The job of the wicket-keeper is not only standing behind the wicket and waiting to catch the ball. A wicket-keeper is a pivotal member of the squad and stays behind the striker's wicket either to lead the team's fielding or run out the batsman or stamp them or take a catch. Being a wicket-keeper is not easy and we have seen there's a lot of times. Many wicket-keepers have crooked fingers. Danny Morrison, the former New Zealand cricketer's all 10 fingers are broken. The role and the journey of a wicket-keeper are tough but the end is always worth it when they get the batsmen out. According to cricket stats let's check out most catches by a keeper in tests.

Read also: Most Sixes in Test Cricket

1. Mark Boucher

The former cricketer of the South African cricket team is the number 1 wicket-keeper with the most number of catches in tests. In 1997 he made his test debut against Pakistan as a replacement of Dave Richardson. He became the fastest cricketer to take a hundred dismissals and also appeared in consecutive 75 test matches. He played in 281 innings and dismissed 532 times as a wicketkeeper.

2. Adam Gilchrist

Adam Gilchrist is undoubtedly one of the greatest wicketkeeper-batsman in the history of cricket. He did his job on the field like a pro, be it batting or wicket-keeping. During his time, he was one of the biggest assets of the Australian Cricket team. He appeared in a total of 192 innings and took 379 wickets as a wicketkeeper.

3. Ian Healy

One of the greatest wicket keepers in cricket history is Ian Healy. He was probably the most energetic cricketer of his time. His performance on the field as a middle-order batsman and as a wicketkeeper was great. He did contribute runs for his team in dire situations but he was recognized more for his excellent wicket-keeping skills and glove work. Ian definitely put a lot of hard work and dedication to to be one of the greatest wicket keepers. He picked up 366 wickets as a wicketkeeper in test in 224 innings.

4. Rod Marsh

Rod Marsh's start to test career was a bit controversial. He made his debut in 1970 and played till 1983-84. After playing 96 test matches he made a world record of taking 355 wickets as a wicketkeeper. He was an important player of the Australian team in the 1972 tour of England. He also became the first Australian wicketkeeper who scored a century in a Test match against England in the 1977 test against England. In a total of 182 innings picked up 3:43 test wickets as a wicketkeeper.

5. Jeff Dujon

Jeff Dujon is a former West Indies cricketer. He was the former wicket-keeper and lower-order batsman for the West Indies cricket team. He made his test debut in 1981 against Australia. Only in 19 years of age he played 200 first-class matches and picked up 447 wickets as well. After his debut against Australia, he played 150 innings and picked up 265 test wickets as a wicketkeeper.

6. Brad Haddin

Brad Haddin, the former wicket-keeper of the Australian cricket team made his test debut in 2008 against West Indies. He has also been the vice-captain of the Australian team. He was the wicket-keeper of the Australia A team for most of his career but was chosen into the main squad as a backup of Adam Gilchrist. Haddin definitely saved the team with his wicket-keeping skills many times but also contributed runs every time the team needed. He made his third century in the 2010-11 Ashes which help the team to a lead in the first innings. In a career span of about 7 years, he played in 128 test innings and picked up 262 wickets as a wicketkeeper.

7. BJ Walting

The former cricketer of the New Zealand International team made his test debut in 2009 against Pakistan. After his excellent performance in domestic cricket, he got selected for the Test squad against Pakistan by replacing Peter Fulton. The 2012-13 test against South Africa was a difficult series for the Kiwi batsman but Walting rose to the situation and scored 168 runs. He continued his batting performance like this simultaneously with his wicket keeping. He dismissed his 100th wicket as a wicketkeeper in the 1st test against Sri Lanka in 2015-16 Sri Lanka's tour. The former Kiwi wicket-keeper batsman was an integral part of the world test Championship final as well. He played 127 innings and picked up 257 test wickets as a wicketkeeper.

8. Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Mahendra Singh Dhoni is undoubtedly the best wicket-keeper of the Indian cricket team ever. The contribution of the former captain is immense. Be it captaining, batting, or wicket keeping he did everything in the best possible way and brought out the team's strengths at every moment. He made his test debut in 2005 against Sri Lanka and got selected in the team by replacing Dinesh Kartik after his great ODI performance against Sri Lanka and got selected as the team's wicket-keeper. He played aggressively made a half-century in his second innings and saved the team to set a target of 436. MSD is the first Indian wicketkeeper who completed 4000 test runs. He is also the highest wicket-taker in all-time dismissals by an Indian wicketkeeper. In a test career span of about 9 years, he played in 166 innings and picked up 256 wickets.

9. Alan Knott

Alan Knott is one of the former English cricketers who made his test debut in 1967 against Pakistan and played till 1981. He was confirmed as the team's wicket-keeper batsman in the 1968-69 test series against Pakistan. In that series itself, he scored two half-centuries. One of the half-centuries was only four runs away from a century where he made 96* because the match was abruptly ended due to a pitch invasion by Pakistani fans. He retired in 1981 and before that he played 174 innings and picked up 250 test wickets as a wicketkeeper.

10. Matt Prior

The former cricketer of the England cricket team made his test debut in 2007 against West Indies. He was definitely a great wicket-keeper but his batting as an aggressive cricketer was great as well. His test debut was very dreamy and the best cricketer could ask for. His test debut score was 126 and became the first wicketkeeper of the England cricket team to score a century in his debut match. In the initial days of his career, his wicket-keeping skills were criticized even after successful series. He was even dropped out of the team but he again returned in the 2008 series against India. Matt mostly played at the number 6 position and continued to bat well and scored for the team. He retired in 2014 and during his test career, he played in 146 test innings and dismissed 243 wickets as a wicket-keeper.

The Pakistan Test Captain Shan Masood received a special jersey from the Pakistan Cricket Board after accomplishing 2000 test runs for the country. 

Masood achieved this feat after making an impressive 151-run knock on the first day of the first test against England at Multan. 

PCB presented him with a jersey with “Shan 2000" at the back. Pakistan's Test coach Jason Gillespie too addressed the team, praising the efforts of the players to provide a good start on Day 1.

🇵🇰 captain Shan Masood is presented a special jersey on completing 2000 Test runs 👕✨#PAKvENG | #TestAtHome pic.twitter.com/mLxBs3PT2n

— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) October 7, 2024

Masood enters the Elite List

The local media heavily criticized Masood as his bat wasn't speaking much. His century last day, hopefully, has silenced all his critiques.

Not only that, that innings have helped him tough the 2000 test runs mark, making him the 35th Pakistani to achieve so.

He has accumulated 2000 test runs in his 36th Test match and 67th innings at an average of 30.35. 

His 151-run innings was his fifth Test century and second against England. With this century, he also marked the end of a 1,524-day wait for a Test hundred, his last being in 2020 against England in Manchester, where he scored a career-best 156.

Masood made his century in just 102 balls, thus becoming the Pakistani Captain with the second-fastest hundred, in Tests. Former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq leads the list being the fastest one.

The second-fastest test century was still a smart blend of both patience and aggression. He made a steady start, but gradually increased the pace, creating a solid partnership with Abdullah Shafique. He smashed 13 fours and two sixes, displaying his intent to dominate the bowling attack.

On day 1 of the India versus Bangladesh series, the veteran spinner Ravichndran Ashwin broke Anil Kumble's record, becoming India's most successful bowler in the Asian conditions. At the Kanpur Greenland Park stadium, Ashwin took Bangladesh's  Najmul Hossain Shanto right after coming back from lunch. With this, his tally rose to 420 wickets. 

Ashwin at the second in elite list

Earlier it was Anil Kumble at the second spot with 419 wickets. Now that he comes to the third, Ashwin only has the Sri Lankan maestro Muttiah Muralitharan ahead of him with 612 wickets.

Rangan Herath comes fourth with 454 wickets, And the Indian offspinner Harbhajan Singh is at number five with 300 scalps.

Read also: India vs Bangladesh: Here are the records Ravichandran Ashwin broke in Chennai

Most Test Wickets in Asia:

Muttiah Muralitharan – 612
Ravichandran Ashwin – 420*
Anil Kumble – 419
Rangana Herath – 354
Harbhajan Singh – 300

Match recap

Due to the overcast situation, the match started late. Not only that, on winning the toss, the Indian Captain Rohit Sharma chose to field first, which is unusual at Kanpur.

With an early weather forecast call, it was expected for the rain to hit the ground by 2 p.m. in the afternoon. However the light doomed making the sitution unfavourable to play.

However, the rain showing no signs of leaving, and the umpires abruptly called off for the day.

Bangladesh are 3 down for 107 runs. Akash Deep took 2 early wickets, while Ashwin took the 3rd, that is, the last wicket of the day.

In the ongoing India versus Bangladesh second test, the record says that Virat Kohli is just 35 runs short of achieving the 27000 run mark. In International cricket, Sachin Tendulkar (34,357), Kumar Sangakkara (28,016), and Ricky Ponting (27,483) are the only three batters to have crossed the 27,000-run mark in international cricket so far.

Virat Kohli has 26,965 runs to his name in 534 matches played so far.

Here is a list of the top 5 Indian Batters with the most runs in international cricket.

5. Sourav Ganguly. |  18,433 runs

Former Indian Captain Sourav Ganguly is at the 5th rank with 18,433 international runs. He has played 421 matches (485 innings) and has an average of 41.42 runs. He scored 38 tons with 106 half-centuries.

He played 113 tests and has 7212 runs with an average of 42.17. His test record has 16 hundreds and 35 half centuries.

For a long 17 years, Gangully sealed his position in the fourth rank unless the present Indian captain came, Earlier this year, Rohit Sharma surpassed Ganguly to take the fourth spot.

4. Rohit Sharma | 19,246* runs

Babar Azam does not have a great record in Test cricket on Australian soil. In 5 matches, Babar has scored 278 runs at an average of 27.80 with one century.

Babar got his top score of 104 back in November 2019 at the Gabba in Brisbane. He scored 97 in the very next Test match at the Adelaide Oval.

Apart from that Babar has scores of 19,14,23,3,0,9,1 and 8. He is again set to play in Australia, this time in 3 Test matches.

Babar Azam has been crucial part of the Pakistan team across formats.

Recently, Babar stepped down as the skipper of the Pakistan team across formats.

Grabbing a test victory as a captain is perhaps one of the proudest moments in anyone's career. And, when we call test format the ultimate format of the game it becomes more special. Throughout the history of the game, we have all seen some outstanding leaders. However, sometimes the stats do not reflect the era and significance of the captain. But, if you are listed on the list of most wins as a captain in test cricket, you definitely have done something great as captain.

Virat Kohli, often regarded as the greatest batsman of this era is also known for his leadership style. Though he often gets criticized about his team selection process and decision makings, you can not deny the results he has produced.

With a remarkable and miracle victory against the English team at Lords', Kohli became the captain with fourth-most wins as captain in test cricket. He went past West Indies legend Clive Lloyd who had registered 36 test wins as a captain. With a win against South Africa in Centurion, Kohli now has 40 test wins as a captain, most by any Indian captain.

Most wins as captain in test

As team India and Virat Kohli keep on piling on some great test victories, we give you the exclusive list of captains with the most test wins.

#1 Graeme Smith - 53 Wins as captain

Some pundits refer to Graeme Smith as the greatest captain ever to play the game. He took over the charge of the South African team when the team was going through some tough times. He took over the captaincy from Shaun Pollock in 2003. Not to forget he was only 22 years old at that time and 9 test matches old at the international arena.

Smith captained the South African team a record 108 test matches till his retirement in 2014. He took the African team to the number No.1 position in ICC Test Rankings numerous times. With a record of 53 wins as a captain in 108 test matches, he is the most successful test captain in cricket history.

#2 Ricky Ponting - 48 Wins as captain

Tough, solid and big-match player. These three adjectives would go along with Ricky Ponting at any time. Though his and Smith's journey was totally different, he did manage to take the Australian team to new heights. He took over the captaincy from Steve Waugh in 2004 and continued till 2010. In that period, Ponting lead the Australian side 77 times and managed to win 48 of them.

It will very obvious to say. that Australian team led by Ricky Ponting was perhaps the greatest team in cricket history. Only the West Indies team in the 1970s and 1980s might come in contention. Ponting's team won all over the world, wherever they went. Punter and co.'s supremacy in cricket will be remembered as one of the dominant eras of test cricket.

#3 Steve Waugh - 41 Wins as captain

If Ponting had led the greatest side in test history, Steve Waugh made it. He was the reason behind Australia's gritty and tough nature on the field. Steve Waugh is the most successful test captain ever if we consider the win percentage.

Waugh took over the charge in 1999 and then went on to captain the team in 57 test matches. He won 41 of them and lost only 9 of them. Steve Waugh also has the lowest loss percentage among test captains with or more than 40 test matches as captain. Only Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards come close to him with 16.21% and 16% respectively.

Read Also: Most successful captains in Test cricket

#4 Virat Kohli - 40 Wins as captain

Virat Kohli is the only captain on this list who is still an active player. Regarded as one of the great players to ever play the game, Kohli was a born leader. He took over the charge from MS Dhoni in tough times in 2014. MS Dhoni was then the most successful Indian Test Captain and taking the baton from him was said to be tough. But, Virat managed the team brilliantly and the transition went on smoothly from captain MS to captain Kohli.

Till now Kohli has led the Indian test team an Indian record 67 times, breaking MS Dhoni's 60 matches record. Not only that, but he is also the Indian captain with the most away test wins. With all of these records, Virat Kohli is now also the fourth most successful test captain in test cricket history. With 37 test wins, he went past Clive Lloyd on the list of most wins as captain in test. Currently, he has 40 test match wins as a captain.

Read Also: South Africa vs India: Batters with highest away test averages in SA

#5 Clive Lloyd - 36 Wins as captain

The dominance of the West Indies team is perhaps the greatest chapter of test cricket history. The West Indies team led by Clive Lloyd is said to be the most hostile team ever in cricket. With giant likes fast bowlers, batsmen like Vivian Richards and Clive Lloyd himself, they defeated everyone with a big smile on their face.

At the time of retirement, Clive Lloyd was the most capped test captain and most successful test captain in terms of wins and win percentage. In his illustrated eleven years as test captain, he led the side to 74 test matches and won 37 of them with a win percentage of 48.64.