against Surrey at Cheltenham in 1928 season. In 2011, Rikki Clarke took nine catches in the county match for Warwickshire against Lancashire at Liverpool.
These are the only two instances or nine or more catches in a First-Class cricket match. There are 14 others who took eight catches in first-class cricket apart from Ajinkya Rahane who joins them as the 15th.
The record for more catches by a fielder in a first-class cricket inning is seven by three players – Micky Stewart for Surrey against Northamptonshire at Northampton in 1957, Tony Brown for Gloucestershire against Nottinghamshire at Nottingham in 1966, and Rikki Clarke in the match mentioned above in which he took nine catches.