Ajinkya Rahane makes the world record by taking 8 catches in a day in the history of Test Cricket. This is special as he is not a wicketkeeper who have done this. In this statistics, 5 fielders have done this by taking 7 catches.
Rahane 8 Catches Highlights World Record -espncricinfo
India’s fielding coach R Sridhar told ESPNcricinfo that Rahane was the “complete package” on the field.
“It’s about strong hands and anticipation which he is excellent in and because he is a good athlete, he is good in the outfield,” Sridhar said. Once Rahane learned he was to field in the slips on this tour, he took it upon himself to ask for “very, very specific sessions.”
Right now Rahane is the most valuable player of Indian fielding Unit. He has the flexibility and ability to move to all parts of the ground to take spectacular catches.
Out of his 8 catches, 6 catches were taken at First Slip while 2 catches in Gully. Five catches were taken on Spinners bowling while 2 on Seamers bowling. Here is what Rahane said after knowing this world record “Vijay and Umesh told me (during a drinks break) it was a world record and I was quite surprised.”
Ajinkya Rahane always stood by captain Virat Kohli in Sips for Spinner and in Gully for Seamers.
According to Rahane, the Indian players have been taking “fifty to hundred” catches a day during training, and Sridhar felt it was Rahane’s “excellent reflexes” made him an obvious candidate to field at slips. “He has got a very nice composed demeanor which suits slip fielding,” Sridhar said. “A slip fielder requires good bouts of concentration, also lots of calmness and composure.
“Ajinkya is a very calm and composed guy, at the same time he has got excellent reflexes, reactions, and anticipation. It’s a combination of these two which prompted our captain Virat Kohli to suggest that Ajinkya should be at slips.”
