Jalaj Saxena scripts history by becoming first player to achieve 6000 runs and 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy

Kerala's 37-year-old all-rounder Jalaj Saxena has created history by becoming the first player to take 6000 runs and 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy. Jalaj has not yet made his international debut but he has achieved this important feat in Indian domestic cricket.

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Jalaj Saxena has achieved this record in the match against Uttar Pradesh. By taking five wickets in the first innings, he destroyed the batting order of Uttar Pradesh and also crossed the mark of 400 wickets.

13th player to take 400 wickets

Kerala captain Sachin Baby won the toss and decided to bowl first, after which his off-spinner gave them the advantage by destroying UP's batting lineup. Before the match against UP, Saxena was just 4 wickets away from the 400-wicket mark. He started by taking the wicket of Aryan Juyal and then achieved this brilliant feat by dismissing Madhav Kaushik, Siddarth Yadav, and Nitish Rana.

Jalaj Saxena is the 13th player to take 400 wickets in Ranji Trophy and his current form is also very good. This season he has already taken five wickets in two innings. Earlier, Saxena had also completed 6,000 runs in first-class cricket during Kerala’s game against Karnataka. 

Jalaj's first-class career

Jalaj started his Ranji career with Madhya Pradesh in 2005 and spent over a decade with them. During this period he took 4041 runs and 159 wickets. He joined the Kerala team in the 2016–17 season and has become an important player for them over the years. In first class cricket, Jalaj has so far scored 6795 runs with an average of 33.97, which includes 14 centuries and 33 fifties.

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Jalaj Saxena also joined the ranks of legends last season when he became only the fourth player in the history of Indian domestic cricket to score 9000 runs and take 600 wickets across all formats. In this matter, he has included himself in the list of Vinoo Mankad, Madan Lal, and Parvez Rasool.

Jalaj has been playing domestic cricket for two decades, but he is yet to get a chance to debut with Indian Cricket Team.