Aiden Markram breaks world record with 9 catches as South Africa humble India
Cricket
Aiden Markram sets a new world record with nine catches as South Africa defeat India by 408 runs to seal a historic series win
GUWAHATI (Dunya News) – Aiden Markram carved his name into Test cricket history by taking a record nine catches as a fielder in South Africa’s emphatic 408-run victory over India in the second Test at Guwahati.
The Proteas completed a stunning 2-0 clean sweep, marking their first Test series win on Indian soil in 25 years. The result also stands as India’s largest defeat in Test cricket by runs, eclipsing their previous worst of 342 runs against Australia in 2004.
Markram’s exceptional performance in the slips surpassed Ajinkya Rahane’s previous record of eight catches in a Test match, set against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2015. He took five catches in the first innings, equalling the record for the most catches taken by a fielder in a single Test innings. His first grab came off Keshav Maharaj to dismiss KL Rahul, followed by vital contributions in the dismissals of Ravindra Jadeja and Nitish Kumar Reddy off Marco Jansen. He later added further catches off Simon Harmer and Jansen to reach the milestone. Sixteen fielders have previously achieved five catches in an innings, and Markram now stands among them.
In India’s second innings, set a target of 549 runs, Markram took four more catches as India folded for 140. He held a neat catch off Harmer to dismiss Washington Sundar, followed by Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan and another sharp chance to end Sundar’s innings, bringing his tally to nine.
South Africa won the first Test in Kolkata by 30 runs, before clinching the Guwahati Test to secure a historic series triumph. Captain Temba Bavuma joined Hansie Cronje in leading a South African Test series win in India for the first time since 1999.
Simon Harmer delivered his career-best performance with 6/37, playing a decisive role in India’s collapse. The defeat is India’s second whitewash at home under head coach Gautam Gambhir, after a 3-0 loss to New Zealand in the 2024-25 season.
Speaking after the match, Markram credited his team’s composed performance and adaptability. “No easy task coming to India and win. A lot of it was no preconceived ideas about conditions. Credit to the bowlers, they get the balls in the right areas and you try to catch them,” he said. He acknowledged the impact of Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, praising their control and resilience in testing conditions.
Markram’s record has now been officially recognised as the most catches taken by a fielder in a men’s Test match.
