‘When we played in Bangladesh catches like these…’: Ishan Kishan on his spectacular catch of Asalanka in 1st T20I
KL Rahul, who was the wicketkeeper during the Bangladesh ODIs, had also made a similar attempt, but the ball had popped out of his gloves, and it proved to be a turning point in the 1st ODI as India lost by one wicket.
India started the year on a winning note as they eked a thrilling two-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first of the three T20Is. Shivam Mavi, who made his India debut, emerged as the standout player. He scalped a wicket each in his four overs and conceded just 22 runs. Umran Malik too had a good outing. The Jammu and Kashmir speedster clocked 155kph on the speed gun, and scalped two wickets while giving away just 27 runs in his four-over quota.
Apart from the two Ishan Kishan too impressed many with his glovework. The wicketkeeper rarely allowed any balls to go past him, and also took a brilliant catch to dismiss Charith Asalanka off Umran Malik's bowling.
Kishan's effort saw him cover a lot of ground running behind, signaling Harshal Patel at third-man to not come for the catch, before executing a brilliant dive to collect the ball. The moment was an instant hit among the fans, who hailed Kishan for his superb athleticism on social media.
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The BCCI earlier on Wednesday released a video where Kishan can be seen sharing his thought process with fielding coach T Dilip. Ishan pointed out India's fielding errors in the last series against Bangladesh, where the team had dropped quiet a few chances.
“I think we have seen when we played in Bangladesh in catches like these calling was a problem,” said Kishan.
KL Rahul, who was the wicketkeeper during the Bangladesh ODIs, had also made a similar attempt, but the ball had popped out of his gloves, and it proved to be a turning point in the 1st ODI as India lost by one wicket.
“My plan was to if I am going I will go all out which will avoid confusion hence I called out. Even during practice sessions, I was talking to Dilip Sir about the importance of calling in high catches. We practiced the high catches with the softball and all the hard work bore fruits,” he added.
The coach was mighty impressed with his ward's effort.“That was an important catch in context of the game. Asalanka does play well against us,” said Dilip. “The best thing I saw from outside as a fielding coach, to take a catch while running that much is very tough. We all know your speed is good, so it was fabulous to see that.”
