5 Instances when a cricketer scored a century and took five wickets in the same match

An all-rounder is the most crucial asset of any team. Let’s recall the time when the finest all-rounders in the world showed their class and scored a century and took five wickets in the same match.

Ian Botham (5 times)

One of the greatest English cricketers of all time, Ian Botham made the landmark of scoring a century and taking a fifer in the same match look very easy. He achieved this landmark 5 times, twice against New Zealand and the rest against Pakistan, India, and Australia. His best performance came against Australia in 1981, Australia tour of England. Botham bowled a magnificent spell of 6-95 and scored an unbeaten 149 runs at the crucial time, bringing the team’s score to 356 from an unstable position of 5-105, helping England win the match by 18 runs. His phenomenal strength, classic batting technique, and consistent, accurate bowling made him dictate in the 1980s.

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Ian Botham
Image Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo

Paul Collingwood (1 time)

England won the toss and elected to bat in the NatWest Series held at Nottingham on Jun 21, 2005. Collingwood came to bat at number 3 and smashed an unbeaten 112 runs in 86 balls with a strike rate of 130.23, taking the team’s score to a massive 391 runs mark. In the other half of the game, Paul ‘Colly’ Collingwood showed his magic with the ball by restricting Bangladesh to 223 runs and winning the game by a massive margin of 168 runs. Collingwood finished his spell with a fantastic bowling figure of 6-31. Collingwood received the man of the match award for his remarkable all-round performance.

Paul Collingwood
Image Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo

Shakib Al Hasan (2 times)

The greatest Bangladesh cricketer of the last two decades has to be Shakib Al Hasan. In 2015, Shakib Al Hasan made history by becoming the only player to be ranked as No.1 all-rounder as per the ICC all-rounder rankings in all three formats. Shakib is well-known for his consistent and responsible performances. Shakib scored a century and took a fifer in the exact match twice, once against Pakistan and once against Zimbabwe.

Shakib Al Hasan
Image Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo

In the match against Pakistan, Shakib came to bat at No. 4 and played a remarkable inning of 144 runs taking the team’s total to 338 runs. After which, Pakistan came to bat and showed a tremendous display of batting, scoring 470 runs. Shakib didn’t get support from the other end and was the sole performer for Bangladesh, finishing his spell at 6-82.

In the match against Zimbabwe, Shakib showed sheer dominance; he played an innings of 137 runs first and then went on to take a fifer in both innings. Shakib became the third player in the history of Test cricket to score a century and claim 10 wickets in the same match.

Jacques Kallis (2 times)

If you talk about all-rounders, the first name to pop into your head will be Jacques Kallis. Kallis is one the greatest Medium fast bowling all-rounder of time. The aggressive batting style and rock-solid mentality of Kallis terrified the opposition. In the West Indies tour of South Africa held at Cape Town on Jan 2, 1999, South Africa won the toss and elected to bat. Kallis played an intact knock of 110 runs by facing 328 balls followed by a classical bowling display of 5-90 in the 2nd innings, demolishing the West Indies side and helping South Africa win the match by a massive margin of 149 runs.

Jacques Kallis
Image Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo

The Pillar of South African cricket again displayed a spectacular performance in 2002, Bangladesh tour of South Africa. He first played a top knock of 139 runs and then shattered the Bangladesh side in their second innings with his excellent spell. He just bowled 5.3 overs in the spell and took 5 wickets by just giving 21 runs.

Ravichandran Ashwin (3 times)

The modern-day inspiration of every young spinner and the backbone of India’s lower-order batting order Ravichandran Ashwin has scored a century and taken a fifer in the same match thrice, twice against West Indies and once against England.

  • 3rd Test, West Indies tour of India, Nov 22, 2011, Mumbai

West Indies won the toss on a sunny day at Mumbai and elected to bat. West Indies posted a massive total of 590 runs, with Darren Bravo dominating the Indian bowlers with his innings of 166 runs. From the Indian side, Ashwin bowled a good spell of 5-156 and got good support from Varun Aaron (3-106). On day 4, Ashwin got the chance to bat after the dismissal of MS Dhoni. Ashwin showed sheer aggression in his batting and timed the ball all around the ground, bringing in his century in just 117 balls with 15 fours and two sixes.

The match was a draw; Ashwin received the man of the match award for his all-rounder performance of 103 runs and 5/156 in the first innings and 4/34 in the second.

  • 1st Test, India tour of West Indies and the USA, July 21, 2016, North Sound

In this Test, Ravichandran Ashwin played a spectacular inning of 113 runs taking India’s score to 566 runs. West Indies got all out for 243 runs in the first innings. India then implied follow on, and West Indies was forced to bat again. In the second innings of West Indies, Ashwin showed his magic by taking 7 crucial wickets by just giving 83 runs in 25 overs. Ashwin was awarded man of the match for his fantastic performance.

Ravichandran Ashwin
Image Courtesy: ESPNcricinfo
  • 2nd Test, England tour of India, Feb 13, 2021, Chennai

In this Test, while batting first, India gave a trail of 329 runs to England. English batsmen were not able to survive Ashwin’s fury. Ashwin shattered England’s line-up and stopped England at the low score of 134 runs with a spell of 5-43. Later, Ashwin played a tremendous knock of 106 runs in India’s second innings and achieved the milestone of scoring a century and taking a fifer in the same match for the third time.

Ashwin holds top records like the Most player of the series awards (9), Most ten wickets in a match in a career (7), Fastest of 350 wickets (66 matches), and many more in Test cricket. He is one of the most important assets of the Indian Team.