Joe Root took his 201st catch during the third Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Oval, zeroing in on Rahul Dravid’s tally of most grabs in the format. Here’s a list of fielders with the most Test catches.
Root held onto an easy catch in the first innings to dismiss Kamindu Mendis off Chris Woakes' bowling. In the process, he leapfrogged Jaques Kallis to be third on the list of players with the most number of catches in Tests. His tally of 201 is now third to Mahela Jayawardene (205) and Rahul Dravid (210).
With England playing Pakistan next in a three-match series from October 7, Root has a realistic chance to surpass Dravid at the top.
Among other active cricketers, Root is closely followed by his Australian counterpart Steve Smith, who currently sits at sixth with 183 grabs, trailing Ricky Ponting (196). It’s worth noting that Smith’s catch-per-innings ratio of 0.884 is the best in the history of the format.
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Root has also climbed several batting charts. At Lord’s, he struck his 33rd and 34th Test ton, surpassing Alastair Cook’s tally (33) of most Test hundreds by an English batter. He is also 70 runs shy of beating Cook, the current fifth-highest run-getter in Tests.
Top ten fielders with the most Test catches
Rahul Dravid (ICC/India) - 210
Mahela Jayawardene (Sri Lanka) - 205
Joe Root (England) - 201
Jaques Kallis (ICC/South Africa) - 200
Ricky Ponting (Australia) - 196
Steve Smith (Australia) - 183
Mark Waugh (Australia) - 181
Alastair Cook (England) - 175
Stephen Fleming (New Zealand) - 171
Graeme Smith (ICC/South Africa) - 169
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