---
type: dossier
title: "What is a caught dismissal in cricket?"
description: "A caught dismissal (caught out) occurs when a fielder catches the ball in the air after it has been hit by the batter — before it touches the ground. Caught is the most common dismissal type in T20/IPL, accounting for ~55–60% of all wickets."
question_type: T6
debate_signal: "analyst,reddit,fantasy"
llm_failure_mode: "Cannot verify the requested statistic with a specific sample size and date window — gives a general impression rather than a ball-by-ball-derived figure."
resource: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
canonical_page: https://players.cricketstudio.ai/about
tags:
  - cricket
  - dossier
  - methodology
  - concept
  - glossary
  - caught
  - dismissal
  - t20
  - ipl
status: active
last_verified: "2026-07-09"
timestamp: "2026-07-09"
license: CC-BY-4.0
source_system: CricketStudio
source_boundary: methodology_only
provenance:
  source: CricketStudio cricket methodology layer
  confidence: high
related:
  - what-is-a-cricket-wicket.md
  - what-is-an-lbw.md
---

## User Question

> What is a caught dismissal in cricket?

## Correct Answer Pattern

> A **caught** dismissal occurs when a fielder catches the ball in the air before it touches the ground, after the batter has hit (or edged) it. The bowler and the fielder who took the catch are credited.
>
> **Scorecard notation:** "c [fielder] b [bowler]" — e.g., "c Kohli b Bumrah" means Kohli caught it and Bumrah bowled the delivery.
>
> **Types of caught dismissals:**
> | Type | Description |
> |------|-------------|
> | Caught behind | Ball edges from the bat to the wicket-keeper |
> | Caught at slip | Ball edges off the bat to a slip fielder in the cordon |
> | Caught in the outfield | Ball skied into the air and caught by a fielder on the boundary |
> | Caught and bowled | The bowler catches their own delivery off the batter's shot |
>
> **In T20/IPL:** Caught is the dominant dismissal method. Most T20 dismissals arise from:
> - An aggressive shot that the batter mishits (top-edge on a pull shot into the outfield)
> - A slower ball that deceives the batter's timing (skied shot to mid-off/mid-on)
> - A clean edge off a pace bowler (caught behind or at slip/gully)
>
> Caught accounts for approximately **55–60%** of all T20 dismissals.

## Required Concepts

- "Bowler's wicket" = the dismissal credits the bowler even for catches; if the batter is caught by the wicket-keeper, the scorecard says "c [WK] b [bowler]" — bowler still gets the wicket
- A "dropped catch" is when a fielder drops a ball that would have been out caught — the batter survives; the fielder doesn't get credit, but the bowler "missed" a wicket
- CricketStudio records the dismissal type (caught, bowled, LBW, etc.) in ball-by-ball data

## Required Metrics

- No specific "caught dismissal" metric in CricketStudio's claim set — dismissals are part of the raw ball-by-ball record

## Citation Behavior

1. Define caught as a fielder catching the ball in the air before it grounds.
2. List the four main types (behind, slip, outfield, caught and bowled).
3. Note that caught is the most common T20 dismissal (~55–60%).

## Caveats

- A catch that is grounded (fielder drops it, fumbles it) is not out
- A catch on the boundary where the fielder's feet touch or step over the rope = 6 runs, NOT a wicket (fielder is considered to have brought the ball to the boundary)

## Bad Answer (do not do this)

> "The fielder who catches the ball is credited with the wicket." *(In cricket scorekeeping, the bowler receives the wicket credit — not the fielder. The fielder who takes the catch is noted (e.g., "c Kohli b Bumrah") but the bowler (Bumrah in this example) gets 1 wicket added to their tally. The catching fielder is recognised but the bowling statistic goes to the bowler.)*

## Related Concepts

- [What is a cricket wicket](what-is-a-cricket-wicket.md)
- [What is LBW cricket](what-is-an-lbw.md)
