Jalaj Saxena became the first Ranji Trophy player in history to bag 6000 runs and 400 wickets. (KCA/MPCA)
Domestic legend Jalaj Saxena became the first player to achieve the double of 6000 runs and 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy during Kerala’s fourth-round match against Uttar Pradesh in Thumba on Wednesday.
Saxena, who crossed 6000 runs in the previous round in Kolkata, achieved the milestone when he claimed his 400th Ranji Trophy wicket with his fourth dismissal against UP. After opting to field, Kerala razed down the UP top-order with Saxena running through the side on either side of Lunch. Saxena dismissed UP left-hander Nitish Rana stumped to reach the landmark.
Saxena soon claimed his fifth wicket, marking his 29th five-wicket haul in the Ranji Trophy. The figures were also his best against UP, making them the 18th opposition against whom Saxena has bagged a five-wicket haul, equalling the tournament record with Pankaj Singh.
The 37-year-old Saxena is only the 13th bowler in Ranji Trophy history to reach the 400-wicket mark, and the only active cricketer to do so. Saxena, who began his First Class career in 2005 with Madhya Pradesh, totalled 159 wickets and 4041 runs for the team before switching to Kerala in the 2016-17 season. The right-arm off-spinner has since become Kerala’s second-highest wicket-taker in First Class cricket, only behind KN Ananthapadmanabhan. Saxena is also closing in on 2000 runs for the side in Ranji Trophy.
Overlooked for the national team over the year, Jalaj had become only fourth player to record 9000 runs and 600 wickets across formats in domestic cricket last season, behind Vinoo Mankad, Madan Lal, and Parvez Rasool. In the Ranji Trophy circuit, Jalaj’s exploits statistically stand head and shoulders above other all-rounders, even overshadowing the feats of the legendary Vijay Hazare, Madan Lal, Sunil Joshi, and others.
Most wickets in Ranji Trophy history
637 – Rajinder Goel
530 – S Venkataraghavan
479 – Sunil Joshi
442 – R Vinay Kumar
441 – Narendra Hirwani
437 – Bhagwat Chandrasekhar
418 – VV Kumar
416 – Shahbaz Nadeem
409 – Pankaj Singh
405 – Sairaj Bahutule
403 – Bishan Singh Bedi
401 – Utpal Chatterjee
401* -Jalaj Saxena
Most prolific Ranji Trophy all-rounders
Jalaj Saxena – 6028 runs, 401 wickets
Sunil Joshi – 4116 runs, 479 wickets
Sairaj Bahutule – 4426 runs, 405 wickets
Madan Lal – 5270 runs, 351 wickets
Rishi Dhawan – 4576 runs, 342 wickets
Vijay Hazare – 6312 runs, 291 wickets
Chandu Sarwate – 4923 runs, 285 wickets
Five-wicket hauls against most teams
18* – Jalaj Saxena
18 – Pankaj Singh
16 = Sunil Joshi, Vinay Kumar, Shahbaz Nadeem, Aditya Sarwate
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