5 best catches by Indian wicket-keepers

As far as great catches are concerned, the ones taken behind the stumps are often more spectacular to watch due to the athletic abilities of wicket-keepers. Over the years, India has had plenty of wicket-keepers who have proven themselves to be right up there with the very best in the world and have been a vital cog in the wheel for the team.

As such, many of India's best wicket-keepers enjoy their status for having dazzled everyone with their exploits behind the stumps and great catches and lightning-quick stumpings are a hallmark of their trade.

Here is a list of the best catches ever taken by Indian wicket-keepers:

5 Syed Kirmani v Pakistan, Karachi, 1982

Syed Kirmani is often regarded as one of the best Indian wicket-keepers to have ever played the game, and some of the catches that he pulled off during his decade-long career spanning 88 Tests and 49 ODIs were quite stunning.

One catch that stands out in particular is the one he took to dismiss Saleem Malik in the 2nd Test at Karachi during India's 1982 tour to Pakistan.

In Pakistan's first innings, Madan Lal was on a roll and had reduced the hosts to 15 for 2 and then to 18-3 when Kirmani took one of the finest catches ever taken by an Indian wicket-keeper to send back Saleem Malik.

Malik mistimed a drive and as the ball flew towards first slip, Kirmani leapt to his right and showed amazing reflexes to complete the catch even when first slip was shaping up to take the catch.

4 Kiran More v Pakistan, Sharjah, 1990

Kiran More played for India in 49 Tests and 94 ODIs in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Although he might not go down in history as one of the country's all-time great wicket-keepers, his catch to dismiss Imran Khan in the Australasia Cup at Sharjah will certainly be counted among one of the best catches ever taken by an Indian wicket-keeper.

Imran used to be a very dangerous middle order batsmen towards the end of his career and just when he looked set to score big, More produced a blinder.

Imran tried to steer Manoj Prabhakar towards third man but instead hit it a bit too fine and More showed excellent powers of anticipation and athleticism to dive to his right to send back one of the most dangerous batsmen in the opposition.

3 Sadanand Vishwanath v England, Sydney, 1985

When Syed Kirmani hung up his boots, Sadanand Vishwanath stepped forward as his heir apparent and during the 1985 World Championship in Australia, he showed why he had been chosen as the successor to one of India's best wicket-keepers.

In the game against England, Vishwanath showed his caliber as a wicket-keeper when he ran around 20-30 yards to his right to dismiss England's dangerous opener, Graeme Fowler.

The batsman had mistimed a leg-side flicked and the ball went high up in the air. At a time when night cricket was not the norm, hanging on to a skier in which the ball must have been swirling in the air before coming down, Vishwanath made it look remarkably easy.

When he caught it, he was quite close to the 30-yard circle - and it made for quite a stunning catch.

2 MS Dhoni v Sri Lanka, World Cup 2007, Port of Spain

Before taking up cricket, MS Dhoni used to be a goalkeeper and his raw athleticism often shines through when he keeps wicket for India.

In his early days, he used to throw his body around with impunity to take catches and one of the best ones was the one he took to dismiss then Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene in the ill-fated game at Port of Spain in the 2007 World Cup.

Ajit Agarkar bowled one on leg stump and Jayawardene played a leg glance that looked like going for a certain boundary. However, Dhoni flung himself to his left and actually covered some ground in his jump, as a goalkeeper should, to complete one of the best catches ever taken by an Indian wicketkeeper.

1 Wriddhiman Saha v Australia, Pune, 2017

This is without a doubt, the greatest catch that has ever been taken by an Indian wicket-keeper and it will stay fresh in the memories of those who were privileged enough to have watched it live. In an otherwise forgettable Test match for India, Saha's 'Superman catch' was the high point.

Towards the end of the first day's play, Umesh Yadav induced a false shot from Steve O'Keefe and while the cut shot was flying between first slip and the wicket-keeper, Saha pulled off the stunning catch.

The ball was pretty high up in the air and Saha not only leapt spectacularly to his right but also took his right hand to the height of the ball to send back O'Keefe.

In addition to that, the fact that he could do something like that towards the end of the day's play speaks volumes about his fitness and powers of concentration.