Five of the IPL’s Most Dramatic Catches at the Boundary
Kieron Pollard was on patrolling the boundary when Glenn Maxwell sent one flying towards square leg from Glenn Starc – it appeared set for six – but Pollard made up for his misjudgment by making an incredible airborne catch!
James Faulkner sent a ball fluttering through covers, where Karun Nair was stationed inside the circle at cover and seemed set for an easy boundary, only for Tim Southee to leap high and catch it at the last second.
1. Amabati Rayudu
As a teenager, Ambati Rayudu would surprise you with his on-the-up punches through covers. A fierce competitor who disliked losing, some even speculated he might play Tests for India some day.
Hyderabad batsman Harbhajan Singh struggled to establish his name until this season when he found a stable No. 6-batting position for CSK and began showing his true colours.
At DY Patil Stadium against RCB, Rayudu put on an exceptional show of batting to help ensure his team’s win – prompting many who had written him off to reconsider their opinion of him. His performance even caused people who had written him off before to reconsider their opinion of him!
Rayudu made an impactful statement with his bat in Imran Tahir’s 8th over. Off his first ball of that over, he struck Yuvraj Singh for an emphatic six. But it was what followed that truly stood out.
Rayudu was stationed at short cover area. As Akash Deep attempted to drive Jadeja with the bat, Rayudu dived down quickly with incredible speed to catch one-handed stunner from Jadeja.
The catch went viral on social media and was celebrated around the globe as an incredible feat of athleticism. Additionally, it highlighted Rayudu as someone willing to stand by themselves no matter the situation and can counterattack out of difficulties quickly; qualities which will serve him well with future teams including India.
2. Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav stands out as an exceptional talent in cricket, possessing the versatility and ability to deliver various spin bowling styles and variations, but excels most when bowling wrist-spin. Starting his career out as a fast bowler before being convinced by coach Kapil Pandey to switch over to more unconventional techniques as a left-arm wrist spinner – an important decision which paid dividends and made Kuldeep Yadav into a household name in no time at all.
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Kuldeep Yadav made headlines around the globe after producing an extraordinary catch to send back Rashid Khan at the 2023 World Cup, earning widespread acclaim and garnering him much-deserved praise from cricket enthusiasts worldwide. What made this particular catch especially remarkable was how it was taken with help from teammate Ravindra Jadeja.
Kuldeep Jadeja was stationed at backward point and within Kuldeep’s line of sight while patrolling the third-man boundary. Rashid made an attempt at cutting against Jasprit Bumrah but failed to connect properly due to the speed of delivery; as soon as Kuldeep saw this happening he held onto it with both hands until finally taking it on second attempt and successfully caught it!
Kuldeep made the most of his maiden Test cap against Australia at Dharamsala with an outstanding fielding display that earned him his debut Test cap and four wickets on debut – helping India take a 2-0 lead in Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.
3. Rahul Tripathi
Indian Premier League Qualifiers concluded with an exciting finish when Kolkata Knight Riders managed to withstand an implosion from Delhi Capitals and win by three wickets with Rahul Tripathi’s clutch running catch at close range close to the boundary line.
Before the final ball was bowled, KKR needed 13 off 25 balls with Andre Russell, Nitish Rana and Eoin Morgan all gone within quick succession. Yet despite regular wicket losses they persevered, and looked poised for an incredible chase.
Shubman Gill produced a spectacular piece of shotmaking to shock his opponent’s game plan. The batsman hit Bhuvneshwar Kumar for an overcow corner six, before hitting back with two fours over cow-corner. Tripathi made sure the ball didn’t go for six by diving at short extra cover to pluck it from thin air without it clearing the rope – an incredible piece of shotmaking from Shubman Gill!
Tripathi’s ability to use unconventional shots that would normally not be considered powerful shots to hit sixes was one of his defining abilities, while his incredible calm in this situation made a statement about him and was widely debated on Twitter, especially since replays suggested the catch may have touched the ground.
Punjab and SRH faced off again, this time with Ashutosh Sharma and Shashank Singh creating an unbeaten 66-run stand to score nine off their final ball before Jaydev Unadkat struck with his final over. If only Rahul Tripathi had held onto an easy catch offered himself at deep midwicket.
4. Shubman Gill
Gill, the young Punjab batsman has garnered much praise since making his first-class debut for Punjab in 2017. Since then, he has quickly made it into India’s Under-19 squad and led their Youth ODI series against England at home as well as their reciprocal tour – amassing 351 runs across four innings with two centuries to help their side rout both series.
Gill has the chops to be an exceptional batsman but also shines as a formidable fielder, with quick reflexes and composure on the field. He may well make India’s slip cordon lineup one day soon – something which was evident during Gujarat’s IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 match against Mumbai Indians at Wankhede Stadium.
At 55-0 midway through the fifth over, England’s Ben Duckett tried a massive whack against Kuldeep Yadav’s googly ball from Kuldeep Yadav and managed to hook it thickly off the bat, landing between slip cordon and gully where cover fielder Gill managed to make an exceptional diving catch.
Gill made one of the most impressive catches this season and certainly among any Indian fielder at any level. By making such an outstanding play, he was able to avoid embarrassment; had Tim David dropped it, MI would have suffered significant financial penalties.
5. Manan Vohra
Manan Vohra overcame an unpredictable pitch and the pressures placed upon his team by producing one of the greatest comeback innings ever seen in IPL history, scoring 95 off just 50 balls to revitalize Kings XI’s faltering chase and bring them within 15 runs of victory before Bhuvneshwar Kumar struck with an amazing last-ball over to stop Vohra from pulling off this victory-worthy performance.
Vohra hit an outstanding shot when bowler Jonty Rhodes gave him a full delivery on middle stump which Vohra hit through to right-handed side for six. Even Rhodes would have been proud of such an effort from Vohra; but it was his fierce pursuit that left everyone in amazement.
As Vohra charged towards the ball, he was unable to catch it cleanly and put his hand down by his knees instead. Since wicketkeepers must not touch the ball until outside their crease, umpires immediately signaled he had been stumped.
Mohammad Nabi had just bowled Eoin Morgan with a ball that skidded on, and Rashid Khan claimed two wickets in one over (David Miller and Wriddhiman Saha), leaving Kings XI struggling at 95-5 after 20 overs. Nabi could have got Vohra out first ball of his next over when he dropped what seemed a straightforward return catch on the boundary; when running across to flick him away from him instead turned both body and leg simultaneously into position for Nabi who missed completely with what appeared to be an obvious return catch on which the batsman turned himself inside-out before Nabi missed with what looked like an easy return catch that could have easily taken him out on first ball from within an over – until Vohra ran off his foot turning his body as his leg got caught by Nabi; leaving Kings XI struggling at 95-5 after 20 overs.
