Jalaj Saxena achieves rare First Class double; joins elite company of WG Grace

Kerala allrounder Jalaj Saxena scored century and eight wickets in an innings in his team’s nine wicket win over Andhra in Ranji Trophy 2018-19 round two match at the St'Xavier's KCA Cricket Ground, Trivandrum, making him the only Indian player to the unique feat twice in Ranji Trophy history.

Kerala allrounder Jalaj Saxena scored a century and eight wickets in an innings in his team’s nine wicket win over Andhra in Ranji Trophy 2018-19 round two match at the St’Xavier’s KCA Cricket Ground, Trivandrum, making him the only Indian player to the unique feat twice in Ranji Trophy history.

Saxena scored 133 in Kerala’s first innings and then took career-best 8/45 in Andhra’s second innings.

His performance makes him only the 6th player in the history of first-class cricket to score a century and take eight wickets in an innings in the same match more than once, joining the elite list of George Griffin, WG Grace, Frank Tarrant, Johnny Briggs and Frank Woolley.

Only Griffin and Grace have scored a ton and claimed 8-for three times in First Class cricket. Saxena, 31, is only the third player player to the unique feat when he scored 105 not out and took 8/85 against Rajasthan, the previous season at the same ground.

Chandra Sarwate of Holkar 1945-46 and Ravinder Pandit of Jammu and Kashmir 1986-87 had achieved the feat.

Before the start of the season, had scored over 300 runs each year, including 821 and 768 runs on two separate seasons – and claimed over 20 wickets every time, with returns of 45, 39 and 44 wickets underlining his potency – in the precious six Ranji Trophy seasons, amounting to 3621 runs and 204 wickets in 58 matches.