Pakistan skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed isn’t having the most-impressive run with the bat in the Test series against South Africa, but the wicketkeeper put up a record-breaking performance behind the stumps in the Third Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
He took five catches in the first innings and repeated the feat in the second innings to go past Australia’s Adam Gilchrist and India’s MS Dhoni to become the wicket-keeper captain with the most number of catches in a match.
Johannesburg, 2019: Sarfraz Ahmed(Pakistan) vs South Africa- 10 catches
Nottingham, 1998: Alec Stewart(England) vs South Africa- 8 catches
Darwin, 2004: Adam Gilchrist(Australia) vs Sri Lanka- 8 catches
Melbourne, 2014: MS Dhoni(India) vs Australia- 8 catches
Earlier, Quinton de Kock hit an imperious century to put South Africa in a powerful position on the third day of the final Test against Pakistan, then warned that completing a series clean sweep would not be easy.
Set to make a daunting 381 to win, Pakistan were 153 for three at the close, needing another 228 runs.
De Kock’s 129 and a double strike by Dale Steyn kept South Africa on course but Asad Shafiq and Babar Azam batted brightly towards the close to give Pakistan some hope.
