It would not be an exaggeration to say that India lost the second Twenty20 International against West Indies in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday primarily because of their poor fielding. But India captain Virat Kohli, as he often does, stood out yet again — this time, on the field, taking a stunning catch that showed why he is such a great athlete.
For the second match on the trot in the series, and not for the first time this home season in white-ball cricket, India were poor on the field with Washington Sundar’s dropped catch off Lendl Simmons proving to be one of the turning points on the night. The all-rounder put down a high catch when Simmons was on six and the opener went on to remain unbeaten with a 45-ball 67 as West Indies levelled the series 1-1.
But Kohli’s effort was, undoubtedly, the highlight of the night on the field. With Shimron Hetmyer going for a hat-trick of sixes, the Indian captain pulled off a blinder at long on. The West Indies batsman, and now-former Royal Challengers Bangalore teammate, struck the ball powerfully down the ground off Ravindra Jadeja’s bowling. It looked like a third six on the trot was imminent as the ball was travelling flat and like a tracer bullet, so to speak. But Kohli made great ground from wide long on and first, did well to get to the ball with both hands and gather it, and second, control his momentum in breathtaking style to make sure he did not tumble over the fence or touch the boundary cushion.
Watch the catch here:
“It was just something that stuck in my hand,” Kohli said after the match. “I was fully committed to [stopping] the ball and luckily it stuck. I dropped a one-hander in the last game, this time I went with both hands.”
This was the second sensational catch of the white-ball home season for Kohli, after his effort in the first match of the series against South Africa earlier to dismiss Quinton de Kock.