Once again, Ajinkya Rahane that he is one of the best slip fielders in India. Standing at first slip to Sri Lankan spinner Maheesh Theekshana, Rahane stayed low and took a stunning catch to dismiss Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) stand-in skipper Krunal Pandya.
Krunal came out to bat in the sixth over after injured KL Rahul's replacement Manan Vohra got bowled. The southpaw poked at a delivery and managed a thick outside edge. The ball kept low but Rahane got both hands to the ball and picked it up just centimeters off the ground.
The on-field umpires referred it to the third umpire. Rahane barely managed to get his fingers under the ball. On the other hand, few fans questioned whether it was a legal catch or not. Later in the game, he attempted another catch off Moeen Ali’s bowling but it landed short. He was impressive in the outfield as well. In the final over, he took a high catch to dismiss Krishnappa Gowtham off pacer Matheesha Pathirana's bowling.
This was Rahane’s 66th catch of his Indian Premier League (IPL) career. He is the seventh on the list of Indian fielders with most catches in IPL. The list is led by Mr. IPL aka Suresh Raina who has 109 catches to his name.
Rahane recently made a comeback to India’s Test squad for World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 final against Australia starting June 7. With former Indian skipper Virat Kohli struggling at first slip in red-ball cricket, India have an option in Rahane to be in the catching position against the Aussies at the Oval. In Test cricket, Rahane is just one catch away from becoming seventh Indian fielder to take 100 catches.
Since his return to Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Rahane has been in stupendous form with the bat. From seven innings, he has scored 224 runs at an average of 44.80 including two half-centuries. He has scored at a strike rate of 189.83 which has got experts talking. Rahane also registered his IPL career’s fastest half-century this season.
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