Netizens of www.hrgcricstats.com would remember Sri C Prahlada Rao, who  has contributed an article on P Ananda Rao – the famed commentator of All India Radio, Madras, now Chennai. His interest in the game of cricket is seen to be believed. Today morning, he  sent me a message on whats app regarding the captains of South Africa and Pakistan bagging pairs in the just concluded test at Centurion and asked me to check up whether it has happened for the first time. Yes, it has indeed happened for the first time in the annals of test cricket thus constituting a world record. Sri C Prahlada Rao was a Bank official. He was the Chief Manager at Syndicate Bank, Head Office, Manipal prior to his joining Dena Bank as Assistant General Manager. He rose to the level of General Manager in Dena Bank. He quit Dena Bank and joined Reliance Group of Companies in Mumbai. He is now settled in Mumbai. He can be contacted on his mobile 9865704888

Rival captains – F de Plessis of South Africa and Sarfaz Ahmed of Pakistan collected pairs in the test between South Africa and Pakistan at Centuurion to provide the first occasion of rival captains collecting a pair in the annals of test cricket thus constituting a world record in the annals of test cricket. .

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	F du Plessis	0	0	SAF	Pak	Centurion	26 Dec 2018
2	Sarfraz Ahmed	0	0	Pak	SAF	Centurion	26 Dec 2018

The following table lists the 23 occasions of captains collecting a pair in the annals of test cricket.

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	J Darling	0	0	Aus	Eng	Sheffield	03 Jul 1902
2	LJ Tancred	0	0	SAF	Eng	The Oval	12 Aug 1912
3	VS Hazare	0	0	Ind	Eng	Kanpur	12 Jan 1952
4	HB Cave	0	0	NZl	Win	Dunedin	03 Feb 1956
5	FMM Worrell	0	0	Win	Aus	Melbourne	30 Dec 1960
6	R Benaud	0	0	Aus	Eng	Leeds	06 Jul 1961
7	Imtiaz Ahmed	0	0	Pak	Eng	Dhaka	19 Jan 1962
8	BS Bedi	0	0	Ind	Eng	Delhi	17 Dec 1976
9	IT Botham	0	0	Eng	Aus	Lord’s	02 Jul 1981
10	AR Border	0	0	Aus	Win	Perth	30 Jan 1993
11	MA Taylor	0	0	Aus	Pak	Karachi	28 Sep 1994
12	SP Fleming	0	0	NZl	Aus	Hobart	27 Nov 1997
13	CA Walsh	0	0	Win	Pak	Rawalpindi	29 Nov 1997
14	Rashid Latif	0	0	Pak	SAF	Port Elizabeth	06 Mar 1998
15	N Hussain	0	0	Eng	Win	The Oval	31 Aug 2000
16	JC Adams	0	0	Win	Aus	Melbourne	26 Dec 2000
17	Waqar Younis	0	0	Pak	Aus	Sharjah	11 Oct 2002
18	Habibul Bashar	0	0	Ban	Zim	Harare	19 Feb 2004
19	MS Atapattu	0	0	Srl	Pak	Faisalabad	20 Oct 2004
20	DJG Sammy	0	0	Win	NZl	Wellington	11 Dec 2013
21	AB de Villiers	0	0	SAF	Eng	Centurion	22 Jan 2016
22	F du Plessis	0	0	SAF	Pak	Centurion	26 Dec 2018
23	Sarfraz Ahmed	0	0	Pak	SAF	Centurion	26 Dec 2018

The following table lists the three occasions of South African captains collecting a pair in the annals of test cricket.

1	LJ Tancred	0	0	SAF	Eng	The Oval	12 Aug 1912
2	AB de Villiers	0	0	SAF	Eng	Centurion	22 Jan 2016
3	F du Plessis	0	0	SAF	Pak	Centurion	26 Dec 2018

The following table lists the four occasions of captains collecting a pair in the annals of test cricket against Pakistan

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	MA Taylor	0	0	Aus	Pak	Karachi	28 Sep 1994
2	CA Walsh	0	0	Win	Pak	Rawalpindi	29 Nov 1997
3	MS Atapattu	0	0	Srl	Pak	Faisalabad	20 Oct 2004
4	F du Plessis	0	0	SAF	Pak	Centurion	26 Dec 2018

The following table lists the three occasions of captains collecting a pair in the annals of test cricket at Centurion

No	Player	FI	SI	Team	Opp	Ground	Start Date
1	AB de Villiers	0	0	SAF	Eng	Centurion	22 Jan 2016
2	F du Plessis	0	0	SAF	Pak	Centurion	26 Dec 2018
3	Sarfraz Ahmed	0	0	Pak	SAF	Centurion	26 Dec 2018