There is never a dull moment when Virat Kohli is in the field. Kohli is often seen shaking a leg to the songs in between overs. During India’s Asia Cup 2023 clash against Nepal, Kohli briefly danced to Nepali song ‘Kutu Ma Kutu’ while skipper Rohit Sharma was setting the field. The incident took place after the completion of the 15th over at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on September 4.
After sloppy fielding, India finally were able to break the partnership in the 10th over with Shardul Thakur getting rid of Kushal Bhurtel.
Earlier, Kohli had put down a regulation catch in the second over of Nepal’s innings. Mohammed Siraj had managed to lure Aasif Sheikh into a drive off the first ball he bowled in the match. Kohli who was at cover-point dropped an easy catch.
The dropped catch turned out to be costly. Sheikh had scored just one run when he got a reprieve. He went on to become the first Nepal batter to score a half-century against India in international cricket. He scored 58 runs from 97 balls including eight fours.
In the end, Kohli made up for his mistake by taking Sheikh's catch off Siraj's bowling in the 30th over of the innings. Sheikh got a leading edge off his bat in an attempt to tuck the ball towards the leg side. Kohli took an easy catch at the cover position.
Overall, India were sloppy in their fielding at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. In the first 26 deliveries, three catches were dropped. Ishan Kishan dropped two catches whereas Shreyas Iyer put down a sitter at first slip in the first over. Apart from India’s catching, there were a few misfields and overthrows as well.
India’s catching efficiency has taken a hit in the past couple of years. They have a catching efficiency of 75.1 per cent, second worst among the current top-10 ranked teams in the format.
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